Perhaps the best thing to come out of the Timberwolves' loss Friday was the continued strong play by Ricky Rubio.
He has been getting better by degrees for a while now. But I think he looked the best he has looked all year while playing a season-high 39 minutes.
Rubio was just 6-for-14 from the field. But he was aggressive, getting to the line nine times. He finished with a season-high 18 points, with 11 assists. It was his second double-double of the season. "He is getting better each game," Wolves coach Rick Adelman said. "He is getting his legs under him. Played a lot of minutes tonight, but he had a solid game. He just has to keep working through it."
Here are some other impressions from tonight's game:
--Derrick Williams had a very strong night, and I think Rubio is a big reason. Williams had eight field goals Friday, and five of those were assisted, all five by Rubio.
--Alexey Shved is struggling with his shot. He was 3-for-10 Friday and is 9-for-29 his last three games.
--Luke Ridnour was stone cold in the third quarter, hitting all five of his shots, some of them difficult ones.
--I know the Wolves are the league's worst three point team. But 1-for-13?
