In Timberwolves history, just getting to Game 6 is monumental

The Timberwolves have already matched the second-longest postseason run in franchise history by reaching Game 6 with Memphis tonight at Target Center (8 p.m., ESPN, BSN).

The only other times the team has played at least six games in a postseason was 2003 — when they lost to the Lakers in six games in the first round. And 2004, when they reached the Western Conference Finals after defeating the Nuggets in five games and the Kings in seven before losing to the Lakers, again, in six.

The Timberwolves have never won a Game 6 and they have never played a Game 6 at home — with the three losses all coming in California.

In 2002-2003, the Wolves finished the regular season 51-31 and were the No. 4 seed with home court advantage against the No. 5 seed Lakers. The Wolves held a 2-1 advantage and had Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant against the ropes in Game 4 in Los Angeles, up 87-82 with under 7 minutes to go.

But the Lakers would rally for a 102-97 win in Game 4 and destroy the Wolves in Game 5 (120-90) and Game 6 (101-85).

That marked the seventh-consecutive season that the Wolves failed to make it out of the first round of the playoffs.

Dan Barreiro wrote in the Star Tribune that the loss only piled onto the view of the Wolves around the NBA:

"Game, set, match.When Saunders & Co. get that all-too-familiar pat on the head from the opposing head coach in the first round of the playoffs, you know the series either is over or about to be.

"Whether Jackson, in an unusual gesture, was just trying to. be nice to Saunders, it is the worst kind of patronizing and all too familiar to the Wolves.They have been told to bask in moral victories many times before."

The franchise would finally take the step they had been waiting for the following season, finishing with the best record in the Western Conference at 58-24 as Kevin Garnett was named MVP.

They broke their first round curse, defeating the Nuggets handily in five games. Then they faced an experienced Sacramento Kings team that had finished 55-27 under Rick Adelman and was battle-tested in the playoffs.

The Wolves won a tight Game 5 at Target Center to go up 3-2 in the series with Game 6 at ARCO Arena in Sacramento. The Kings rolled to a 104-87 win with former Wolves guard Anthony Peeler and Garnett getting into a fight that included am elbow to the chest from Garnett and a punch from Peeler, who was ejected.

Star Tribune reporter Steve Aschburner captured the scene:

"The outrage over Anthony Peeler's left elbow, targeting the side of Kevin Garnett's face (with or without provocation), comes easily.The outrage over all those lime-colored glow sticks being handed out to the NBA's surliest crowd, and then — shockingly, right? — raining down on the court, is futile. The Timberwolves won't be playing back at ARCO Arena this spring, even if the Sacramento Kings decide to hand out anvils next time.

"Some measure of Wolves outrage, though, needed to be reserved for the way they started Sunday in their 104-87 loss in Game 6 of the Western Conference semifinals. Then, if there's any outrage left over, it can be applied liberally to the way, midway through the second quarter, they immediately undercut their own stirring comeback and never got closer than six after that."

After Game 6, Kings center Brad Miller said, "It's just a preview, I'm sure, of Game 7. It's going to be rough."

Garnett was not suspended but came under scrutiny for how he described his attitude heading into Game 7 at Target Center.

The franchises first, and still only, trip to the Western Conference finals ended in six games. The Wolves were dealing with a slew of injuries and fell behind the Lakers 3-1 in the series before wining Game 5 at Target Center.

Game 6 was back in Los Angeles and full of runs. The Lakers led by nine in the second quarter, the Wolves went up four in the third, and held a one-point lead entering the fourth. But, on a Lakers team with a bevy of future Hall of Famers, it was Kareem Rush who sealed the Wolves' fate. He hit six three-pointers for Los Angeles, including a devastating three off a Mark Madsen turnover that pushed the Lakers lead to 89-79 with 3:40 to go in the fourth quarter. That was the end of the series.

After the game Garnett said, "I got a taste of the Western Conference finals. Like [Latrell Sprewell] said in the locker room, it don't mean a thing if you don't win it all. I'm a person who always tries to grab some positive out of a negative. It's something that we've got to build on. This is a nice foundation for the future."

That was May 1, 2004. The Wolves wouldn't make the playoffs again for 14 years. They haven't played a Game 6 since.

That is, until tonight.