Wolves rely on defense to hold off Spurs in OT http://www.startribune.com/511/story/913596.html The biggest play in a game that lasted 53 minutes, featured a Hall of Fame showdown at power forward and devolved from a Timberwolves clinic into an unintended thriller was Trenton Hassell's offensive rebound with 9.7 seconds left in overtime. It sealed the Wolves' 103-101 victory over the San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday night at Target Center. Hassell got his hands on Ricky Davis' errant jumper when San Antonio's Michael Finley lost his balance, and immediately started an impromptu game of keepaway, spoiling any attempts by the Spurs to foul, and ran out the clock. On a night when both sides missed chance after chance, in regulation and in overtime, the dwindling clock and what didn't happen seemed about right. Nobody outscored anybody in this one. Somebody, in this case the Wolves, outdefended the other guys. "Defense. We stepped up," Hassell said. "They got a few layups here and there, but overall we played great defense down the end. When you ain't scoring, you've got to do something." The Spurs are a terrific defensive team whose pressure and schemes nearly saved them, thanks to a 22-12 fourth quarter. They trailed 81-71 when it began, then limited Minnesota to 5-for-17 shooting with four turnovers and pulled even. They even earned themselves a final shot to win (Matt Bonner's failed three-pointer) at the end of regulation. The Wolves (15-15), meanwhile, are a team trying to establish a defensive identity, a goal stymied so far by inconsistency. That showed up last night in a terrific first half -- San Antonio shot 39 percent, the Wolves had a 23-16 rebounding edge -- followed by breakdowns in the second. After holding Tony Parker, Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili in check for much of the night, the Wolves gave up 29 points in the third quarter and saw Ginobili get loose for 12 in the fourth. "We know we can play defense. We've just got to be consistent," said Hassell, who spent time chasing Parker. "At one time, we were No. 3 or No. 4 in the league -- we kind of got away from that. But tonight, with a team like that, where you've got to grind it out, you've got to play great defense 'cause you know you're not going to score like you want to." Officially, Kevin Garnett's free throws with 59 seconds left in overtime provided the difference. The Wolves led 103-98, then watched Parker sink foul shots that drew the Spurs within two. The Wolves had 34.2 seconds to score or kill, and Hassell's hustle made it the latter. Regulation had ended in similar fashion. Garnett's three-point play, driving against and drawing contact from Duncan, put his team up 93-91 with 34.8 seconds left. Ginobili slashed in for a layup at 28.3, Randy Foye pushed his running 6-footer (think Chicago victory) too hard at 16.1, and Bonner's shot from the arc hit the front of the rim and the rebound squirted out of bounds as time expired. The way the Wolves lost a lead that grew to 17 points soon after halftime, they way they lacked production from the starting backcourt, this game had scary similarities to their 95-82 loss in San Antonio three weeks earlier. This time, though, Foye and his teammates handled the Spurs' defensive pressure better. This time, too, center Mark Blount was automatic, hitting 12 of 14 shots for a season-high 28 points (one shy of his career best). With 27 points, 17 rebounds, seven assists and three blocks, Garnett had a small edge over Duncan (24, 13, five and five). Snapping a five-game skid in the series and winning for only the third time in 12 meetings, the Wolves missed only one of their 29 free throws. The Spurs (23-10) got 26 points from Ginobili but, 24 hours after losing at Cleveland, lost both games of a back-to-back set for the first time this season. "It's one of our better wins," Hassell said. "We beat a championship-type team. We got out to a lead and when they made a run, we held our own and stayed aggressive. They're the type of team that ain't going to beat themselves. You've got to beat 'em." --

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