Porter and Rubio say they have no issues

WASHINGTON - Timberwolves acting head coach Terry Porter and point guard Ricky Rubio have talked, and both agree that there is no issue between them.

Rubio didn't play in the fourth quarter of Wednesday's loss to Brooklyn at Target Center. He appeared set to check in late in the game. But after J.J. Barea hit a three-pointer, Porter decided to stay with Barea, who played the entire quarter. After the game Rubio, frustrated, made his feelings known.

But after Friday's morning shootaround, Rubio made it clear he has no issue with Porter. "Of course I was frustrated," Rubio said. "I wanted to play. I always want to play. ... But, actually, I didn't even need to talk [to Porter]. The next day I realized that maybe I didn't deserve [to play] because J.J. was hitting the shots. And he's able to get hot at some point and get a lot of points."

Still, Rubio said he apologized to Porter. "Because it came up I was saying something against him," Rubio said. "And I never went against him. It was something that I was against me, by myself, because I was frustrated with me. But it's something that doesn't have to be against him or against the team. We are here, we are a team, and we always try to do the best for the team."

Porter also downplayed the situation. "He was frustrated, like any player would be who wants to play in the fourth quarter," said Porter, a two-time All-Star point guard. "So, really, a dead issue."

Barea, meanwhile, said he took no offense at Rubio's frustration. "I got no issue with him," he said. "He's a competitor just like me, and we all want to be in the game in the last minutes and try to help our team win. I have no problem with that. I'm fine with him. He's a competitor, he wants to win, and I want to win.

"Everybody wants to play at the end of the game. ... Especially now, with us losing some games, and everybody is a little tired of losing."

"He's a flopping guy, so I tried to give him a taste of his own medicine," Watson told the Nets' postgame television broadcast. "I hope I don't get fined, though."

Because it was a first offense, Watson was warned.

"It was a great defensive play," Barea said. "And the refs, they called the charge. But I knew he was going to get a warning after that one."

Barea has appealed his recent fine for flopping. The NBA Players Association is taking up the flopping issue with the league. "I'm finding out that everybody who has gotten [warned or fined] is in the same process," Barea said.

Finally healthyMartell Webster is averaging 10 points this season with the Wizards, the second-highest average in the swingman's eight-year career.

Unfortunately, Wolves fans didn't see enough of the healthy Webster during his two seasons with the team. Acquired from Portland, Webster had to recover from two back surgeries in two seasons. The first forced him to miss the first 24 games in 2010-11, the second the first 18 games of the lockout-shortened 2011-12 season.