In his third game back after nearly three months away, Timberwolves point guard Ricky Rubio gave the crowd both a scare and reason to scream during Friday night's 90-89 comeback victory over a muscular Memphis Grizzlies team that hadn't lost in 18 days.
Just minutes after he ran off the Target Center court and through the tunnel while his team's heart skipped a collective beat, Rubio scored the game's final five points over the final 34.8 seconds. By doing so, the Wolves won consecutive games by one point, a franchise first.
"Is that called a winning streak?" Wolves coach Flip Saunders said afterward.
Technically it is, although not one the Grizzlies — who saw their eight-game winning streak end — might recognize.
The Wolves now have beaten Miami and Memphis consecutively in three nights by making a defensive stand that won each game at the final buzzer. To get there Friday, the Wolves needed Rubio — their pass-first point guard — to score eight points over the final 1 minute, 47 seconds and 10 points in the fourth quarter alone.
Until Monday's loss at Dallas, Rubio hadn't played since he tore a muscle and bruised a bone when he severely sprained his left ankle Nov. 7 in Orlando.
"Moments like that, all the hard work I've been doing on my rehab, it's so worth it," Rubio said. "By playing, it's all I'm asking. Get healthy and I work hard. I work for these kind of moments. This is why I love basketball, for moments in games like that."
He left the court midway through the fourth quarter, after he made a layup and came down wrong on that ankle, falling underneath the basket. Once upright, he ran limping the length of the court and then jogged out of the arena bowl while an announced crowd of 14,388 fans lost its breath.