Tonight, under the glimmer of the Staples Center lights, a star was born. After having a relatively quiet first half of the season, Derrick Williams put out his best performance as a pro, scoring 27 points and missing only one shot all game. D-Will was seemingly unconscious tonight, hitting shot after shot in the face of his defender and slashing and finishing at the hoop with perfect touch. In a pair of performances nobody could have predicted, Michael Beasley played spectacularly alongside Williams, also scoring 27 points on 11-15 shooting. Between Beasley and D-Will, they shot a combined 7-7 from three-point range and led a dominating fourth quarter charge in which the Timberwolves hit their first 10 field goal attempts in the quarter. Shooting 79% in the fourth , the Minnesota Timberwolves defeated the Los Angeles Clippers 109-97 in their second meeting this season.

The last time these two teams met, Kevin Love played the hero and nailed a buzzer beating three-pointer to shock the Clippers in Los Angeles. Tonight, the Pups other power forward took over in the second half and was truly unstoppable against a very good Clippers ballclub. The game was very evenly matched throughout three quarters, and the Clippers led going into the fourth quarter 76-73. However, the duo of Beasley and Williams found seamless chemistry together and scored 54 of the Wolves 72 bench points.

In another highly anticipated matchup of Kevin Love and Blake Griffin, Griffin got the upper hand on Love and was a dominating force in the first half, scoring 24 points on 8-13 shooting, eventually ending with 30 points and 7 rebounds. K-Love was only able to play 25 minutes as he got two quick fouls midway through the first quarter, sending him to the bench for much of the first half. In the second half, Love sustained a rib contusion, and combined with the dominating play of Williams, Love spent much of the second on the bench. In his time on the court, Love scored 10 points and grabbed 7 rebounds, but played very poor defense on Griffin and posed virtually no threat to stopping the Blake Show from scoring or getting to the free throw line.

Despite having a very poor game shooting the ball, Ricky Rubio did his job as point guard and did a great job finding open teammates and setting up players for open looks. Tricky Ricky scored just 2 points, but tallied 9 assists and grabbed 7 rebounds in 29 minutes of play. Chris Paul posed quite a tough matchup for Rubio, but the rookie sensation was able to come out tonight on top. In relief of Ricky, JJ Barea played another fine game as he recorded 6 points and 7 assists in 22 minutes. Barea has found a groove in Rick Adelman’s offense and has been arguably as good as Rubio in the past three games. Barea’s poise in the fourth quarter gives the Wolves another option as a closer, and the intangibles he brings to this club have contributed to the fast culture change that was initiated with the arrival of Rick Adelman and Ricky Rubio.

In his first appearance against the Timberwolves this season, Chris Paul demonstrated why he is the best point guard in the NBA and was able to manipulate and break down the Wolves defense with veteran acumen. His playmaking ability kept Wolves defenders close to their man, giving CP3 the chance to shoot wide-open midrange jumpers all game. Paul enjoyed a great game, scoring 27 points and dishing 6 assists, but his teams inability to hit open shots in the second half largely contributed to their fourth quarter collapse. As a team, the Clippers were a mere 2-11 from three-point range, while the Timberwolves were an impressive 10-22. The Timberwolves were able to use individual matchups to help shut down the Clippers on defense, and Darko Milicic played a large role in slowing down Blake Griffin in the second half. Although he lacks offensive polish, there is no arguing that Darko is a very good interior defender, and Rick Adelman had confidence going to him when neither Nikola Pekovic or Kevin Love could stop him. Tyrannosaurus Pek saw a decreased role tonight but still contributed positively as he scored 12 points and grabbed 4 rebounds.

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The Minnesota Timberwolves entered Wednesday’s game against the Utah Jazz hoping to even their season record at 17-17 before the All-Star break. The winner of tonight’s game would be at the .500 mark going into the All-Star break. The loser would occupy the basement of the Northwest Division of the NBA’s Western Conference.

