I'm going make this short and sweet tonight after the Wolves forged ahead without injured Kevin Love and pushed the Mavericks to the final minute in Dallas before they surrendered a closing 11-2 run and lost 104-96.
Lost Without Love?: Wolves push Mavs, lose late 104-96
Randolph scores career-high 31 in first start as a Timberwolf
March 25, 2011 at 9:40PM
Anthony Randolph got his chance tonight -- to start in Love's place and play the big minutes (36) that so many fans have been clamoring for -- and he didn't disappoint.
His career-high 31-point, 11-rebound performance offered a little of everything: He scored inside, outside, altered shots on defense with his length and agility and just as the Mavs were pulling away at the end, he gave the Wolves' their last gasp by pushing the ball on the break like a point guard and threading one of loveliest passes of the season to Jonny Flynn for a layup that brought the Wolves within two in the final 75 seconds.
Here's the game story from tonight with Randolph's quote about having nothing to prove, etc., etc.
Randolph, btw, was the only starter Kurt Rambis brought back in the fourth quarter, and he didn't come back until 5:30 was left because Rambis went with reserves Flynn, Webster, Ellington and Tolliver for all of the fourth quarter.
That left the other four starters -- including the real Mike Beasley -- watching from the sidelines.
Beasley probably was there for a number of reasons: He committed five of the team's 17 turnovers and let Peja Stojakovic get away too many times for threes (4 for 8).
Afterward, Rambis said simply that he liked the way the reserves were moving the ball and playing defense and decided to stick with them, even though they faded at the end and saw the night's final chance evaporate when Flynn made a bad pass and committed the night's final turnover with 55 seconds left.
He slipped out of the locker room without comment afterward while I and other reporters were gathered around Randolph after his big night, but Beasley did tweet something interesting after the game as the Wolves headed for a plane that took them to Oklahoma City for Friday's game.
Actually, it was a retweet of this Twitter posting by somebody else: @Twolveslady: I sure wish coach would just let @RealMIkebeasley play his game!
We'll see what he has to say about that retweet and tonight's game, if anything, before Friday night's game against the Thunder.
That's all from Dallas tonight.
Any thoughts on Beasley's retweeting, Randolph's career night or what you thought about potential lottery pick Derrick Williams tonight playing for Arizona?
Blog at ya tomorrow...
UPDATE FRIDAY AFTERNOON 4 p.m. FROM OKLAHOMA CITY:
Did you see today that Beasley's Twitter page now is gone?
What previously was RealMIkebeasley now gets you "sorry, that page doesn't exist."
Niko Medved could be the next Gophers men’s basketball coach after making his third NCAA tournament in four seasons with Colorado State.
