Nine to go: Down to single digits after 106-97 loss at Orlando

Sorry, had technical difficulties after the game in Orlando and an early flight home this morning, so...

The countdown on the season is at nine games now after the Wolves played the Magic fairly evenly a good bit of the night, but once again were undone by a third quarter that included a 13-2 Magic run.

Afterward, I asked Kurt Rambis if he's searching for things to say after games in a losing streak that has hit 15 games for the second time this season (they've also lost 21 of 22) and he looked at me like I had monkeys coming out of my ears.

Good for him if he's not, because I am.

Here's the game story

www.startribune.com/sports/wolves/89308512.html

And some other stuff from last night:

"Why not?" he said when asked why he'd come back rather than return to Europe.

"I said I wanted to go back (to Europe) because I thought nothing had changed for me by getting traded to New York and not playing. I knew nothing was going to happen and I was just going to finish out the season there. But this summer, if they want me back and they are going to play me this much, and have any goals to be a winning team, then I would like to come back."

Milicic was asked for parts of the game to defend Rashard Lewis out at three-point land while Al Jefferson drew Dwight Howard as a defensive assignment. Milicic helped limit Lewis to 10 points, but Ryan Anderson -- who hurt the Wolves the first time these two teams played but had played six minutes in the Magic's last six game -- came off the bench, hit three threes and scored 19 points while Howard had one of those ho-hum 24-point, 19-rebound double-doubles.

"He is all over the place," Milicic said of Lewis. "For me to chase him all over the court is tough."

Also:

http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/insider/columns/story?columnist=hollinger_john&page=PERDiem-100326

I sat next to David Thorpe, the personal trainer who works with draft's prospects, has helped Corey Brewer find his shot and contributes to ESPN.com. He was watching the Ohio State-Tennessee game on the small TV in front of him with one eye and the game in front of him the other and envisioned, if things finally fall right for the Wolves come lottery time (an optimistic thought, I know), a Wolves perimeter for the next decade that features Ricky Rubio at the point, Evan Turner at the 2 and Brewer at 3, with Flynn becoming a scoring Sixth Man like a Ben Gordon.

Those three guys on the perimeter would finally solve the team's longtime perimeter defensive woes. Thorpe remarked about every time Brewer got his hands on the ball or influenced the game defensively, which was often. Finally, the Wolves would be long -- and not short and slow -- at those positions.

The Wolves practiced Saturday afternoon at Target Center and play Phoenix Sunday there.

No. 16 straight -- which would tie the franchise record -- anyone?