Wolves: Blowout drains visitors even more

The Wolves' big lead was safe this time, thanks to a travel agenda that took the bounce out of the late-arriving Sonics' step.

By Kent Youngblood, Star Tribune

Last update: December 29, 2006 - 11:11 PM

Every once in a while the NBA will give you a game like this. It's inevitable, really, with the combination of the grueling schedule, the reality of air travel and the unpredictability of weather during the winter months.

Check, check and check.

Seattle got the triple whammy and the Timberwolves got the spoils in a 101-82 victory Friday at Target Center.

The Sonics got to the Twin Cities on Friday afternoon a tired bunch. They got whipped Thursday in Denver. Then the combination of snow and mechanical problems kept them on the tarmac until the wee hours before retreating to their Denver hotel. An early wakeup call and flight to Minneapolis had the Sonics sleep-deprived and ready to sleepwalk through the second half of a hellish back-to-back.

And who were the Wolves to argue?

They went into the game knowing that a lot of energy early would make the going easy later. And it was Mark Blount and Ricky Davis who provided it. So what if the Wolves started the game a little sloppy? With the Sonics missing nearly everything they tossed up, it didn't matter.

Blount scored 10 of his 18 points in the first quarter. Davis scored 24, nine in the first, seven in the second and eight in the third before watching in the fourth. The Wolves pounded the Sonics on the boards and beat them up the floor. Afterward the Sonics tried to duck the travel issue, but ...

"It's one of those nights where we were very, very tired," Seattle coach Bob Hill said.

Said Wolves coach Dwane Casey: "I feel for them -- after the game."

The Sonics didn't have their legs. Either shooting -- they shot 34 percent in the first, 29.4 in the second and 23.8 in the third -- or on defense. The Wolves, emptying their bench, shot an even 50 percent.

"We took advantage of them coming in late because of the snowstorm, and we just wanted to jump on them right away," Blount said. "And we did that and then did a good job of just staying on top of them."

Trenton Hassell and Marko Jaric helped hold Ray Allen to 4-for-16 shooting (0-for-7 on threes), and the rest of the Sonics followed suit.

The Wolves led by eight after the first quarter, by 17 at the half. When the SuperSonics came out and hit only two of their first 14 shots in the third quarter, the Wolves stretched that lead to 24 before cruising home.

Perhaps that will help the Wolves in their back-to-back. They play in New Jersey tonight and should be fresh; not one starter played 32 minutes Friday.

"In a situation like that, you don't know if a team is wounded, whether they will come out rabid, or are they going to kind of fight a little bit and pack it in," Casey said.

Turns out it was the latter.

Kent Youngblood • kyoungblood@startribune.com

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