Wolves put a scare into West's best but fall just short

Not long after the Timberwolves' furious comeback had ended frustratingly short, everyone was talking about how the game against the Golden State Warriors ended.

Ricky Rubio wanted to talk about how it began.

"We have to learn about these games," he said. "That it has to be 48 minutes."

Wednesday at Target Center, a day after two more trades had been made with an eye toward the future, the Wolves showed a couple of things. First, that the future could bring promise. But also that some lessons are being learned too slowly. Down 14 points with just under eight minutes left, the Wolves rallied tie the score twice before falling 94-91 to perhaps the best team in the league.

So it might have been tempting to revel in this moral victory. But Rubio wasn't having it. Neither was coach Flip Saunders, who said he saw a tired team on the floor, one very much needing the All-Star break.

But it was no excuse.

Wednesday the Wolves did a lot of good things. The defense was strong; Warriors star guard Stephen Curry scored 25 points, but he needed 23 shots to do it. Klay Thompson was held to 5-for-14 shooting.

But the Wolves were undone by an unproductive bench, not enough stout play inside and a slow start.

"I'm having to call too many timeouts early in the game trying to get us competitive," Saunders said. "To get us to the way we were in the fourth quarter."

About that fourth quarter.

With the Wolves trailing by 14, Rubio thrust the team back into the game, scoring seven points with six rebounds and two assists over the final seven minutes. It started with a two-minute stretch in which he hit a three-pointer, had a steal and an assist and two free throws that pulled the Wolves within six at 85-79 with 5 minutes, 46 seconds left.

That Warriors lead dwindled to eight, then six, then four, then two, until Pekovic tied the score at 87 with two free throws with 2:12 left.

Thaddeus Young's layup with 1:34 left tied it again, but Thompson answered with a three-pointer. Pekovic hit two free throws with 1:13 left, but the Wolves didn't score again.

But they did have chances: Pekovic missed a layup with 8.9 seconds left. Moments later the Wolves almost intercepted a Warriors inbounds pass.

Almost.

It was a thrilling finish, but it was also telling that the veterans weren't dwelling on it.

"It's hard, but you have to bring energy every night," Rubio said. "That's why we are here to try to teach the young guys we have to play hard every night. … The last quarter we realized we had to pick it up. And we did. But we have to learn."

Rubio finished with 18 points, nine rebounds, five assists and three steals. Kevin Martin had 21 points. Pekovic had 17 points and 13 rebounds. Both Pekovic and Young (15 points) had six points in the fourth quarter.

The Wolves head into the break on the heels of losses to two of the league's top teams, a one-sided loss to Atlanta and Wednesday's nail-biter against the Warriors.

Approaching full health, the Wolves can use the time off to rest, something many of the players need. It's also time to get ready for a stretch run that will be more about team growth than victories, armed with the knowledge that there is enough talent on the roster to hang with a team such as Golden State.

"You look at our team right now, if it was last year, I'd be frustrated," Martin said. "But I'm happy in the way guys didn't quit early on tonight. That shows the makeup of this team."