Dud ends with loudest thud

A 71-point first half preceded an unmatched meltdown and a defeat that stunned the Wolves and their Target Center witnesses.

By Kent Youngblood, Star Tribune

Last update: March 28, 2007 - 12:44 AM

For nearly three quarters Tuesday at Target Center, fans roared and the Timberwolves offense purred. For every rebound there was an outlet pass, for nearly every field goal, a pretty setup pass.

After that: A self-destruction unlike any Timberwolves fan had ever seen. A meltdown on a scale all others from here on out will be measured against.

The Wolves blew a 25-point lead to Seattle in a 114-106 loss. This came only days after the SuperSonics had finished a game in Seattle with a 19-7 run to beat the Wolves 85-82. But forget that one. This was the biggest lead the team has ever blown. No Wolves team ever has had a lead as large as 25 points midway through the third quarter, and let it go.

Afterward, coach Randy Wittman again talked about how his players stopped playing like a team. Kevin Garnett showed frustration, but directed most of it inward. Randy Foye talked about embarrassment. Asked where the team went from here, Wittman flashed a sardonic smile and said: "Utah."

Listen:

"This is embarrassing for the team," said Foye, who had two points and four turnovers in the fourth quarter.

"It's almost like they sucked our energy from us and just took over from there," said guard Mike James, who scored 13 points through three quarters, none in the fourth.

"We made our beds, so we'll lay in it," Garnett said.

Through three quarters the Wolves had 26 assists on 38 baskets. They were 9-for-14 on three-pointers and had turned the ball over only eight times.

Fourth quarter? The Wolves shot 4-for-15, scored 12 points, made nine turnovers and didn't make a basket over the final 6 minutes, 28 seconds.

At the other end the Sonics got 21 points from Rashard Lewis in the final 12 minutes -- including 9-for-9 on free throws, as both Garnett and Trenton Hassell tried in vain to stop him. But after the game Wittman was more upset with how the team performed on the offensive end.

"It's been the same thing all year," he said. "We play the right way for three quarters. They trap, we swing it. They rotate to me, I swing it. We stopped doing it. We're running down making behind-the-back passes in traffic on a fast break. You're up 20, now it's 18. Try to split a trap instead of moving it and it just snowballs. You don't respect the game or respect your opponent. It comes back to get you every time. There's no reason for this game to be what it was."

And yet it's happened before. Remember that 34-7 fourth-quarter the Lakers dropped on the Wolves on Dec. 20? Or the 17-point lead blown against Charlotte on Feb. 21? Both of those came at home, too. But they were nothing like this.

The Wolves went up 25 on Hassell's jumper with 5:37 left. The Sonics outscored the Wolves 51-18 over the final 17½ minutes. Lewis scored 27 of those points, six as the Sonics pulled within 15 entering the fourth. His two free throws cut the lead to nine at 5:33, his floater cut it to eight at 4;56, another floater made it five at 2:39. Two more free throws at 1:58 cut it to three, then he made two more at 1:07 -- after the Wolves couldn't get the ball over halfcourt -- giving the Sonics the lead for good, 107-106.

Afterward, Garnett said the team got too conservative. Wittman hinted that it had just gotten selfish. In one timeout after another he tried to stop the bleeding. No one listened.

"We didn't have anybody that wanted to step up and say, 'Let's go. Enough,' " Wittman said. "Once it got tight, when they made it a game, they were hoping the clock would run out rather than playing to win. ... Three quarters we were good. We didn't care who shot the ball, who had it. We just played basketball and we were pretty good."

After that? One for the history books.

Kent Youngblood • kyoungblood@startribune.com

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