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Saturday, Dec. 11 8:00pm ET
T-Wolves lose eighth game out of 10 | |||||
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MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- Minnesota coach Flip Saunders said he was embarrassed. Nobody disagreed. John Starks scored 27 points and Chris Mills had 23 as the Golden State Warriors overcame a 20-point first-half deficit to beat the Timberwolves 104-76 on Saturday night. "It's a soul-searching thing," Saunders said after watching his team get outscored by 48 points in the last 33 minutes. "For myself, the whole organization, the players. We've got a lot of questions and no answers, from top to bottom. "I do know we are a team that lacks confidence." Kevin Garnett scored just 12 points on 5-of-20 shooting for Minnesota, which has lost five straight games for the first time since November 1997. The Wolves lost their eighth in 10 games and third straight at home to a sub-.500 team. "When it rains it pours," Garnett said. "I don't even know what to say right now. "I'm trying to keep my head above water and make sure the team stays together. It's difficult right now." Minnesota had a 43-23 lead with 9:04 left in the second quarter, but scored just seven points in the third quarter -- the Timberwolves' lowest-scoring quarter in franchise history. They had a franchise-low 21 points in the second half and a season-low 76 for the game. Antawn Jamison scored 16 points for Golden State, which won its second straight following an 11-game losing streak. "The biggest thing is we hung in there," coach P.J. Carlesimo said. "Fourth game in five nights and you get down 20 on the road against a good team, usually you don't hang in -- you just kind of mail it in and go home." Trailing 55-52, Golden State started the third on a 15-4 run to take a 67-59 lead with 4:26 left. Starks scored 11 in the quarter, and Minnesota shot just 3-for-21 to fall behind 78-62. "We buckled down and played defense," Starks said. "We packed the lane so they had to shoot from the outside. We tried to make it hard on Kevin." It was the fifth straight game in which Minnesota started the second half slowly. In the previous four games, Wolves' opponents had 13-4, 15-2, 11-4 and 10-1 runs to start the third quarters. Radoslav Nesterovic had 23 points and 13 rebounds for Minnesota, which plays seven of its next nine on the road, starting in Atlanta on Tuesday night. Nesterovic scored eight points during the Wolves' 16-2 run to start the game. He had 13 in the quarter as the Timberwolves took a 35-20 lead into the second. Golden State battled back. Jamison scored 10 points in the second quarter, and Starks added eight as the Warriors closed within three by halftime. Minnesota starting forward Wally Szczerbiak was not in uniform. He has missed four of the last five games because of a sore right knee. Center Dean Garret missed his third straight game because of a sore left knee.
Game notes | ALSO SEE NBA Scoreboard Golden State Clubhouse Minnesota Clubhouse RECAPS LA Lakers 106 Vancouver 94
Golden State 104
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