--G Corey Brewer made just one of his first 11 shots and went 3-for-14 for the night Wednesday, but he made a crucial baseline jumper with 93 seconds with the Wolves trailing by three points.

--F Al Jefferson, playing in his first game back since February knee surgery, scored just nine points and had four rebounds in more than 24 minutes, but provided a huge block on a Brook Lopez shot in the final 30 seconds.

--F Nathan Jawai was inactive because he was acquired just last week, but Rambis hinted the big-bodied Australian might see active Friday when Shaquille O'Neal and Cleveland come to Target Center.

--C Mark Blount is persona non grata with the Wolves. He stayed away during preseason while his agent tried to find him another job and now remains at home in Miami on the roster getting paid his $7.9 million while the Wolves keep him on the roster basically as what David Kahn calls a "place-keeper" for his salary slot. Kahn acquired him from the Heat last summer for Quentin Richardson in a trade that was strictly for salary-cap purposes.

MEDICAL WATCH:

--F Kevin Love is out for the next five to seven weeks because of a fractured left hand sustained in a preseason game at Chicago and later surgically repaired by the insertion of three screws.