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Timberwolves eliminated from playoff race
Ray Allen and Rashard Lewis finally put the Minnesota Timberwolves' playoff hopes to rest.
Allen scored 34 points and Lewis added 28 to lead the Seattle SuperSonics to a 109-94 victory, eliminating the Wolves from the Western Conference playoff race Sunday.
The Timberwolves had managed to stave off elimination for a week. Since last Sunday, a Memphis win or a Timberwolves loss would have snapped Minnesota's streak of consecutive playoff appearances at eight seasons.
The Timberwolves, the top seed in the West last season, beat Golden State and Utah last week while Memphis lost to Denver, San Antonio and Houston. On Sunday, the Wolves' luck ran out.
Kevin Garnett was just 5-of-14 from the field and the Timberwolves made only 16 of 25 foul shots and were outscored 58-40 in the paint.
Latrell Sprewell led the Wolves with 20 points and Garnett finished with 17.
Behind Lewis and Allen, the Sonics built a big lead, shooting 55 percent in the first three quarters to go up 87-70.
A prime example of the Timberwolves' puzzling and disappointing season came with time winding down in the third quarter.
Coach Kevin McHale wanted his team to take the last shot of the period, but Sam Cassell put up a shot with over 8 seconds left. The shot missed and Seattle raced back the other way, getting a 26-footer from Allen to take an 87-70 lead into the final period.
McHale berated the team on the bench, hurling expletives and then staring blankly at a team that looked uninspired despite the desperate circumstances.
The pep talk didn't work.
Allen started the fourth with a dunk and another jumper for a 21-point lead as boos rained down from the Target Center crowd.
Minnesota did battle back, going on a 16-2 run to cut the deficit to 93-88, but they couldn't come up with timely free throws or stops on the defensive end down the stretch.
Lewis threw down a tomahawk dunk then hit a 3-pointer to push the lead back to 105-94 with just over two minutes to play, ensuring that neither team from last season's Western Conference finals — the Wolves or Los Angeles Lakers — would be in the playoffs this year.
With homecourt advantage in the first round of the playoffs already clinched, the Sonics were merely tuning up while looking to regain the form that led to a surprising Northwest Division title.
Seattle snapped a six-game losing streak with a win over New Orleans on Friday, but coach Nate McMillan said before the game that this week would not be spent resting All-Stars Allen and Lewis.
Lewis scored eight straight points, including two 3-pointers, and Allen, who also had 10 rebounds, added another 3 to give Seattle a 14-point lead with 6:30 to go in the first half.
But Eddie Griffin sparked a 10-0 run with a tip-in of his own miss, and Wally Szczerbiak's dunk brought Minnesota within 48-44. The Timberwolves then answered a 7-0 run by Seattle with a 6-0 spurt of their own and trailed 55-50 at halftime. Sonics F Reggie Evans received a technical foul in the first quarter for hanging on the rim. ... Sonics F Danny Fortson got a technical for arguing with an official in the fourth quarter. ... Minnesota finishes out the season at New Orleans on Monday then hosts San Antonio in the season finale on Wednesday. ... Seattle heads to Dallas on Tuesday.
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