Utah came to the Target Center winning only 3 of its last 12 outings. The Timberpups scored the game’s first field goal, but then missed nine straight shots to fall behind 10-2. It seems that the Pups might need a new pregame speech before their home games. Instead of telling the team to “Go for the throat,” it seems that the pregame speech has told them to “Go for the jugular”. The first quarter was another painful 12 minutes of low energy, subpar basketball for the T-Wolves.

The Wolves fell behind 25-11 on 3 of 19 shooting before trailing 27-15 after one quarter. 24 of the Jazz’s 27 points were in the paint.  At the end of the first quarter, the Wolves had hit only 4 of 21 from the field (19%), including 0 of 4 on threes. The Pups did lead the Jazz 5-0 in turnovers. K-Love was 2 of 7 shooting, and Nikola Pekovic was 0 for 5.

The Wolves’ woes continued in the second quarter. The Pups fell behind 39-21 before Ricky Rubio lead an 8-0 scoring run. But as was the case for 3-1/2 quarters tonight, when the Pups rallied, Utah answered. The Pups could not continue to close the gap, shooting 12 of 39 on field goals in the first half (30.8 %) as they trailed 49-37 at the half.  JJ Barea was the only Pup to score three field goals in the first half, and no Pup scored in double digits. K-Love was 2-9 on field goals, and Pek was 0-7.

No worries, though, as the Wolves lead the NBA in winning games when down by 10 points or more at halftime. They had done so 10 times before tonight’s game. That is both good news and bad news.

The Wolves went on a 15-6 run to draw to 55-52 early in the third quarter. Utah then went on a 10-0 run and a 19-8 run in the third quarter to quiet the home crowd, leading 76-64 at the end of the third quarter. Utah scored on six of its last eight possessions in the quarter. Wesley Johnson and JJ Barea helped the Pups stay in the game. K-Love was only 3 of 13 shooting after three quarters, as Utah continued to own the paint.

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In the Minnesota Timberwolves first overtime appearance this season, they were unable to hold off a depleted Denver Nuggets team, shooting poorly down the stretch and losing 103-101 in Denver, snapping their three game win streak. After losing starting point guard Ty Lawson for the second half due to a sprained right ankle, and the ejection of backup point guard Andre Miller in the late third quarter, the Nuggets turned to undrafted rookie Julyan Stone to run the offense with no one else to relieve him from the fourth quarter on. Stone played respectably, particularly on the defensive end and he was able to provide just enough as the Nuggets improved to 18-15 on the season. Nene Hilario, Danilo Gallinari, and Rudy Fernandez were all unavailable for the Nuggets tonight, and they were sorely missed on the offensive end.

Although the Timberpups took this game to OT and only lost by 2, this is a game they really need to put in their rear view mirror. As a team, they shot a miserable 36-99 (36.4%) from the field and were unable to click on offense after a very nice start to the game. The Pups led by as many as 14 in the first half, but no one was able to really step up and provide reliable offense throughout the contest. Kevin Love recorded 22 points and 13 rebounds, but really struggled shooting the ball, going only 7-22 from the field. K-Love encountered excellent interior defense and very effective double teams from the Nuggets, and their defensive scheming was a difference maker tonight.

A big bonehead shout out to Martell Webster, who, with the Pups down by three with less than five seconds left in OT, stole Denver’s inbounds pass and went in for a two point slam-dunk instead of pulling up for a game-tying three pointer. We know he cannot shoot the three this season, but come on!

Ricky Rubio also had a tough night shooting the ball, as he went only 5-16 from the field. However, Rubio overcame his shooting struggles and was able to have a respectable game tonight, putting up 16 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 steals, and 5 turnovers. Tricky Ricky was at his best on the defensive end and played excellent on-the-ball defense. The good wing defense and effective hedging by the Nuggets bigs were able to slow down Rubio and prevented him from creating easy opportunities for his teammates.

