Al Jefferson’s already played back at the Target Center once this season since the Wolves traded him this offseason, but tonight he returns lugging an injury-filled roster that just barely won Wednesday night after Jefferson made a buzzer beater to defeat the Toronto Raptors.
That said, the more important story might be to see if Kevin Love can continue his double-double streak — or if the Wolves can begin a winning streak!
Last night, Minnesota Timberwolves power forward Kevin Love broke Moses Malone’s consecutive double-double streak by scoring 16 points and grabbing 21 rebounds in less than 27 minutes against the Indiana Pacers. Tonight, Love’s Wolves will look to start a new streak at home against the Utah Jazz: Winning.
The Wolves last won consecutive games in early February during a road-trip that included back-to-back victories against the New Orleans Hornets and Houston Rockets to give Minnesota two of their three wins in February. After last night’s win against the Pacers -along with winnable games coming up against the Golden State Warriors and on the road at Utah - it’s plausible that the Wolves could go on a pleasant four-game win streak.
The matchup to watch, as Tim pointed out over at Canis Hoopus, is Love versus recent D-League call-up Jeremy Evans.
Kevin Love vs. Jeremy Evans
Only six days ago, Jeremy Evans was starting for the Utah Flash of the D-League. Now, he’ll be going against the best power forward in the NBA. In his first NBA start – on Wednesday against Toronto – Evans still played only 15 minutes. He went 1-of-4 for 2 points along with 5 rebounds and three personal fouls.
Meanwhile, on Wednesday, Kevin Love got a double-double in the first half on one leg…that is beyond good. They need a whole new adjective for what Love did on Wednesday night. I haven’t heard that many standing ovations at the Target Center since the last Britney Spears concert.
Winner: Kevin Love
Tonight will also mark the first time Ty Corbin, a former Wolves’ player, will return to Minnesota as head coach. Corbin took over the Jazz last month when Jerry Sloan retired.