AUBURN HILLS, Mich. – Late in Sunday's game between the Timberwolves and Pistons at the Palace of Auburn Hills, Detroit coach Stan Van Gundy, near apoplexy much of the night, stood, yelled and was called for a technical foul.
Now, ostensibly, Van Gundy was arguing a call. But here's a suggestion: Maybe after seeing Wolves center Nikola Pekovic lay waste to his vaunted and athletic frontcourt, Van Gundy simply snapped.
Here are two things to come out of Minnesota's 112-101 victory, which gave them their first three-game winning streak since early March of last year:
No Ricky Rubio? No problem, at least for one night. And:
When Pekovic is really rolling, everything becomes easier.
Pekovic scored a season-high 29 points, leading a starting five that, all scoring in double figures, accounted for 98 points.
"He's a load," Wolves coach Flip Saunders said.
"We didn't compete very hard against him," countered a still-upset Van Gundy.