SAN ANTONIO – Contrary to reports elsewhere, the world did not end on Dec. 21, 2012.
But you might swear it's coming soon if you'd seen big Timberwolves center Nikola Pekovic make not one, but two shots from distance in Wednesday's 106-99 comeback victory over Philadelphia.
"The Mayans might have been wrong," teammate Kevin Love said afterward. "Who knows what's next?"
The planet did seem to turn just a bit cockeyed Wednesday after Pekovic received a first-quarter pass from Ricky Rubio away from the basket. He held the ball for a moment, looked back to Rubio and then down underneath toward Love only to see Philadelphia center Spencer Hawes drifting away from him toward Love.
Left all alone and with no better options, Pekovic launched a 17-foot shot from the free-throw line elbow that hit only net.
In the fourth quarter, he did the same, only on a shorter shot near the baseline in the midst of a decisive 10-0 run that punctuated the Wolves' comeback from a 19-point, first-quarter deficit.
Pekovic scored six of those 10 points on his way to a 20-point, 10-rebound night. The other four points came on a layup and a put-back tip-in, just like most of his points are scored: within four feet of the basket.
But those two from distance Wednesday almost looked like jump shots, didn't they?