HOUSTON - In terms of their bottom line, the Timberwolves' plot-twisting, heart-stopping, no-flipping, late-game dramatics hasn't been going so well lately: Three cardiac comebacks in their past three games, but only a 1-2 record.
In terms of some seriously hacked-off opposing head coaches, though, the Wolves haven't missed yet. What the Clippers' Mike Dunleavy dealt with in Minneapolis on Saturday and what Avery Johnson cold-sweated through in Dallas on Monday, Houston's Jeff Van Gundy got a load of in his team's 82-75 victory at the Toyota Center on Tuesday night.
Down (again) after three quarters, this time 54-47, the Wolves clawed back (again) to tie, this time 68-68 with 4 minutes, 42 seconds emaining. Everything Van Gundy and his staff had scouted on video -- rookie guard Randy Foye taking over, Minnesota running a 12-minute roundball version of football's two-minute drill -- was happening live before their eyes.
In another 24 hours, it would become a teaching opportunity, same as with Dunleavy and Johnson. As it took place, though, it was no fun and completely unacceptable. Van Gundy angrily called one time out, then another a few minutes later. Later, he tried to give credit, rather than lay blame.
"We didn't 'let them back in the game,' because that's the negative way to look at it," he said. "The more positive way to look at it is that they did some good things because they're pros and they're trying."
Trying like crazy lately. In the final quarter.
Down the hall, Wolves coach Dwane Casey was fielding irritating questions, too. Such as: Can't your team play the first three quarters the way it plays the fourth? And: What's so different about that fourth?
"Definitely our intensity level goes up," Casey said. "Attack mode goes up. We were getting into the paint, we were playing basketball. We were making smart decisions. I think that was the difference in the fourth quarter."
Unfortunately, the whole comeback strategy only works if the other team misses a series of increasingly desperate shots. And it absolutely fails if, instead of hitting two-pointers, that team catches fire in time to score repeatedly from three-point range.
Finding space against a Wolves zone defense that had been pretty helpful to that point, the Rockets nailed three consecutive shots from the arc to bust that 68-68 tie and cripple the comeback. Shane Battier hit twice from the right corner, first with Marko Jaric pestering him, next with Troy Hudson running over. Then Yao Ming passed out front to Rafer Alston, whose 26-footer made it 77-70.
The Wolves (6-8) got only one more basket after that.
"I can't tell you why," said Foye, who scored his team's first seven points in the rally. "In the fourth quarter, we're trying to execute and make a run, but sometimes it's too late."
Defensively, Minnesota was fine; Houston (10-4) shot 38 percent. Take away Yao (25 points, 10 rebounds) and the other Rockets were 19-of-64.
Offensively, however, the Wolves were a mess. Only Kevin Garnett (25 points, 11 boards) had reached double figures until Foye joined in with his last basket. They scored a season-low 31 points in the first half and got off 65 shots overall, another season low that can be traced directly to 20 turnovers and six offensive rebounds.
Steve Aschburner • saschburner@startribune.com
wolves/nba
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