wolves gameday
8:30 P.M. VS. PHOENIX • ESPN/FSN, 830-AM
Preview: The 20-12 Suns and rookie head coach Jeff Hornacek are the surprise story of the league this season and have won three of their past four games and 11 of their past 14. They have played the past two games without injured Eric Bledsoe, half of their two point-guard backcourt that has transformed their season. … Phoenix has won 11 of its past 15 meetings with the Wolves, but the Wolves are 3-2 since they snapped the Suns' nine-game winning streak in March 2012. … The Suns' flight to Chicago on Monday was delayed and then postponed because of bad, frigid weather. So they flew on Tuesday morning and arrived about seven hours before game time to start a five-game, seven-day trip.
Players to watch: Suns guard Goran Dragic — the other half of that two point-guard backcourt — is averaging 20.3 points, 5.3 assists and 1.9 steals and is shooting 49.7 percent from the field and 39 percent on three-pointers in his past 12 games before Tuesday night. … Former Wolves swingman Gerald Green has moved into Bledsoe's spot and is averaging 15.9 points in 14 starts this season. … Wolves center Nikola Pekovic is averaging 23.3 points and 11.0 rebounds over his past nine games. He has seven double-doubles in his past eight games.
Injuries: Wolves F Luc Mbah a Moute (strained groin) is questionable and F Chase Budinger (knee surgery) could return any game. Suns G Bledsoe (sprained knee) and C Emeka Okafor (herniated disc) are out.
JERRY ZGODA