T’wolves 81 – >Nets 68
MINNEAPOLIS – Surely, now the sun will rise in the West. George Steinbrenner will say with conviction that winning isn’t everything. And all that goes up will stay up.
There are no certainties left in life.
Lawrence Frank has lost a game.
The Nets’ historic and remarkable team-record run of 14 straight victories, 13 of them under Frank, came crashing to a frigid shooting halt when one of the best in the West, the Timberwolves, arose with a late-game fury behind Troy Hudson to snuff one of the best in the East, the Nets, 81-68, here last night. It was Frank’s first defeat as an NBA head coach.
“Everyone hates losing. The guys in [our] locker room hate losing. That’s why they’re champions,” said Frank after his Nets were outscored 26-14 in the fourth quarter when at least they outscored Hudson (14-12). “Unfortunately, it’s a necessary reality of the job. I didn’t think we were going to go undefeated. Losing is part of it in the NBA.”
The Nets (35-21), whose previous defeat was Jan. 23 in Miami, were still very much in the game, down just 60-58 when the roof, sidewalls and ceiling collapsed on their noggins. And Hudson was the guy wielding the wrecking ball. Ironically, Hudson started because Sam Cassell sat with tendinitis in his left ankle.
“[Hudson] knocked down shots, we didn’t,” said Kenyon Martin, who recorded his 24th double-double (18 points, 12 rebounds) while denying MVP candidate Kevin Garnett his first double-double in 20 games (18 points, 9 boards).
Minnesota (42-16) tore off 15 unanswered points, 12 of them by Hudson who finished with a game-high 29. Hudson squeezed a drive between a pair of left-wing jumpers in a 54-second span to make it 66-58 and send the Wolves on their way. Fred Hoiberg then bagged the first of three Minnesota trifectas -Hudson delivered the last two – for a 75-58 lead with 4:17 left.
“We got stops but couldn’t make shots,” said Jason Kidd (11 points, 10 rebounds 7 assists but 5-of-20 shooting), who noted of the T-Wolves’ 15-0 blitz “normally that’s us, but again that was because of our inability to make shots.”
Which was no problem for Hudson – he was 11-of-19 on the night, including 8-of-11 in the second half when he dumped in his 21 points.
“My teammates just did a great job of finding me,” said Hudson. “I’ve started before, I’ve been in tight situations before.”