Big Nikola Pekovic went down with an ankle injury just before halftime, and it proved problematic for the Pups in the second half. Tyrannosaurus Pek was enjoying a very nice performance up until his injury, scoring 7 points and grabbing 7 rebounds, 6 of which were offensive. Led by rookie Kenneth Faried, Denver out-hustled and out-muscled the Wolves down low, winning the rebounding battle 57-50. Faried, the NCAAs all-time leading rebounder in history, played a tremendous game and did not miss a shot all night long, recording 10 points and 14 rebounds. Faried has become a fan favorite in Denver due to his amazing motor and relentless effort, diving after balls and doing everything he can to help the team, playing exactly like he did at Morehead State the previous four years. Without the intangibles that Faried brought tonight, the Nuggets most likely would have lost this one.

Wes Johnson had another quiet performance, scoring just 4 points in 18 minutes. The fact that Wes remains a starter is very confusing, and he continues to see the least minutes of all starters and is no longer a threat shooting the ball. The T-Wolves are in desperate need of a three-point shooter, shooting only 22% tonight from long range. Martell Webster received 32 minutes in Wes’ place, but shot only 1-6 from deep and missed several wide-open looks down the stretch. Webster has provided solid defense at times and guarded Al Harrington well in the second half, but the fact is that the Pups need a shooting guard who can SHOOT!

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The times they are a-changin’. With 0.1 seconds on the clock and Philedolphia inbounding from half court, Darko Milicic swatted away the 76ers last ditch effort to tip in the ball, securing a 92-91 come-from-behind win at home on Sunday night. With nearly 4 seconds left in the game, Kevin Love drove to the basket, getting fouled with only 0.1 remaining on the clock, with the Timberwolves down 90-91. K-Love once again played Mr. Clutch and delivered in the primetime, netting two free throws and sending his team to their NBA-high 10^th win this season when down at halftime. Despite starting only 2-15 from the field and scoring only 8 points through the first 3 quarters, Love scored 12 points in the 4^th quarter and finished with 20 points and 15 rebounds in 41 minutes of play.

Alongside Love, Nikola Pekovic enjoyed another fine night, narrowly missing another double-double as he recorded 17 points and 9 rebounds. Pek shot an impressive 9-10 from the free throw line and played great interior defense throughout the entirety of the contest.

No Timberpups victory is complete without a shining performance by rookie sensation Ricky Rubio, who carried the Timberwolves scoring in the first half, netting 18 points and finishing with a career-high 22. Although he failed to tally an assist in the first half, Tricky Ricky tossed 5 assists in the second half and focused on passing instead of scoring in the second. Rubio continues to play like a veteran, scoring in spurts when his team needs him to, but also knowing when to get his teammates involved. The genius that is Rubio was able to overcome a terrific performance by 76ers point guard Jrue Holiday and was the key to the Timberwolves motor. When disregarding K-Love’s 4^th quarter heroics, Rubio was the star on Sunday night.

In the first half, the T-Wolves turned the ball over 7 times, but went on to only commit 3 turnovers the rest of the way, including only one in the 4^th quarter. The Pups held their opponent to less than 20 points in the 4^th quarter for the 16^th time this year. A major difference seperating this Wolves team from prior years is their ability to get better as the game progresses, and they appear much more comfortable in the 4^th quarter and clutch situations. K-Love has been spectacular this season and was able to turn an obvious off night into a 20-15 performance. The true superstars in this league are able to overcome tough shooting nights and perform when their team needs it most. There is no question about it: Kevin Love is a legitimate NBA superstar.

After missing the last game due to the birth of his first child, JJ Barea played a very nice game off of the bench, penetrating into the lane and finishing among a very good defensive 76ers frontcourt. Barea has really found his groove in his last few games and is playing like the stud we watched defeat the Heat in the finals last summer. In 21 minutes, Barea scored 14 points and only turned the ball over once.

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