The Minnesota Timberwolves have not been a .500 team since two games into the 2010-2011 season. It appears that they're going to get there again. . .eventually.
However, they did not get there on Wednesday night at the Target Center, as the Wolves fell to the Indiana Pacers by a final score of 109-99 on a night where they honored the old Minnesota Muskies with throwback uniforms.
Danny Granger led the way for Indiana with 36 points, 29 of which game in the second half of play, and Darren Collison chipped in with 20 points, nine assists, and six rebounds. The Pacers' 109 points marked just the second time this season that they had cracked the 100-point barrier.
The Pacers appeared to be fueled by a skirmish that happened near the end of the third quarter when Timberwolves' forward Kevin Love appeared to be frustrated after a non-call on an offensive rebound, and appeared to go after Granger on the other end of the floor. Granger took exception, yelling a Love and giving him a shove. Granger ended up getting slapped with a technical foul as a result of the play, but that keyed a 22-12 run for the Pacers.
Love finished the game with 21 points and 17 rebounds. He didn't get a whole lot of help, however. Michael Beasley, coming off of his 34-point effort off the bench in Minnesota's win over the Houston Rockets on Monday, scored just 11 points on 3-of-11 shooting, and Ricky Rubio did not have one of his better nights, finishing with 10 points, six assists, and four rebounds.
Minnesota will attempt to begin another climb back to .500 on Friday, when they head out to Snooki territory to take on the New Jersey Nets.