Wolves: More twists and turns

The Timberwolves' bothersome relationship with too many turned ankles and too many personal fouls continued Tuesday night.

So, too, did their season-opening losing streak, which reached three games with a 111-103 loss to Orlando at Target Center.

The Wolves lost needed scorer Rashad McCants because of a sprained ankle 11 minutes into the game, never to return on a night when his team once again built a big, early lead it couldn't keep and once again was overwhelmed by the free-throw discrepancy.

The Wolves led 13-4 after four minutes, trailed by as many as 16 points early in the fourth quarter and scratched within a basket with six minutes remaining before veteran Orlando shooter Rashard Lewis finished off what blossoming, young teammate Dwight Howard had started.

"I'd rather start slow and finish big," said Wolves forward Al Jefferson, who did that himself by scoring 12 of his 25 points in the fourth quarter.

Through three games, the Wolves have shot 67 fewer free throws than their opponents. On Tuesday, the Magic owned a 44-25 advantage there, a disparity that inspired Wolves Vice President of Basketball Operations Kevin McHale -- from the arena's fourth row -- to loudly engage official Dan Crawford in a dialogue concerning his night's work.

With starting center Theo Ratliff ill, Wolves coach Randy Wittman improvised, opting for a smallish starting lineup that featured Jefferson at center, Ryan Gomes at forward and Greg Buckner -- the veteran guard who was little more than an afterthought when he was acquired the night before training camp began -- at small forward.

Without McCants, the Wolves relied on a bench four players deep.

Corey Brewer and Marko Jaric (10 assists, 10 points) stepped forth into important roles, rather than being the two meaningful reserves they were Sunday in New York. Brewer played 29 minutes and scored 10 points.

"Those are two key players missing," Gomes said, referring to McCants and Ratliff, "and we still had a chance to win."

For three quarters, Howard dominated Jefferson in a matchup of former prep McDonald's All-America Game teammates.

Howard's 28-point, 16-rebound performance included a 12-for-16 night from the free-throw line. It also lifted the Magic into that 16-point lead only 90 seconds into the fourth quarter. The Wolves, with Jefferson providing the pulse, scored the next 14 points, but Lewis repelled the Wolves in those final six minutes with three pivotal three-point shots on his way to 27 points.

"Randy's going to have to deal with that for quite a while because that's what young teams do," Orlando coach Stan Van Gundy said of the mistakes the Timberwolves made down the stretch.

The extent of McCants' injury wasn't immediately known after Tuesday's game. Already this season, Jefferson, Craig Smith, Randy Foye and Gerald Green also have been slowed because of sprained ankles.

"We've got to start putting some tape and braces on those ankles," Jefferson said.

They also need to stop reaching for the basketball. Wittman attributed another lopsided night at the free-throw line to a team trying to create steals rather than defend and to his players' willingness of settling for jump shots rather than pushing the ball inside. Once again, the foul-prone Wolves gave their opponent bonus free throws with eight minutes still remaining in a quarter when they did so in the third quarter Tuesday.

"Some of that might be bad calls," Jefferson said. "To us, every call is a bad call. But some of that is us, too. That just kills us. First three games, it has killed us."

Jerry Zgoda • jzgoda@startribune.com