Wolves rookie Wiggins starting to live up to the hype

After Wednesday's 113-111 loss to Phoenix, what people wanted to talk to Wolves rookie Andrew Wiggins about most was his last-second three-pointer that could have won the game. Instead it went long, bouncing off the back rim.

It was a disappointing end to an otherwise strong game for Wiggins, whose production is getting more and more consistent and impressive as his first NBA season progresses. Wiggins scored a team-high 25 points on 10-for-16 shooting.

He now has five consecutive games with 20 or more points, joining Sam Mitchell (1989) and Christian Laettner (1993) as the only Wolves rookies to achieve such a streak.

Wiggins is averaging 21.5 points on 51.5 percent shooting over his past eight games. He also has made at least one three-pointer in five consecutive games and in seven of his past eight, after hitting a three-pointer in only nine of his first 26 games.

He's also drawn praise for his defense against Phoenix's unique three-guard attack.

"Wiggins did a lot of things," Wolves coach Flip Saunders said. "Defensively we needed him to guard all those guys. We needed him to guard [Eric] Bledsoe, we needed him to guard [Goran] Dragic, we needed him to guard [Gerald] Green, we needed him to guard [Isaiah] Thomas. We needed him to guard all four of those guys, but we could only put him on one."

Since Milwaukee's Jabari Parker was lost for the season because of a knee injury in mid-December, Wiggins has become the odds-on favorite to win the rookie of the year award. And he's living up to the hype.

Raduljica will provide depth at center, where second-year man Gorgui Dieng has been logging heavy minutes since ankle problems sidelined Nikola Pekovic.

Friday's game in Milwaukee will be significantly more difficult if point guard Mo Williams cannot play. Williams, who finished with 23 points and 11 assists Wednesday for his sixth double-double of the season, sprained his right ankle late in the contest and was limping noticeably after the game.

It was Williams' third consecutive game scoring in double figures.

Williams, who is listed as questionable for Friday's game, had moved into the starting lineup ahead of rookie Zach LaVine. If Williams is out, the Wolves — who are still without Ricky Rubio — will be strapped at the position.

• Anthony Bennett has become one of the more difficult players on the Wolves roster to figure out. Wednesday he came off the bench to score 14 points with 10 rebounds. It was his second double-double of the season, but the first time he had scored in double figures in 15 games. In those 15 games, he failed to score more than two points six times.