Brooklyn fans call it a meltdown and Minnesota fans call it a comeback, but regardless of what you name it, it wasn’t a good night for the home team in Brooklyn as the Nets were defeated 107-96.
Despite the loss of Gerald Wallace due to an injury for the Nets, it was the Timberwolves who came into this game shorthanded, with both Kevin Love and Ricky Rubio out with major injuries. Love is recovering from a broken right hand and Rubio has been out indefinitely since last March with a serious knee injury. There were a few points in the game where it appeared the Timberwolves were really suffering from these losses, but it didn’t last long.
The T-Wolves were without their two best players, but it didn’t impact Minnesota last night. (US Presswire)
The Brooklyn Nets held a decent lead for most of the game, scoring 31 points in both the first and second quarter, and 24 points in the third. Minnesota, on the other hand, scored 27 points in the first, 20 in the second, and 28 in the third. The Nets were actually up by as many as 22 points in the third quarter, and things started to look bad for the Timberwolves.
Joe Johnson and the Nets looked good for 3 quarters, but everything changed in the 4th. (AP)
In the fourth quarter, however, everything changed.
The Timberwolves managed to outscore the Nets 32-10 in the fourth and final quarter of the game, quickly closing the deficit as Dante Cunningham evened the score at 92-92 with 6:28 left to play. Rookie Minnesota guard Alexey Shved hit 2 three-pointers with 2:35 left to play, followed by a basket by center Nikola Pekovic, while Chase Budinger continued with another three-pointer as the Nets just simply broke down late in the game.
Bruins defenseman Bobby Orr flies through the air in this iconic photo after scoring the series-winning goal in the 1970 Stanley Cup Final against the St. Louis Blues. (AP)
GALLERY: Iconic Photos of the Boston Bruins
United States forward Clint Dempsey watches as he scores his second goal while being pursued by Guatemala defender Ruben Morales during the first half of a World Cup qualifying soccer match in Kansas City on Tuesday. The U.S. cruised to a 3-1 victory. (AP Photo/Reed Hoffmann)
It started on draft day in April.
The Seattle Seahawks higher-ups, specifically general manager John Schneider and head coach Pete Carroll, were enamored with a certain quarterback prospect. That prospect happened to be the University of Wisconsin and North Carolina State product, Russell Wilson. Wilson, who put up outstanding numbers in his only season with the Badgers, had fallen on teams draft boards because of one reason: his size. At the NFL combine, he was listed at five feet and eleven inches, and that was considered a generous measurement by most. Many believed he would not be able to see over towering offensive and defensive linemen. However, he had two believers in Seattle. Schneider and Carroll prayed that Wilson would fall to them in the third round ,and when he did, they snatched him up. In a post-draft interview, Schneider was quoted as saying, “I wasn’t leaving the draft without him,” and he certainly got his man. The rest is history, and for many that thought Matt Flynn would run away with the starting job, Russell Wilson proved them wrong as he continues to silence critics game by game.
