MINNEAPOLIS -- Shabazz Muhammad attacking the rim on a one-on-three break and getting whistled for charging with the game tied and 1:36 remaining. Andrew Wiggins stepping out of bounds on a baseline drive with 34.3 seconds to go and the Timberwolves down two. General lethargy in yet another first quarter from a youthful starting lineup that put Minnesota, again, in an ultimately insurmountable chasm.
Coach and president of basketball operations Flip Saunders has identified a virus seeping into the home Target Center dressing room. It's not the bug that bit Kevin Martin and Corey Brewer earlier this year and caused them to puke their guts out, and it's not the mumps that's infiltrated various NHL locker rooms this winter.
No, this illness goes by the name of Entitlement.
"We're getting some of our guys, because of the amount of injuries we've had, that are feeling enabled," Saunders said after his team's 100-96 loss Sunday night to Indiana. "They think no matter how they play, they're going to play. Somehow, they have to have a sense of urgency."
That urgency wasn't there as the Wolves (5-21) missed 13 of their first 14 field-goal attempts. And by the time they found it -- Minnesota climbed back with a 17-1 run speared by Muhammad's eight straight points in the third and actually led 92-91 in the fourth before Indiana closed on a 9-4 run -- it was too late to prohibit a fifth straight setback.
And it wouldn't have been that close had veteran point guard Mo Williams not gone off for 24 points and 10 assists.
"Thank God for Mo," Saunders said.
It was Minnesota's second slow commencement in its past three games. Tuesday at Washington, they fell behind 14-2 in a 109-95 loss.
And this time, in front of 12,687 spectators, the Wolves compounded it with mistakes down the stretch, Muhammad and Wiggins' misplays standing out among them.
There will be growing pains, Saunders said.
But even with three starters injured and a roster in the midst of a rebuild, it will never be acceptable for players to coast.
"I think no matter what, they don't play (hard), they're going to have to sit," Saunders said. "No matter who it is."
Said shooting guard Chase Budinger, who had his second straight solid performance with 13 points and four rebounds in 26:39 off the bench: "You've got to put a staple on how you're going to play the game, and a lot of that has to do with how you start. . . . We gave them life. We gave them confidence, and once you get that confidence going, it's tough to take that away."
The Pacers (9-19) were playing on the second day of a back-to-back on one less hour of sleep thanks to the time change from Denver to Minneapolis. But, led by C.J. Miles' 28 points off the bench and a handful of dagger shots (including a pair of free throws that made it 98-94 with 11.7 seconds left), they were able to overcome blowing an early 19-point lead in the third quarter.
"That was completely unacceptable the first half," said Muhammad, who had 21 points, six rebounds and a pair of steals. The second-year energizer has scored in double figures in nine straight contests and is averaging 19.1 points per game the past 12 games. "Who cares if we're younger than all these guys? We've got to go out and compete."
If they don't Tuesday in Cleveland against LeBron James and old friend Kevin Love, it'll be even worse.
"We have to have energy to play them, or it's going to be ugly," Muhammad said.
Uglier.
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