Wolves show fire, then crash

Jim Mone, Associated Press

Timberwolves point guard Jonny Flynn, left, got a pass past Mavericks star Dirk Nowitzki during Friday’s physical game. Nowitzki led all scorers with 20 points.

Ex-Maverick Ryan Hollins was ejected as his new team lost its ninth consecutive game.

By PHIL MILLER, Star Tribune

Last update: November 14, 2009 - 12:11 AM

They won't be pushed around, these Timberwolves. They won't back away from a challenge.

Well, unless the challenge involves basketball.

The Timberwolves showed commendable spirit and admirable solidarity when Friday's game devolved into a shoving and shouting match. Unfortunately, Dallas displayed its superior ability to turn pique into points, and the result was the Wolves' ninth consecutive loss, 89-77 at Target Center.

Ryan Hollins, a Maverick himself for 27 games last season, became the first Timberwolves player to be ejected in two seasons. His feisty attitude (and errant elbows) in the third quarter earned two technical fouls, not to mention Dirk Nowitzki's fury. "Situations like that, they can go either way," said Wolves guard Jonny Flynn, who raced to his teammates' side and stood toe-to-toe with Nowitzki during the first confrontation, jawing right back at a player nearly a foot taller and 100 pounds heavier. "Sometimes if a guy gets thrown out, it sort of sparks your team. But it had kind of a reverse effect on us."

That's not a shock. Nowitzki has been irritating opponents for a decade; he and his veteran teammates know how to channel their anger. The young Wolves, on the other hand, are more easily distracted. So when Hollins departed to the cheers of the crowd, Timberwolves coach Kurt Rambis warned his team not to let temper overcome focus.

"He told us to keep our poise as much as possible," Flynn said. "But when you go through that, all you're thinking about is ... how you can get back at them -- hit a big shot or something."

But it was Nowitzki, who was also slapped with a technical during the first dust-up, who hit all the big shots. The former league MVP, handcuffed with just seven points to that point, erupted for 13 more over the next seven minutes, with a half-dozen rebounds and three blocked shots for good measure. The Mavs outscored Minnesota 18-6 over the next five minutes and turned a nine-point Dallas lead into a 21-point blowout -- the Mavericks' 13th victory in a row over the Timberwolves.

"We don't know how to dig deep when teams are making their runs," Rambis said. "We don't really know how to execute our offense and work for high-quality shots. When the differential is starting to increase, when they're scoring and we're not, our guys start to lose some of their poise. So they take ill-advised shots, which only speeds up the process."

The process was probably doomed from the start anyway, with Al Jefferson a time zone away after a death in his family. Nathan Jawai started in Jefferson's place, and impressed Rambis with his ability to bedevil Erick Dampier inside on the defensive end, and free himself up for four hoops (and 10 points) inside. Flynn scored 11 points, and Ryan Gomes and Corey Brewer added 10. But without their scoring leader, the Wolves' offense devolved into one bad shot after another, with a season-low 32.6 percent shooting percentage as proof.

"It didn't turn out our way, but we're going to be there to support each other," Jawai said. "This little scuffle, we stood up for each other."

Yep, they've got moxie. Just not victories.

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