Kevin Love got his 52nd consecutive double-double. . .and, in fact, had it well before halftime. . .as the Minnesota Timberwolves thumped the Indiana Pacers at the Target Center tonight by a score of 101-75.
The Timberwolves deserved the victory tonight, but man, did the Pacers play some awful basketball. How awful? Canis Hoopus sums it up pretty well.
Being a Timberwolves fan, I've seen some bad, bad basketball in the past few years - but I haven't seen a team play worse than Indiana did tonight. They were awful, truly awful, in every phase of the game. 29.6% from the floor, 4-23 from behind the arc - they even missed more free throws than did Minnesota. Danny Granger finished the night 2-19 from the floor, 0-9 from three. The Pacers spent the night settling for jumpers instead of trying to get to the rim. They missed about eight layups and at least two dunks. They also threw the ball randomly into the crowd several times.
They played last night at home, but watching their performance, you'd figure they'd played last night in Dubai and flown all day to get to Minneapolis.
Yeah, that sums it up, alright. Keep in mind, Indiana is still firmly in the running for an Eastern Conference playoff berth.
Love got off to a slow start this evening, gathering six rebounds in the first quarter but only scoring one point. He started filling up the basket in the second quarter, though, and notched the double-double with a free throw halfway through the second quarter. The Target Center crowd was on its feet after Love hit the free throw, and Love acknowledged the cheers before missing the second free throw. It was the 27th time in Love's 52-game streak that he managed to accumulate a double-double in the first half.
Michael Beasley matched Love's 16 points on the night to lead the Wolves in scoring. The two Anthonys. . .Randolph and Tolliver. . .each chipped in 14. Love finished with 21 rebounds.
The Wolves continue their homestand on Friday when the Utah Jazz come to town.