wolves/nba

The Timberwolves have seen the future and it used to wear green.

On a night when the Wolves played both the Boston Celtics and a bunch of Celtics (at least former ones), the energy and renewed optimism inside Target Center throughout the 110-85 victory Monday night was palpable.

That makes three games now. Thirty-nine more would be really swell.

"Winning. People want winners," Wolves coach Dwane Casey said. "Minnesota Timberwolves fans want a team that competes. They appreciate the hustle, the scrap, the athleticism, the speed and quickness that these guys are going to blend in and bring to the team."

That the home team never seriously was challenged Monday night explained some of the warm-and-fuzzies; the Wolves led 10-0 within three minutes, by 19 points at halftime and 86-63 heading into the fourth. But the play of the new guys and the twinkle in the eyes of some of the holdovers and their coaches as they watched were every bit as important.

"They know we've got a whole different ball team," said guard Ricky Davis, who got poked in the eyes soon after tipoff by Wally Szczerbiak as the two chased each other all night after swapping teams in Thursday's seven-player trade.

Continued Davis: "It was fun. To go out there and beat those guys like that, it shows the home crowd what the trade was all about."

Davis, in 32 minutes, finished with only nine points (he scored 46 in his first two for the Wolves) but had five rebounds, five assists and two steals. Center Mark Blount, off the bench, had 16 points, 10 rebounds and four blocked shots, playing with the sort of vim and vigor the Celtics craved more often.

Forward Justin Reed had nine points and a block. And point guard Marcus Banks, who missed the first two post-trade games while attending his grandfather's funeral in Las Vegas, played without a practice and was a revelation, scoring 20 points, dishing six assists and showing quickness that the Wolves (21-22) haven't had since, well, maybe ever.

"A new team breathing new air," forward Kevin Garnett said, his approval coming entirely from the bench as he sat out the lopsided fourth quarter. "We have a lot of potential. It's up to not only the coaching staff but ourselves to develop that potential. We have a real special thing here."

Garnett scored 15 points and had nine rebounds, Eddie Griffin scored 10 of his 12 points in the first quarter, and Trenton Hassell also scored 12. Said Casey: "The old and the new did about as good a job as you can do of blending in."

As classy as the standing ovation for Szczerbiak was during introductions -- a nod to Szczerbiak's years of service and popularity, only four days after being shipped to Boston in the unexpected trade -- the three that the made-over Wolves got as they left the floor at halftime, as they came out to start the fourth quarter and as the final seconds ticked off at the end were more significant. Stirring, even.

Michael Olowokandi, the former Wolves center who became a Celtic in the deal? He subbed in late in the opening quarter to, er, a sitting boo, then got hooted at when he touched the ball during his stint of 3 minutes, 36 seconds.

Szczerbiak -- whose wife, Shannon, gave birth earlier in the day to the couple's second daughter right here in the Twin Cities, a major schedule break for the young family -- scored 22 points in his return to Target Center and twice caught himself nearly high-fiving Wolves players out of habit. Paul Pierce added 21 for Boston, but he and Szczerbiak shot 13 of 38 for a team that sputtered along at 38 percent. The Wolves shot 57 percent, grabbed a 43-35 rebounding edge and, with Banks pushing the pace, outscored Boston 20-9 on fast breaks.

The Celtics (18-27) lost for the third time in four games, dropped to 4-18 on the road and felt after this one pretty much the way the Wolves might have, had Szczerbiak and Olowokandi starred and triumphed Monday night.

"They wanted to prove a point. We didn't have that same zest," Celtics coach Glenn (Doc) Rivers said. "If Mark [Blount] can play with that type of passion every night and be that verbal and give guys high-fives, he will be a terrific player. I told him that every day that he was with me."