http://www.twincities.com/mld/twincities/sports/basketball/16773288.htm The Timberwolves haven't been good at fighting back after falling behind. Kevin Garnett tried Friday night, attacking the basket in the third quarter against the Phoenix Suns, trying to deliver a Wolves victory almost single-handedly. Unlike the previous time the teams played, Garnett couldn't do it. Garnett had 28 points and 19 rebounds, but the Wolves' defense couldn't contain the Suns, who beat Minnesota 116-104 at Target Center. The Wolves (25-30) fell to a season-worst five games under .500. Garnett hadn't played like himself in the previous two games, losses to Washington and Charlotte, when he took just 27 shots combined. So he made a point to play differently against Phoenix. "I'm trying to find ways to be aggressive for 48 minutes," Garnett said. "Get all the rebounds, pass the ball. It's not easy." On Jan. 29, Garnett scored a season-high 44 points in a 121-112 victory that snapped the Suns' 17-game winning streak. But he didn't have the same success in this game, despite his big third quarter, in which he scored 12 points. Shawn Marion did a serviceable job guarding Garnett and had help from his Phoenix teammates. "He was on fire the last time," Marion said. "We were able to contain him a little better, and that is what kept us in the game. He is a handful. We sent him double-teams, sent him different looks, just made him work for everything he got." Garnett committed six of the Wolves' 21 turnovers. He shot 11 for 16, including drives to the basket and dunks that showed off the power game he seldom displays. Still, the Wolves went into halftime trailing by 12, and the deficit was the same entering the fourth quarter. Minnesota's defense in the victory over Phoenix almost a month ago was its best effort of the season, Wolves coach Randy Wittman said. The players were active that night and played with great energy, he said. This time, Phoenix shot 54.8 percent through three quarters and outscored the Wolves by 17 points in the second quarter. Marion scored 27 points and had 14 rebounds, and fellow all-star Amare Stoudemire had 23 points and 11 rebounds. Leandro Barbosa added 24 points off the bench. Steve Nash had nine points and 15 assists. Wittman said the Wolves didn't sustain their defensive effort over the course of an entire possession. "At times, we didn't have that same energy," Wittman said. "You've got to have that second, third and fourth reaction against this team. Initial penetration, you stop and they kick out, and now they're penetrating again. We had it at times, but I didn't think we sustained that third and fourth effort that we had in that first game." Late in the game, the Wolves had several chances to cut into Phoenix's eight-point lead. But Marko Jaric threw the ball away, then Garnett lost possession in a crowd, and then Randy Foye missed a layup. Later on that possession, Mark Blount couldn't convert down low, and Phoenix took advantage on the other end as James Jones' layup gave the Suns a 106-96 lead. Barbosa's jumper with four minutes left pushed the lead back to 12 points. Still hanging around and down by eight with about eight minutes left, Marion blocked a Jaric layup. Marion blocked two more close-range attempts, both by Foye, on Minnesota's next possession. Then Barbosa nailed a three-pointer to seal the Suns' victory. "Shawn Marion in that last quarter erased everything right when they were ready to come back," Suns coach Mike D'Antoni said. "He had three blocks and a couple of dunks on the other end and was huge all night." The Wolves lost their third in a row and are 0-2 to start a five-game homestand. The Wolves didn't play selfishly, something Wittman railed about Wednesday night following a loss to Charlotte. But the bottom line remained the same. "We've got to stop this bleeding," Garnett said. "The trade deadline is over. No one is going to come in here with a cape on and make anything happen. The responsibility falls back on us, like always." --

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