Wolves record: 9-33

Box Score

Flynn, his shot having deserted him roughly 40 games into the season, scored a career-high 29 points, added nine assists, and helped the Timberwolves rally from a 20-point deficit to pull out a 108-103 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers.

Minnesota needed an overtime period to snap its four-game losing streak, but maybe the extra five minutes wouldn’t have been necessary if Kevin Love had been in the building — or if Flynn had been able to see clearly out of both eyes. The rookie point guard, his left eye noticeably swollen after he banged his head on the floor late in the third quarter, launched a looping bank shot toward the hoop on the Wolves’ final possession of regulation, but it bounced off the back rim.

Jefferson played 45 minutes, including all five in overtime, and took on added rebounding duties with Kevin Love home battling strep throat. Jefferson had 23 points and a game-high 13 rebounds to help the Wolves (9-33) snap a four-game losing streak in front of 14,637 fans.

Jefferson also played a pivotal role in the Wolves’ defense, which limited the Sixers (13-27) to four points and no free-throw attempts in overtime.

Without Love, the Wolves overcame a 51-31 second-quarter deficit with a 33-18 third-quarter reversal led by Ryan Gomes, the day’s improvised starter at Love’s power forward position who scored 14 of his 16 points in that quarter alone.

Gomes’ scoring got the Wolves back in the game. Rookie point guard Jonny Flynn’s career-high 29 points and nine assists (tying his career high) and Jefferson’s 20th double-double — 23 points, 13 rebounds — and defensive presence took them home down the stretch in the fourth quarter and overtime to their ninth victory in 42 games this season.

Little-used Brian Cardinal had five points and three assists in an important fourth-quarter stretch where he played nearly eight minutes.

“B.C., he won that game,” said center Ryan Hollins, who returned from a six-game illness and supported Gomes and Cardinal with almost seven minutes off the bench. “He was making passes, hit a three, making free throws. He was the reason we came back.”
The extra session featured a Jonny Flynn jumper on the first possession to give the Wolves a 101-99 lead. The rookie drilled two free throws two minutes later and posted a career-high 29 points, which included nine assists along with four rebounds. Philadelphia committed turnovers on back-to-back trips down the floor, allowing breathing room for Minnesota in the final minutes. A Corey Brewer putback with 44.4 seconds left on the game clock sealed a memorable MLK performance from the Wolves and snapped a four-game losing skid.

“I know everybody’s going to look at [Jonny’s] points that he scored, but I thought he did a good job, in my eyes for the things that I look at for him, and again I can’t emphasize enough that I believe he is going to be a terrific point guard in this league,” Rambis proudly stated.