Wolves record: 18-36
Finally healthy himself, Marquis Daniels filled Danny Granger’s spot in the starting lineup just fine.
The rest of the Indiana Pacers were just as supportive in the first game following the All-Star forward’s injury.
Daniels scored 24 points, Troy Murphy added 16 points and 14 rebounds, and the Pacers overcame a career-high 36 points by Minnesota’s Randy Foye in a 112-105 victory over the Timberwolves on Friday night.
Not even a 24-8 fourth-quarter run could rescue the Wolves from their fog.
Trailing 94-74 with 8 1/2 minutes left, the Wolves used Foye’s 14 fourth-quarter points to mount a desperate comeback on which Pacers guard Marquis Daniels slammed the door with a clutch jump shot that repelled the Wolves with 36 seconds left after they had pulled within 102-98. It was the final two of Daniels’ team-high 24 points.
That final frantic push wasn’t enough because of those 19 turnovers, including seven by Mike Miller and five by Foye. It wasn’t enough because the Wolves attempted 41 free throws, and made just 23.
Point guard Sebastian Telfair, who followed up a career-high 30-point game in Wednesday night’s win at Miami with a five-point, 1-for-9 shooting performance, blamed it on a lack of aggressiveness.
“We didn’t have any energy,” he said. “Everybody wasn’t loose. We tend to play like that at home. We feel like we’re playing to just play good. We’re not out there being loose and creating and making plays. For some reason we play like that at home, and that’s definitely something that we’re going to have to turn around.”
It all added up to the sixth loss in seven games for the Wolves (18-36), who fell to 1-3 since star center Al Jefferson went down with a season-ending knee injury and will be back at Target Center on Sunday to play the Los Angeles Lakers.
Ryan Gomes shared the spotlight with Foye as the small forward recorded a season-high, 26 points on 10-of-19 shooting from the field. Mike Miller was the only other scoring option for the Wolves and finished with 18 points…
— Kevin Love struggled offensively and finished with just five points, but had another strong rebounding night, finishing with 12. He is on an 11 game streak of having at least nine rebounds.