wolves/nba

LONDON - After leading his Russian team to a dramatic comeback victory on Thursday, new Timberwolves guard Alexey Shved did not want to think about a matchup with Spain on Saturday.

"I just want to sleep," he said.

Shved has been playing point guard professionally for a little more than a year. He seems to like the ball in his hands. For most of Russia's 75-74 victory over Brazil, Shved was productive but erratic. He even shot an air ball in the fourth quarter.

After Brazil took a lead late in the game, Shved had a driving assist, a pull-up jumper and a three-pointer, before teammate Vitaliy Fridzon hit a game-winning three-pointer from the corner with four seconds remaining.

"I like him,'' Russian forward Andrei Kirilenko, another player signed by the Timberwolves, said of Shved. "He's growing up. Our whole team is growing up together. I think he's taking that role very, very seriously, and I think he's going to keep blossoming.''

Shved finished with 17 points, three rebounds and six assists. He also had six turnovers and missed three of his four free throws. Kirilenko had 19 points, four rebounds and two turnovers. Russia is 3-0 in the round-robin portion of the Olympic tournament.

Shved was asked whether he was aware that Timberwolves fans are following his Olympic performance. "Oh, really?'' he said. "This nice. If everybody say they like me, and they watch our games. We want to win some medals here.''

JIM SOUHAN