Wolves/Lakers - Beat the Streak

This past Tuesday, March 6th, marked my fifth anniversary.  Nope, not my wedding anniversary - that's not for a few more weeks.  Tuesday was the 5 year anniversary of the last time I saw my favorite basketball team beat the LA Lakers.  That night at Target Center, Ricky Davis was 2 assists shy of a triple-double (33 points, 10 rebounds, 8 assists), KG poured in 26 and 17, Rashad McCants played 22 minutes off the bench, and Marko Jaric and Mark Blount started at the 2 and 5 respectively.  Kobe had his usual performance against the Wolves, scoring 40 points, 13 boards, and 8 assists.  Even Smush Parker scored 24 that night, but it wasn't enough as the Timberwolves outscored the Lakers 12-2 in the 2nd overtime to win 117-107.  It's been 17 straight Laker victories since that night.

This is what Kobe thought of Smush Parker.

The JJ Barea Show

The first 42 minutes of the Wolves/Jazz game last night felt like that commercial from about ten years ago where a tall guy has his hand on top of the head of the short guy holding him at arm’s length.  The short guy says “Don’t make me…sweep the leg.”  Of course he can’t reach him because his legs are too short.  Maybe it was a movie – I don’t remember.  The last 6 minutes however, were the JJ Barea show.

Linsanity Ruins the Day for the Wolves

The Timberwolves have now dropped 11 of their last 13 games at the Pepsi Center in Denver, dating back to the 2005-06 season.  What a frustrating loss it was last night.  The Wolves were 6-27 (22.2%) from deep, shot 36.4% overall on the night, missed a bunny in the end, and watched Martell Webster go in for a dunk down 3 with time running out.  It’s hard not to be a little depressed this morning knowing that a win last night, combined with Portland’s loss to the Lakers, would have put the Wolves in a nice little tie for the #8 spot in the Western Conference with Denver and Portland.  As it stands, once again the Wolves are held at arm’s length 2 games back from Memphis and Denver, currently in the #7 and #8 spots in the West.