Struggling, short-handed and looking for any way to stop their losing streak, the Minnesota Timberwolves try to avoid a 14th consecutive loss on Friday when they play the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden.
The only thing keeping the Timberwolves (4-23) out of last place in the Northwest Division is the horrid play of the Oklahoma City Thunder, who trail Minnesota by one game for fourth place. Even vice president Kevin McHale's decision to fire Randy Wittman and coach the team himself has failed to spark the Timberwolves, who are 0-8 since the coaching change.The 13-game skid is the third-longest in team history, trailing 16-game losing streaks that occurred in 1992 and spanned the 1993-94 and 1994-95 seasons. Minnesota is being outscored by 13.1 points per game during the losing streak, shooting 41.6 percent and letting opponents hit 49.1 percent while allowing an average of 104.3 points.
"We can't get caught up on the losses, when you win you have to take it one game at a time, too," forward Ryan Gomes said after a 99-93 defeat at San Antonio on Tuesday. "We have a few days off before we play New York and we'll work at getting a win. We haven't seen one in awhile."
The Timberwolves have struggled defending all season, ranking 26th in defensive field goal percentage (47.5) and forcing only 13.1 turnovers per game. Teams have been quick to jump on Minnesota on the road during this slide, shooting 49.5 percent overall - including 43.4 percent from 3-point range - while scoring 106.3 points per game and committing only 11.9 turnovers per game.
Their task to win has been made tougher without starting swingman Mike Miller, who is expected to miss his second straight game with a sprained left ankle suffered last Saturday.
Al Jefferson continued to be the lone bright spot for the Timberwolves with 28 points on Tuesday, his ninth straight 20-point game. He's averaged 25.3 points and 10.0 rebounds in that span with five double-doubles.
The Knicks (11-16) also are trying to end a losing streak, having dropped their fourth in a row Sunday in a 124-105 defeat at Boston. Quentin Richardson scored 29 points and hit five of New York's 13 3-pointers, but the Knicks allowed an opponent season-high 65.8 percent from the field to the league-best Celtics.
"We played hard, they played hard and there was not a whole lot of anything being said," Richardson told the Knicks' official Web site. "We were just playing basketball."
With first-year coach Mike D'Antoni installing his up-tempo system, it was a given the Knicks would allow more points, but they have struggled in making the transition defensively. They are last in defensive field goal percentage at 48.2 percent and 29th in scoring defense at 107.9 points per game, ahead of only the Golden State Warriors (111.4).
The home team won each meeting last season, but the Timberwolves have won five of their last seven at New York since dropping their first 10 games there. Minnesota has won 11 of the last 14 games between the teams overall, including a 114-93 rout in the most recent meeting on March 22 as Gomes scored 26 points.
