Jefferson outshines rookies

Jeff Wheeler, Star Tribune

The Wolves' Al Jefferson got fouled by the Grizzlies' Darrell Arthur and Hakim Warrick. Jefferson led the Wolves with 38 points and 16 rebounds in a 108-98 overtime victory.

Kevin Love and O.J. Mayo both had their moments in the fourth quarter, but the driving force behind the Wolves' overtime victory was Al Jefferson, who scored 38 points.

By JERRY ZGODA, Star Tribune

Last update: December 30, 2008 - 7:54 AM

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WOLVES 108, MEMPHIS 98 (OT)

Up next: 7 tonight at Dallas • American Airlines Center • TV: FSN (1130-AM)

The Timberwolves defeated Memphis 108-98 Monday night with Al Jefferson and Kevin Love playing beside each other for the entire fourth quarter and all but 10 seconds of overtime -- just as Kevin McHale envisioned they might when he swung that midnight deal six months ago.

The Wolves won for the second time in three games with the Grizzles and O.J. Mayo in town for the first time since McHale swapped Mayo for Love and Mike Miller in an eight-player, draft-night deal that has looked decidedly lopsided here in the very early going.

The Wolves set a franchise record by making one field goal in the second quarter, a quarter in which McHale said his players "sent basketball back to about 1952." They also made only one of 15 three-point attempts all night, and yet they prevailed because of Jefferson's 38-point, 16-rebound night and Love's most energized performance in weeks, coming on a night when he faced a former collegiate rival for the first time as a pro.

Until Monday, Love had scored 21 points in his previous eight games. Mayo, the leading scorer among NBA rookies with a 20.1 average and the early frontrunner for Rookie of the Year, has scored more than 21 in 12 of 31 games this season, including Monday's 23-point game.

But this time, Love delivered a 17-point, seven-rebound night, one that McHale -- the team's VP of basketball operations on draft night and its coach now -- said in no way can be attributed to Mayo's presence. But until Monday, McHale also hadn't run offensive plays for Love when it counted, as he did in the fourth quarter, when Love issued a challenge with consecutive baskets that Mayo answered by scoring Memphis' next seven points.

"I tell you what, if that's what it takes to motivate you, you shouldn't be in the NBA," McHale said. "You need to be an accountant for ... what was one of those firms that went under? One of the many."

In the end, the Grizzlies had no answer for Jefferson, whose 38 points were two shy of his career high. He scored half his points in the fourth quarter and overtime. Jefferson scored as many points as Memphis did in a 19-9 OT for the Wolves.

"Al was tonight, and is every night, a beast," Wolves guard Randy Foye said.

That, according to Jefferson, made two beasts on Monday. "Kevin Love just has to have confidence," he said. "Sometimes he doesn't know how big of a beast he is, so I have to tell him."

Love said Mayo's presence didn't contribute to his performance but acknowledged it was satisfying nonetheless because "it kind of got me out of my slump" and because he even had a few plays run for him.

"Mac had some trust in me," Love said.

Foye pointed out afterward that the final score read Minnesota 108, Memphis 98, not Mayo 23, Love 17.

"I hate it when they do that, make comparsions between O.J. and Kevin Love," said Foye, who was traded for Brandon Roy on draft night 2006. "I know a lot about that. I don't pay attention. People can say what they want to say, but it's not about that. People may be upset, but you can't change the decisions made on draft night."

Notes

• Mike Miller, who played six seasons for Memphis, missed his fourth consecutive game -- and his eighth this month -- because of a sprained right ankle he reinjured 10 days ago. Wolves coach Kevin McHale said he wants to give Miller three more days of running to get his conditioning back.

• Marko Jaric, part of that eight-player trade, played two minutes for Memphis, and Greg Buckner played nine.

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