The battle of the league’s two-worst teams went to the Minnesota Timberwolves, as they edged the Nets 103-99 at the Izod Center tonight.
- The Nets looked like they would have the ball, down two, with about 25 seconds left when refs initially called a turnover for the T’Wolves, but they took an official timeout and reversed it, giving the ball back to Minnesota, who hit their free throws down the stretch to win their 6th game of the year. The Nets meanwhile have to wonder where they’re going to get their wins from.
- On a major positive note, Yi Jianlian returned from his 7-week hiatus and was outstanding, scoring 22 points off the bench on 7-12 shooting, including 4-6 from three-point land.
- The Nets backcourt was strong as well. Devin Harris went for 23 points on 9-17 shooting (and 8 assists), Courtney Lee had 20 points on 8-16 shooting (3-4 from three) and Keyon Dooling chipped in with 12 points off the bench.
- Brook Lopez, on the other hand, probably had his worst game of the season. He had 10 rebounds and 7 assists, but only scored 9 points and was 5-10 on his free throws, including a critical miss with about 28 seconds left that would have cut the Minnesota lead to one.
- Minnesota outscored the Nets 56-30 in the paint and outrebounded them 46-37. The inside scoring was helped by Al Jefferson (28 points, 7 rebounds), while Kevin Love was a monster on the glass (13 points, 16 rebounds).
- Johnny Flynn continues to torture the Nets, going for 22 points and 5 assists.
- For the game, the Nets were 9-17 from three-point land, one of their best games from long-distance of the season.
