Wolves lose despite Love's memorable night
By Anthony Maggio
FOXSportsNorth.com
March 7, 2011
There were more than enough culprits for a feature film and a pair of sequels. The big twist in all of them? The protagonists were themselves the culprits all along.
The Minnesota Timberwolves did plenty of good things on Monday night at Target Center, yet still walked away 108-105 losers to the Dallas Mavericks. The half-court heave by Wayne Ellington that ripped the nylon at the buzzer served only as a painful reminder that such fortune wasn't enough, but shouldn't have been needed in the first place.
Dirk Nowitzki was saddled to the bench with just eight points when the halftime buzzer sounded, and was again seated and in warm-ups at the 9:52 mark of the third quarter with his fourth foul. How did the Wolves respond? By letting former teammate Brian Cardinal hit four 3-pointers off the bench.
"Without Cardinal, I don't think we would have won the game," Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said. "Rebounds, loose balls, shot making ... he completely turned the game around because we were done then, we won the second quarter and that would not have happened if he wouldn't have been in there. I don't remember the last time he has played significant minutes."
How's that feel, Minnesota? Bested by a rusty Brian Cardinal.
Michael Beasley hit big shots in the fourth quarter and forced his way to the foul line
