Love's breakout against Knicks recalled
--Kevin Love has produced some pretty impressive stats against the Knicks. Saturday he had 32 points and 21 rebounds, his sixth career 30-20 game, a franchise record. But it is what happened in a game with the Knicks at Target Center last year that has people reminiscing this week.
Love will admit that what happened the last time the Knicks came to Target Center changed the course of his career. It was early in the 2010-11 season. November 12, 2010, to be exact. In a come-from-behind victory, Love scored 31 points and had 31 rebounds.
It was a wild night. Michael Beasley had 35 points for the Wolves who, down 21 in the third quarter, rallied for a 112-103 victory. Unfortunately, if you weren't one of the 15,000-plus fans at Target Center, you probably didn't see it, as the game wasn't locally televised. But rest assured, it changed Love's career.
In one record-setting night he went from a promising young player to an ESPN darling. And all it took was the first 30-30 game since Moses Malone had 32 points and 38 rebounds for Houston against Seattle back in 1982.
"A game like that hadn't been done since Malone," said Love, who famously leaned over to teammate Beasley in the second half of that game and said he was going to get 30 boards. "So, I think for me, to put me on that platform of elite, upper-echelon of players in this league, that was the game to do it."
Love went on to mount his impressive double-double streak, and he was named to his first All-Star Game. But as far as national attention, it was the Knicks game that started it all. A few folks asked about that game prior to Saturday's matchup had different memories. Knicks coach Mark D'Antoni at first said he didn't remember the game. "They all run together," he said. "And I'm getting too old." But then: "Is that the one where we blew it when we were up 20 points? Oh, I remember. It's not good."
--Wolves center Darko Milicic hasn't played much lately. He's been sick, he had a quad bruise and, most recently, a sprained ankle; Milicic missed his fifth straight game Saturday. So does Wolves coach Rick Adelman expect the big man to see action any time soon. The answer: hopefully.
"He's been working out with some of our people and everything," Adelman said. "They say he's been getting better. I would hope by Monday we're going to have him. And we're going to need him." Why? Because the Wolves play Orlando Monday, a team led by center Dwight Howard.
"We're going to need him against Howard," Adelman said. "We'll need all the big guys we can get."
--Further proof that the Wolves, despite their recent struggles, are gaining some momentum in the market: Saturday's attendance was 20,232. That was the fourth-largest home crowd in team history at the Target Center and the biggest single-game crowd since March 12, 2004. That is a span of 627 games, including 10 post-season contests. It is the Wolves' fifth sellout of the season, which eclipses the total over the last three seasons combined. Now all the Wolves have to do is win when they get a crowd like that.
QUOTE TO NOTE
"We're not having fun like we were when we were winning games. We're turning the ball over like crazy. I don't know, we're just not clicking right now. We need to get it together." -- Wolves guard J.J. Barea.
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