Only the roar of the crowd at the Target Center drowned out the din from thousands of pairs of ThunderStix at the finish Wednesday night. And Minnesota forward Kevin Garnett, who had never even played in the second round of the playoffs in his first seven seasons in the NBA, made the roar even louder by jumping up on the press table to acknowledge the crowd.
With Garnett, on his 28th birthday, leading a fourth-quarter charge, the Timberwolves held off stubborn Sacramento, 83-80, in Game 7 of their Western Conference semifinal series. By winning the first Game 7 in franchise history, the Timberwolves advanced to meet the Los Angeles Lakers in the conference finals, with Game 1 here Friday night.
Garnett, the NBA's most valuable player this season, scored 14 of his 32 points in the final quarter and had 21 rebounds. But in a series in which seemingly safe leads routinely vanished, the Timberwolves nearly gave away a 79-70 lead with 3 minutes 10 seconds to play.
PHOTO: AFP
The Kings, with a 10-2 run, pulled to 81-80 on Doug Christie's 3-pointer with 16.8 seconds left. But Minnesota's Sam Cassell sank two free throws with 16.2 seconds left, and Chris Webber's attempt at a game-tying 3-pointer after faking Garnett to get free -- the third shot on a furious final possession for Sacramento -- spun out at the buzzer.
Had Webber made the shot, the Timberwolves and the Kings would have gone to overtime for the second time in the series and the sixth time in two years, counting the regular season.
"I thought it was going down," Kings coach Rick Adelman said. "I was like, here we go, another overtime. But it was just one of those things."
It was a fitting finish to a series that featured double-digit comebacks in the final four minutes by Minnesota in Game 2 and by Sacramento in Game 3, as well as physical play throughout.
Minnesota's Darrick Martin and Sacramento's Brad Miller were ejected in Game 5 for a third-quarter altercation that began when Martin struck Miller in the groin trying to fight through a pick; Miller's obscene gesture to the Target Center crowd drew a US$10,000 fine. And an elbow to Garnett's jaw by the Kings' Anthony Peeler in Game 6 resulted in his two-game suspension and left Sacramento, which used a seven-man rotation most of the series, one man short.
Minnesota again made guarding Kings guard Mike Bibby a priority; "Contain Bibby" topped the team tasks that the assistant coach Randy Wittman wrote on the locker room dry-erase board before the game. With Latrell Sprewell, Wally Szczerbiak and Fred Hoiberg sharing duty, Bibby managed 15 points while shooting 4 for 13.
The Kings' leading scorer, Peja Stojakovic, who was stifled throughout the series, made 3 of 12 shots and scored eight points.
Sacramento trailed from the opening minutes until late in the third quarter, when it scored 10 consecutive points (four by Miller) for a 58-57 lead. Cassell, limited by back spasms in Games 5 and 6, scored the quarter's last four points to give the Timberwolves a 62-60 lead going to the fourth quarter.
Then Garnett took over. He scored three consecutive baskets -- a turnaround from the lane, a one-hander off glass driving from the left and a one-hander in the left post over Christie -- to make it 70-64 with just over seven minutes to play. Garnett later added a driving scoop past Webber and a turnaround 3-pointer, pushing the lead to nine.
"I've seen him be phenomenal," Minnesota coach Flip Saunders said of Garnett. "But in this situation, with the impact of this game, he's maybe never been better."
Webber, with a chance to put the Kings down by two, missed a layup. Garnett stole a pass, was fouled with 31.1 seconds left and made the second of two for an 80-75 lead. Bibby sank two free throws with 26.9 seconds to play. After Sprewell hit only the first of two free throws, Christie swished a 3-pointer with 16.8 seconds left to make it an 81-80 game.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen go into today’s match at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim stung from their first league defeat in 16 months. Leverkusen were beaten 3-2 at home by RB Leipzig before the international break, the first loss since May last year for the reigning league and cup champions. While any defeat, particularly against a likely title rival, would have disappointed coach Xabi Alonso, the way in which it happened would be most concerning. Just as they did in the Supercup against VfB Stuttgart and in the league opener to Borussia Moenchengladbach, Leverkusen scored first, but were pegged back. However, while Leverkusen rallied late to
The lights dimmed and the crowd hushed as Karoline Kristensen entered for her performance. However, this was no ordinary Dutch theater: The temperature was 80°C and the audience naked apart from a towel. Dressed in a swimsuit and to the tune of emotional music, the 21-year-old Kristensen started her routine, performed inside a large sauna, with a bed of hot rocks in the middle. For a week this month, a group of wellness practitioners, called “sauna masters,” are gathering at a picturesque health resort in the Netherlands to compete in this year’s Aufguss world sauna championships. The practice takes its name from a
Roger Federer on Wednesday said that staying involved with tennis in retirement helped him avoid feeling “like an alien” ahead of this week’s Laver Cup in Berlin. Federer, who helped create the tournament, retired at the Laver Cup in London two years ago and has since stayed involved with the competition as an ambassador. “I’m happy I went back right away to some tournaments,” the 43-year-old told reporters. “I feel I ripped the Band-Aid off quite quickly and when I walk around the tennis sites I still feel I belong there,” he said. “I don’t feel like an alien, which is a
Japanese players are moving to English soccer in record numbers and more look set to follow with clubs attracted by their quality, strong work ethic and value for money. Kaoru Mitoma is the standout talent of five Japanese players in the English Premier League, with eight more in the Championship and two in League One. Liverpool midfielder Wataru Endo, the captain of Japan, believes his compatriots are “being held in higher esteem” by English clubs compared with the past. “The staff at Liverpool ask me about lots of Japanese players, not necessarily with a view to a transfer, but just saying this or