http://www.twincities.com/mld/twincities/sports/basketball/16613285.htm He had seen it as an assistant coach, but now that he has taken over as head coach, Randy Wittman is getting a new look at just how frustrating these Timberwolves can play sometimes. After an embarrassing loss to the Sacramento Kings, after which Wittman called out his team for not playing hard, the Wolves began a three-game road trip Friday night with a 90-83 loss to the New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets. The loss was the Wolves' second consecutive to teams below .500 after they snapped the Phoenix Suns' 17-game winning streak. The Wolves showed more effort against the Hornets than they did in their loss two nights earlier, but they relied on their jump shot, which wasn't falling (38.8 percent). They also got off to a slow start again and made poor decisions with the ball. How many alley-oops can a team flub in one game? "We had about four (fast)-break opportunities that we just threw away," Wittman said. "There might be more; four might just be in the first half. That is eight points right there... . We just have no regard in transition sometimes for the ball. We haven't converted on an alley-oop pass for a dunk all year, but we continually try to do it." For all their faults in this game, the Wolves actually had a chance to win. They trailed 76-75 with 5:33 remaining after Kevin Garnett's layup, then didn't score for 2? minutes. The Hornets' Desmond Mason hit a jumper, and then Chris Paul, who scored 24 points in just his second game back since missing a month because of a sprained ankle, hit a jump shot that made it 80-75. After Minnesota's Marko Jaric missed a three-pointer and Mark Blount was called for traveling, the Hornets' Devin Brown made a runner for an 82-75 edge. Then Paul came through with a three-point play that pushed the lead to 10 points. He attacked the rim in transition and drew a foul on Blount, and Paul made the free throw to give the Hornets an 85-75 advantage with 2:19 left. Wolves rookie Randy Foye hit a three-pointer, but the Wolves had fallen too far behind. "We just didn't execute down the stretch," Garnett said. "I think we took a step back from that." This game marked the team's worst offensive output by far in Wittman's first six games (2-4). Blount heated up in the third quarter with his outside shooting, scoring 10 points. Two of Blount's jumpers gave the Wolves a 57-56 lead with 6:01 remaining in the third quarter. That marked Minnesota's first lead of the game, but it was about the only time the Wolves seemed in sync offensively. And it was a bit misleading because they were relying on one man. "I never felt like we got anything really established inside tonight," Wittman said. "I thought our game became a jump-shooting perimeter game." Garnett played 37 minutes and attempted no free throws. That contributed to the team's lack of attempts, just 15 after getting to the line 12 times Wednesday against Sacramento. "We've got to be a lot more aggressive," Garnett said. "We've got to figure out a way to get to the rim. I don't know if it's fatigue, or if guys are tired or whatever. I'm pretty sure it starts with myself. I've got to figure out a way to do that. I was too (darn) busy worrying about everything else." Now the Wolves must play the team with the best record in the NBA, the Dallas Mavericks (38-9), tonight. The trip continues with a game Monday against another team that appears playoff bound, the Houston Rockets. The Wolves are 9-15 on the road this season. --

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