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New Wolves Get Best Of Old WolvesThe fans began Monday night by giving Wally Szczerbiak a standing ovation. By halftime at Target Center, they were on their feet applauding the new-look Timberwolves. Szczerbiak scored a game-high 22 points in his return after being traded Thursday to the Boston Celtics. But the Wolves dominated as their new acquisitions pushed them to a 19-point halftime lead en route to a 110-85 victory, the team's most lopsided win this season. Marcus Banks showed in his Wolves debut that he is the quickest point guard the franchise has had in years. Banks, generously listed at 6 feet 2, darted and squirted his way to 20 points and six assists, season bests in both categories. At least on this night, it was hard to tell why he lost his backup point-guard role with the Celtics before he was traded to Minnesota. "I think the fans, when I got traded, they were like, 'Who is this guy?' " Banks said. "But I'm pretty sure the coaching staff knew what they were getting." Minnesota Timberwolves, Boston Celtics Read the Full Story Discuss Send Feedback Buy Tickets Close Losses Spun Wolves Into Big Deal
The most striking admission of that mediocrity came when they traded Wally Szczerbiak, a longtime fan favorite who was having a career season, to the Boston Celtics on Thursday. As they prepare to face Szczerbiak and the Celtics tonight at Target Center, the Wolves are desperate to fix their season, plagued by inconsistency and the inability to win close games. With the team struggling at 19-21 at the time of the trade, Szczerbiak became the casualty. "If we had won a number of those close games, we probably wouldn't have thought about doing the trade," owner Glen Taylor said. "Looking at the results, which were below our expectations, we felt we had to do something. Wally was a player other teams wanted." Minnesota Timberwolves, Boston Celtics Read the Full Story Discuss Send Feedback Buy Tickets Szczerbiak, Celtics Spoil Artest's Kings Debut
For a debut, the Sacramento Kings are going to have to consider it a success. The former Indiana troublemaker scored 15 points in his first game since his antics got him benched in mid-December, but he and the Kings faltered in the fourth quarter on Friday night as the Celtics beat Sacramento 84-74. "He was well-rested because he's been off for a month now," Celtics center Kendrick Perkins said. "So he got off to a great start but we knew he wasn't in NBA shape so he wore down in the end." The Celtics had a big debut of their own: Wally Szczerbiak scored 10 points in 24 minutes in his first game since being acquired from Minnesota in a seven-player deal. Szczerbiak arrived at the arena just before the game and wasn't expected to play; he had the wrong color shoes and only put on a uniform, basketball boss Danny Ainge said, because he didn't have a suit that would meet the NBA's dress code. He finished 4-for-7 from the field, including 2-for-3 from 3-point range, and added three rebounds and a pair of assists. "He hit some big shots. Helped them win," Artest said. "I can imagine what he was going through. It must have been more intense for him, because it happened so suddenly." Boston Celtics, Sacramento Kings Read the Full Story Discuss Send Feedback Buy Tickets Celtics Jan 2006 Archive
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The Timberwolves' first half of the season fell well short of their goals.