Unusually good game with usual result

Since tonight's game story focused on the franchise-record losing streak and the Wolves' confidence that they're better than their record, I didn't have a chance to use an adjective that really hasn't come up much around the Wolves lately: Entertaining.

For a few weeks now, Target Center visitors have displayed so little intensity, I'm not sure they all bothered to tie their shoes. And the games reflected that punch-the-timeclock approach. Bad, boring basketball.

Maybe the Suns just aren't capable of being dull, but whatever the reason, both teams were obviously willing to work on Sunday, and they produced the most interesting game in weeks. Smart plays, aggressive defense, a real effort to get back and prevent fast-break baskets -- it was nice to see that winning was still so important.

"We're not a great team. we have to play hard every night to win," Suns coach Alvin Gentry said bluntly. "We're not the Lakers or Cleveland -- we can't turn it on and off. We win because we're focused and we play hard and play with great energy."

The Wolves did too, even though they have won just once since Feb. 6 -- and even, impressively, when they fell behind by 25 in an ugly (40-19) second quarter. There couldn't have been more than a half-dozen souls in Target Center who believed that Minnesota would rally from that deficit, but the Wolves somehow recovered their mojo at halftime. And when Phoenix's arsenal of three-pointers began missing, Minnesota (and particularly Al Jefferson and Kevin Love) charged right back.

"I always felt like we were going to come back," said Wayne Ellington. "I thought we were going to win when we came out for the second half. I always feel like we've got a chance."

He was almost right. Minnesota got within one point with 8:30 to play, but couldn't keep the momentum going. A classic case of wearing themselves out by climbing back into the game? Perhaps -- but Amar'e Stoudemire (and the Wolves' inability to keep him away from the basket) seemed like a bigger reason.

A couple more items from an unusually loud Target Center:

-- The losing streak also obscured the extra-large night from Kevin Love, who set a new career high in rebounds (22) while also enjoying his best scoring night (23 points) since Jan. 31. "It is very cool," Love said about his rebounding mark, "especially against a good team."

Funny thing is, Love appeared frustrated several times during the game by his defense, and the Suns certainly had little trouble getting to the basket. Phoenix piled up more than half of their points, 58 out of 111, in the paint, and the string of layups got to be a little dizzying.

Maybe that's why coach Kurt Rambis didn't exactly knock himself out lavishing praised on Love's big night. He was complimentary, but used the post-game question to remind everyone that Love is capable of those heroics every night. "Kevin's working on continuing to play hard. He's the type of player that is just going to have to keep his head down and play his ass off when he's on the floor," Rambis said. "When he doesn't let anything bother him, he's an all-star caliber player."

Does that seem like a pretty obvious hint? Left unsaid was the way that Love has been letting things -- presumably, his role as a bench player -- bother him of late. He'd averaged only 9.8 points over his last eight games before Sunday's breakout.

-- Rambis pointed out, correctly, that Minnesota's losing streak is partially the result of an impossible schedule. Only two opponents during this 16-game skid won't be in the playoffs next month. "This is the cream of the crop -- the elite teams in the league, fighting for spots and gearing up for the playoffs," Rambis said. "The fact that we can do a lot of good things against them is a good sign." It was also Phoenix's seventh straight win.

-- Not much doubt that the Wolves would have won if they had had just an average shooting night. But Darko Milicic was 3-for-13, Corey Brewer and Jonny Flynn were each 3-for-9, and Al Jefferson, though he scored 10 critical fourth-quarter points, also went 3-for-8 in the period. On the other hand, Phoenix allowed Minnesota to rally in part because they stopped making their own jumpshots. After going 8-for-13 on three-pointers in the first half, the Suns were just 2-for-14 after halftime.

-- Stoudemire's name is bouncing around the league again. This time he's rumored to be headed to Miami when he becomes a free agent this summer, to team up with Dwyane Wade. Stoudemire's reputation is a mixed bag, but he proved on Sunday that when he's focused, he's almost impossible to stop around the basket. It helps to have Steve Nash as a teammate, since he's so good at finding Stoudemire in a crowd under the basket, but the power forward knows what to do with the ball. He had some huge dunks Sunday, including one power slam over Ryan Hollins that so impressed himself, he walked backwards down the floor, posing as he went.

-- Steve Nash's back flared up Saturday, and Gentry said before the game he wasn't sure his point guard would play. He did, of course, and was his usual do-everything self. He even got a little physical with Ramon Sessions, knocking him backward with an elbow while pursuing a loose ball at one point.

-- Rambis finished his postgame press conference by saying, "Somehow, some way, we've got to find ways to put in at least 46 minutes of playing good, scrappy, hard-nosed time out there in order to get us a win." Wait, 46 minutes? Didn't he mean 48? "Well, it's probably impossible to play that way all 48," Rambis said with a smile. "Give 'em a break."