The cardiac crew needed paddles in their 106-92 loss to the Denver Nuggets on Friday night at Target Center.
The Timberwolves' entire season soon might, too.
Coming back from seven points, 12 points and even 15 points in their previous three games, the Wolves at least thought they had resiliency and depths of energy from which to draw, sometimes in time, sometimes too late.
But there was no coming back from the 22-point hole they dug through three quarters against Carmelo Anthony and the Nuggets. Now a bigger question crowds out the one answered so flatly Friday night before a quiet, then cranky, then early-departing home crowd:
Is there any coming back from this defeat?
Kevin Garnett didn't stick around to answer that question, leaving the building while reporters still were querying coach Dwane Casey. Casey had come fairly late out of a coaches' office where decibels sounded more abundant than solutions, and wound up apologizing to fans, through the media, for the dreary performance.
A few players took stabs at capturing the Wolves' failings and confusion at the moment -- "A little bit of everything is hurting us right now," rookie Randy Foye offered -- but guard Marko Jaric, pushing discretion, probably showed the most wisdom.
"I don't want to talk right now about this stuff," Jaric said, admitting that uncertainty over his own role adds to his view. "I'm frustrated. I'm trying to calm down, trying to go sleep over it. But it is frustrating. I don't want to talk in tomorrow's newspaper about what's bad with this team.
"Whatever's bad in this team needs to stay in our family and between us. But like I said, it's very tough."
Someone asked, can it be hashed out among them in a meeting?
"We did have meetings," Jaric said. "We've talked enough. We've talked enough. I think we need to make some changes now."
Change what? Change whatever. It would be hard to wind up with much worse than the Wolves (6-9) displayed Friday. After two off days they were listless at the start, embarrassed in the middle and resigned at the end of what sure looked to be a confidence-rattling loss.
Anthony, the Nuggets star who averaged 26.5 points per game last season and still looks like an early candidate for Most Improved Player, was as smooth as he was unstoppable. Shrugging off Trenton Hassell, the defender who used to pester him so, Anthony scored 35 points to lead the Nuggets (9-5).
Anthony scored 31 in the first three quarters, helping the Nuggets take their 89-67 lead.
Denver did much of its damage with second offensives, fueled on the offensive boards (20) and through Minnesota turnovers.
"Extra possessions on the road is such a big part of your psyche," Nuggets coach George Karl said. "It brings so much confidence to your team when you rebound the ball. You have 10-15 more possessions."
wolves/nba
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