The Wolves' victory Tuesday night improved their record to 13-12, marking the first time they've been over .500 this late in the season since 2007 and the first time they've been 13-12 through 25 games since 2005-2006.To me, there were two keys to the game: Ricky Rubio's passing and defense, and Nik Pekovic's dominant inside play.My column for the Wednesday paper focussed on Kings center DeMarcus Cousins, and how talented the Wolves would be if they had drafted him instead of Wes Johnson. But on this night, Pekovic's physical play and defense hassled Cousins into a 3-for-13 shooting performance.Before the game, Wolves coach Rick Adelman said that Pekovic is his starting center. It will be interesting to see whether Darko Milicic pouts, or, if he does, whether anybody will be able to tell.What's fascinating is watching the way Wolves coach Rick Adelman uses his roster. Tuesday night, with Kevin Love suspended, Adelman started Derrick Williams (14 points, 8 rebounds) and used Anthony Tolliver for 22 minutes for defensive purposes.Adelman didnt' play Anthony Randolph, Martell Webster or Wayne Elllington. Ellington is a better player than Wes Johnson, but Adelman is obviously giving Johnson every opportunity to prove he deserves to be in the NBA.With Love out, Pekovic became a big part of the offense, shooting 12 times and producing 23 points. Predictably, Michael Beasley took 21 shots in 31 minutes to produce 17 points. Now, 17 points and 14 looks impressive, but he went 7-for-21 from the field. He's maddening.More stuff, courtesy of the Timberwolves' PR staff:-Rubio finished with 14 assists, tying a season high. He had eight in the first quarter. He was plus-11 on the night and is a team-leading plus-95 on the season. He also finished with five steals, the 14th time this season he's had three or more.-Pekovic has had four double-doubles in the last two weeks. The Wolves are 4-1 with him in the starting lineup and 6-2 when he plays more than 20 minutes.------------------------------------------------------------------------I'll be on 1500espn at 2:05 p.m. Wednesday and every weekday. Please follow me on Twitter at @Souhanstrib.