Gameday: Wolves at Golden State

Last update: January 20, 2008 - 8:29 PM

Preview: This is the last of four meetings between the two teams. The first three? The Wolves went 0-3. The problem? The Warriors' perimeter game, which the Wolves have struggled to contain.

Players to watch: In three victories over the Wolves, Warriors guards Monta Ellis (25.3 points per game) and Baron Davis (22.3) have been hard to stop.

Numbers: The Wolves, who have lost five consecutive games, are 1-20 on the road. ... Al Jefferson has led the team in scoring 21 times and in rebounding 33 times ... Rashad McCants is averaging 20.1 points in his past eight games. ... Saturday's loss in Denver was the Wolves' ninth after leading or being tied after three quarters.

Caught on tape: Wolves coach Randy Wittman knows it won't do much good, but for the first time this season he sent in clips from the end of the Denver game Saturday where the Wolves felt crucial officiating mistakes were made. "I'm not a big proponent of it," Wittman said Sunday. "I just thought there were blatant things going on that needed to be addressed." Wolves forward Al Jefferson, upset with a series of calls in the closing seconds of the tight loss, was called for a technical with 9.6 seconds left. He was unhappy about a foul not being called when he rose for a dunk, when he was ruled to be standing on the baseline after getting a loose ball and when the Nuggets were given possession of the ball after Antoine Walker's missed shot with 10 seconds left.

Injuries: For the Wolves, G Randy Foye (knee) and C Theo Ratliff (knee) are out. C Michael Doleac (flu) missed Saturday's game but should be available today. For Golden State, G Troy Hudson (hip) is out, and his career might be over. F Austin Croshere (back) is questionable.

KENT YOUNGBLOOD