Wolves record: 6-24

The Timberwolves finally did, prevailing 103-99 over the Nets in a meeting between two teams that had won just seven times between them in the season’s opening 57 days.

Al Jefferson carried the Wolves to the brink of victory with a 27-point performance that caused coach Kurt Rambis to declare “that’s the Al that I want to see.” Then Corey Brewer took them there after Jefferson fouled out in the final 29 seconds.

Brewer scored six of his 17 points in the final 40 seconds — including a crucial lefthanded finger roll with 39.4 seconds left — to help win a game Wolves forward Kevin Love afterward called the “Dirt Bowl Championship.”

The rest of the Wolves responded to Flynn’s early brilliance by holding a lead the rest of the way and taking a 103-99 victory in front of 10,204 fans who were loudest when the Nets mascot was launching T-shirts in the crowd.

Flynn scored 11 of his 22 points in the first quarter, when he also had three assists and two steals. He had a pair of turnovers in the quarter, but that wasn’t nearly enough for Rambis to consider pulling him again.

“He was terrific,” Rambis said. “Jonny was certainly inspirational tonight the way he played for most of the ballgame. He was very aggressive, and I liked his decision-making.”
Dismal records aside and lottery projections aside, the Nets should have been motivated against the Wolves following their season-opening 95-93 loss in Minnesota on Oct. 28. New Jersey led by 19 in the third quarter and was up 16 midway through the fourth quarter before blowing it all. Damien Wilkins’ buzzer-beater was the winning basket and seemed to set the tone for the Nets’ season, as they went on to lose a record 18 straight games to start the season.

Minnesota went over a month without win after taking the Nets in Game 1. Entering Wednesday night’s game against the Nets, the Wolves had lost three of their last four – all of the blowout variety.