It's curtains for Wolves after drama goes to wire

Even after Toronto's T.J. Ford had shredded Minnesota's defense at will, the game still came down to free throws, and a final three-point try that missed its mark.

By Steve Aschburner, Star Tribune

Last update: December 27, 2006 - 11:07 PM

TORONTO - When T.J. Ford, Toronto's elusive point guard, got into the lane for about the 147th time against the Timberwolves on Wednesday night and hit a running jumper from 11 feet, that should have been it. Done. Finished.

Ford's shot with 29.9 seconds left put his club up 95-91, a coveted four-point cushion. What came next, though, was a whole lot of melodrama and comedy, errors passing for excitement, a pivotal few seconds for Wolves guard Mike James at the free-throw line and coulda-woulda-shoulda moments at the Air Canada Centre that might have distracted the audience from a few hard facts:

The Wolves (12-14) lost 100-97 to a Toronto team missing forwards Chris Bosh and Morris Peterson, its top and third-ranked scorers, respectively, to injuries. Yet the Raptors found ways to make up the 32.4 points they average, even topping their team scoring average by three.

Ford became the latest in a line of quick ball handlers who have pierced the heart of Minnesota's defense, causing breakdowns close to the basket and opportunities either for themselves or teammates cutting to the basket or waiting around the perimeter. With 28 points and seven assists, he outplayed James in a clash of Toronto's past and present point guards. Raptors backup Jose Calderon was right there, too, with seven points in the final quarter.

Randy Foye, despite lots of circumstantial evidence to the contrary, still is a rookie. That means that, 24 hours after his dynamic finish against Chicago, Foye struggled in the fourth quarter, with three turnovers, no assists and some mistakes at the other end as well.

Center Rasho Nesterovic, more tolerated than respected during his four-plus seasons in Minnesota, effectively guarded Kevin Garnett for serious stretches. Whether it was Nesterovic's size, his solid fundamentals, his refusal to foul or Garnett pressing in an effort to exploit the matchup, the Wolves star had five points in the first half on 2-for-8 shooting and scolded himself afterward for getting too hyped.

The Wolves are lousy closers, failing to protect a third-quarter lead (76-71) for the fourth time this season. In the fourth quarters of their seven previous games, they had averaged 19.1 points on 34.1 percent shooting, while giving up 25.9. So what did they do at Toronto? Scored 21, shot 35.3 percent and gave up 29.

In spite of all that, the Wolves had more chances over those final 29.9 seconds to save themselves than many teams get in entire quarters. A little pluckiness on their part and a lot of mess-ups by the Raptors (13-16) made it all possible.

After Ford's aforementioned runner capped a 9-1 run and Foye got called for an offensive foul moments later, Toronto's Anthony Parker missed two free throws. Calderon missed one at 18.9 seconds, and the Wolves raced down for layups after each to get within 96-95.

Ford tried again, his foul shots at 11.4 seconds getting the margin to three. That's when the Raptors failed to foul Garnett on the inbounds catch but did foul James outside the arc. James, whose 92.8 success rate ranked third when the night began, stepped up for his only three free throws of the night. Through boos, he sank one ... then missed the second. Finally, the capacity crowd cheered him.

"I rushed it," James said.

"That's my fault," Raptors coach Sam Mitchell said, about fouling the wrong guy.

James didn't intentionally miss the third because the Wolves, trailing 98-97, felt they still had time. They put Parker back on the line but this time, he sank both. His team out of timeouts, Foye pushed the ball up the left side and Garnett launched a three-pointer with time running out, but it kicked off the back of the rim.

"We'll figure it out, man," Garnett said. "We'll figure it out someday."

Steve Aschburner • saschburner@startribune.com

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