Injuries sideline Hassell http://www.twincities.com/mld/twincities/sports/basketball/14163798.htm Swingman has missed only one game in three-plus seasons Timberwolves swingman Trenton Hassell sprained his left knee and left ankle Tuesday night against the Miami Heat, a magnetic resonance imaging exam revealed Wednesday. Hassell, who had started all 67 games this season, did not make the trip to the East Coast for tonight's game at New Jersey. The Wolves play Friday night at Toronto before returning to the Twin Cities. Hassell was injured while driving to the basket with 8:38 remaining in the third quarter when he was fouled by Miami's Alonzo Mourning and landed awkwardly on his left leg. He shot two free throws and remained in the game but was limping and left for good with 7:05 to play in the quarter. The Wolves have mostly avoided serious injuries this season, with the exception of reserve point guard Troy Hudson's sore right ankle, which has kept him out of the past 22 games. No starters had missed significant time. Hassell, who was unavailable for comment, averaged 12 points on almost 48 percent shooting in the past six games. His 21 points on March 11 at Phoenix were his most since joining the franchise two seasons ago. He missed only one game during the previous three regular seasons. Road weary: A two-game winning streak hardly qualifies as reason to celebrate. But it is something that can give the Wolves confidence heading into their two-game road trip. They need all the momentum they can muster when going on the road, where they have struggled all season. Minnesota has an 8-25 record away from Target Center and have the third-fewest road victories in the NBA going into Wednesday's games. Eight of their remaining 15 games are on the road, meaning the rebuilding process the team has undertaken will have to progress outside its comfort zone. The Wolves have been outscored by 5.8 points a game on the road this season. They've been outrebounded by 4.4 a game. Minnesota's last road victory, 103-101 on Feb. 6 at Phoenix, gave the Wolves a 22-25 record. But coach Dwane Casey's team has lost eight consecutive road games since then. That's the franchise's longest road drought since ending 1998-99 by dropping their last 10 games. Maybe the Miami win — perhaps the Wolves' best of the season — will provide a boost. "We played through mistakes, played through another team's run," Casey said. "Any team in this league is going to make a run on you. What we haven't done is sustain our focus, sustain our attack mode against another team. We usually have a good first half. We've got develop that mental toughness." Briefly: In their first of two meetings with New Jersey this season, the Wolves pulled out a 100-90 victory March 1 at home. Rookie Rashad McCants scored 21 points in that game, his season high. The Wolves own a four-game winning streak against the Nets. --

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