Wolves record: 20-46
With Rodney Carney leading the way, the Wolves raced to a 66-51 halftime lead Saturday night en route to a 108-100 victory over the playoff-hopeful Charlotte Bobcats at Target Center.
Carney scored 21 points off the bench in his first game back from a bruised groin/abdomen, and rookie Kevin Love had a team-high 22 and seven rebounds as the Wolves, wearing their road blues, salvaged a split of their four-game home stand.
Ryan Gomes had 21 points and Craig Smith 15 for Minnesota (20-46), which also got Randy Foye back from a sprained right ankle and will begin a three-game road trip Tuesday at San Antonio.
No one was more important to the outcome than Carney, who hit 8 of 13 shots, including 4 of 7 from three-point range, and energized his teammates and the crowd with high-flying dunks and his end-to-end hustle.
From the Associated Press:
“This was a game that was more than winnable for us and we came out like we were the defending champs and they were just going to lay down for us,” said Gerald Wallace, who led Charlotte with 26 points. “We just overlooked this team and took them for granted. They’re still an NBA team regardless of their record and once they get going and the fans get behind them, the goal looks like an ocean to them.”
It certainly did in the first half.
Minnesota made 60 percent in the first half while building a 66-51 lead at the break that forced the Bobcats to play catch-up the rest of the way.
The Wolves shot 60 percent from the field and scored 66 points on 17 assists in the first half against Brown’s time-tested defensive schemes and they finished the night with 28 assists, including 16 from their starting backcourt of Mike Miller (7) and Sebastian Telfair (9).
“We’re used to other teams doing that to us,” Foye said. “But we played hard. We played together as a team. We were just moving the ball tonight and everybody was making shots.”
— Mike Miller finished with a solid overall game with seven points, six rebounds, and seven assists, but only shot the ball five times. He didn’t make a shot after 8:22 remaining in the first quarter, and didn’t even attempt a shot after 4:00 left in the first. It wasn’t an issue though, as Gomes and Carney combined for 25 points in the second, and Kevin Love saved 12 of his 22 points for the second half.
— Ryan Gomes has been on a tear in March. The fourth year small forward is averaging 20.9 points this month, and has scored at least 20 points in ten games since Jefferson’s injury (he had just four such games before the injury). Gomes has hit at least one three-pointer in every game this month, and has made at least one three in every game since January 20 except two.