Carney and winning arrive amid applause

The guy who has energized the Timberwolves' recent, unexpected winning ways with his flair for the spectacular is quiet away from the court ... and he bowls.

"He does what?" Wolves forward Al Jefferson asked.

Rodney Carney bowls -- has his own custom ball, too, and once rolled a 288 -- and he runs and he dunks. And, as he showed in Saturday's 106-104 comeback victory over Milwaukee that extended Minnesota's winning streak to five games, he shoots the three.

Until very recently, you probably didn't know he did any of those things. Even his teammates and his coach don't know that he'd like to challenge New Orleans' Chris Paul and Orlando's Dwight Howard for the title NBA's Best Bowler.

"Wow," Wolves coach Kevin McHale said drolly. "That's exciting."

Carney's off-court demeanor doesn't hint at the athlete whose explosive slam dunks and ridiculous hops put his teammates at risk to injury when they bolt off the bench in celebration and veneration.

"That's not how I am, but on the court that's how I play," Carney said. "Spectacular dunks. Threes. Sometimes I get emotional, but not too emotional. Nothing crazy."

His emergence as a regular in McHale's rotation -- increasingly at the expense of Rashad McCants' now almost nonexistent minutes -- coincides with the Wolves' 7-2 record in their past nine games, a stretch that reversed their 4-23 season start.

On Saturday, his season-high 22 points -- three away from his career high -- and four three-pointers in 30 minutes (also a season high) provided the pulse for a team that trailed by 14 points in the first quarter and by 13 late in the third. The Wolves rallied to win although McHale was ejected after the first quarter and Jefferson fouled out with 89 seconds left.

Teammates chanted Carney's name when he returned to the locker room after being interviewed on the team's postgame brodcasts, McHale said.

"Just about everybody likes Rodney a great deal because he works hard every day," said McHale, who acquired Carney from Philadelphia last summer in a bit of salary-cap bookkeeping that brings the Wolves a future first-round pick. "When you get guys like that who didn't complain when he didn't play, you pull for those guys. He's been such a blessing for the team because he's such a great guy to be around. I didn't know he was such a quality team guy, just a diligent worker. He just kind of comes in and does his thing. The best part of [Saturday night] was there was such a genuine happiness for Rod."

Carney impresses with his sheer athleticism, but he has also become a defensive specialist as his role has grown and with Corey Brewer's season over because of a torn knee ligament.

"His energy lifts us up on defense, rebounds, everywhere," Jefferson said. "I know it's fun to see him jump. Sometimes he'll be so high in the air, even he doesn't know what he's going to do. He winds up missing an easy layup because he gets so high, he doesn't even know what he wants to do. He's thinking right up until the last minute."

Carney said he persevered during the weeks earlier this season when he played little by conferring with veteran Kevin Ollie, a teammate since his 76ers years.

"It's all about working hard," said Carney, whose contract option for next season was not exercised by the Wolves last fall and who will be an unrestricted free agent this summer.

"Anything can change in this league," he said. "Some days you might not play, some days will. I had Kevin Ollie to lean on. He has helped me through my whole career. He didn't start in the NBA, he started in the CBA and he has been in the league 12 years now. That's incredible. He always tells me about things he went through. I take a lot from him."

• McHale said he will talk with league representatives about what he considers his unjust ejection Saturday night -- "That'll probably just be for my benefit," he said -- and he also will make them aware the officiating crew erred when they allowed Richard Jefferson to shoot the resulting free throws. Jefferson was not in the game when McHale was ejected and, according to McHale, shouldn't have shot the free throws.