New Timberwolves coach Kurt Rambis put the ball into the hands of rookie point guard Jonny Flynn when it mattered most in the team's season opener Wednesday against New Jersey. He did so even though he admitted that Flynn, until then, had done "some good things and some really bad things" in his first NBA game. He did so because, well, Flynn better get used to it.
"I just thought it was important to put the ball in his hands and show him I have confidence to make the right decision," Rambis said. "That's something he'll have to get used to as he grows as a player. Several years from now, the ball will be in his hands and he'll be calling plays and he'll know what to do."
Rambis put the ball in Flynn's hands for the final 18 seconds of a tied game Wednesday, after the Wolves had trailed by 19 points in the third quarter, by 16 with less than seven minutes left and then delivered a 24-6 finish that included Flynn creating a shot with three seconds left that missed, but which Damien Wilkins scored on a put-back bank shot as the buzzer sounded for a two-point victory.
"Every player in every locker room wants the ball in their hands," Flynn said. "That's the opportunity where you really establish yourself. That just shows how much confidence he has in me. That means a lot."
Flynn scored 13 of his team-high 18 points in the fourth quarter of a game he wasn't sure he'd play after he fell ill the two previous days. Flynn was 7-for-8 from the free-throw line in the final quarter.
"He showed me everything he has shown me since he's been here," Wolves forward Al Jefferson said. "He's a beast. He's tough. He's tough as nails. He just attacking and the referees had to call fouls. He was the reason we won the game."
WOLVES 95, NETS 93: The Wolves trailed by 19 in the third quarter, by 16 with just 6:51 left and then produced a finishing 24-6 flourish that ended with Damien Wilkins' put-back bank shot at the buzzer.
New Jersey center Brook Lopez scored 27 points, all of them in the first three quarters, and had 15 rebounds on a night when new coach Kurt Rambis finally found a defensive combination featuring Jonny Flynn, Corey Brewer, Wayne Ellington and Al Jefferson that worked.
The Wolves trailed by four points with 2:19 left and led by two with 23 seconds left, but Devin Harris' short running shot tied the game with 18.5 seconds left.
The Wolves had the ball last and Flynn held it until the final seconds. His jumper with three seconds left missed, but Jefferson batted at it, then Brewer batted at it and finally Wilkins ended up with the ball and banked it in off the backcourt as he fell to the court just as the buzzer sounded.
The officials gathered to watch the television replay before ruling the shot good.
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