Wolves suffer back-to-back blowouts

Playing at home for the second night in a row, the team was thoroughly trounced by a Hornets squad missing star Chris Paul.

By Jerry Zgoda, Star Tribune

Last update: November 18, 2007 - 11:32 PM

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NEW ORLEANS 100, WOLVES 82

Up next: 7 p.m. Wednesday • Target Center • TV: Ch. 45 (106.1-FM)

wolves VS. new Orleans, late

Up next: 7 p.m. Wednesday • vs. Cleveland • Ch. 45, 106.1-FM

The Timberwolves searched Saturday for their response to Friday's fourth-quarter collapse against Washington, and all they uncovered was a 100-82 defeat to a surging New Orleans franchise missing its most dynamic player.

The Hornets arrived at Target Center with the Western Conference's best record and without blossoming and injured star Chris Paul. They departed 9-2 overall after committing only four turnovers with Jannero Pargo subbing for Paul at point guard.

Behind by only a basket at halftime, the Wolves trailed by 13 points in the third quarter and by 21 in the fourth on a night when they were outscored 58-42 after halftime before an announced audience of 15,324 at Target Center.

Wolves coach Randy Wittman reconfigured his starting lineup because of center Theo Ratliff's injured knee and defensive considerations, hoping it'd help reveal a team determined to rebound from Friday's 16-point home loss.

Instead, Wittman called the Wolves' seventh loss in their first eight games the most disappointing of the season.

His players didn't argue.

"When we break our huddle, we always say, 'Fight like Wolves,' " point guard Sebastian Telfair said. "I don't know what we were tonight. We didn't bring our fight and when we don't bring our fight, we're not a good team.

"I don't know if tonight was a test or not, but this is not the way. We failed the test. We can't come in and not compete. That's the last thing we can do."

Test results on Ratliff's injured knee, suffered in the third quarter Friday, will be further considered by Ratliff and team physicians Monday. Playing without him Saturday, Wittman moved Al Jefferson to center and gave both veteran Antoine Walker and rookie Corey Brewer their first starts of the season at the forward spots.

In Walker's case, it was reward for his play the past two games out. Brewer replaced Ryan Gomes in the lineup because Wittman wanted more athleticism.

What the rookie witnessed instead was veteran Peja Stojakovic's shooting exhibition, a polished 9-for-16 night when he scored 22 points.

"It was one of those nights," Stojakovic said.

One of those nights that left Brewer grimacing, seemingly in disbelief.

"I know how guys can shoot in this league," Brewer said. "In the NBA, guarding Peja, that's what he does. The way everything went today, I couldn't do nothing to stop him. He's always moving, that's what he does. Probably a pretty good game by Peja."

This same time last year, Paul arrived at Target Center torched Kevin Garnett and the hometown team for 35 points, a career high and the first of four games in which he had led his team in scoring against the Wolves.

On Saturday, Paul watched with a swollen and sore ankle injured in Friday's overtime victory at Memphis while his Hornets teammates slugged the Wolves with a third-quarter run -- 14-4 near quarter's end -- from which the home team never recovered.

The Hornets made nine three-pointers, four by Stojakovic. The Wolves made four on a night when they again settled for too many outside jump shots once the opponent buckled down on Al Jefferson (20 points, 10 rebounds) inside.

"When we get down seven or eight points, we go in the tank," Walker said. "We have to learn to find a way to score to stop the bleeding. This team is playing too tough and too well to give it way away because of six or seven minutes."

Jerry Zgoda • jzgoda@startribune.com

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