http://www.twincities.com/timberwolves/ci_5615085 The fans at Madison Square Garden chanted "defense!" and cheered for their team Friday night. Applause rained down from the stands as the New York Knicks were locked in a tight game with playoff implications. Oh, what life would be like if the Timberwolves played in the Eastern Conference. Randy Foye made five three-pointers and scored 19 points to lead the Wolves, who dominated the first half and hung on to beat the Knicks, escaping with a 99-94 victory, their second consecutive road win against an Eastern Conference team fighting for playoff position. The Wolves defeated Orlando 105-104 in overtime Sunday. "I think about it all the time, but we're in the West," Foye said. "We can't look at the East and say, 'Oh, if we were there...' because that's what losers do. We've got to have a winner's mentality and keep on pushing for it." The Knicks outscored the Wolves 29-15 in the third quarter, 15 of those points coming from diminutive dynamo Nate Robinson. But Foye scored 10 points in the fourth, making all three of his three-point shots. "We might be in first place," said the Wolves' Ricky Davis when asked what it might be like to play in the East. In the East, the Wolves' 32-43 record would put them two games behind Orlando in the chase for the No. 8 and last playoff berth. The Wolves still would be in the playoff hunt. Then again, their record might be better than 32-43 with the bulk of their schedule against Eastern teams. "That's not our reality," Wolves all-star Kevin Garnett said. "I wish it was, but it's not." Instead, the Wolves are 5? games out in the West, clearly the superior half of the NBA. Their playoff hopes died about two weeks ago after a 1-4 road trip. Friday's game had the atmosphere of a playoff game. The Wolves aren't a part of it, buried instead in the Northwest Division far behind the Utah Jazz and the Denver Nuggets. Many of the Wolves probably would feel more comfortable in the East. Davis, Mark Blount and Justin Reed are former Boston Celtics. Garnett's star might burn even brighter if he played at Madison Square Garden, the so-called Mecca of basketball, more than once a year. Rookies Foye (Villanova) and Craig Smith (Boston College) played college basketball in the East. Minnesota improved to 14-15 against the East. That's not a great record, but it's better than the Wolves' 18-28 mark against the West. The Wolves have just seven games remaining and no hope of making the playoffs. The Knicks, who trailed 59-41 at halftime, got back in the game in the third quarter as Robinson hit three three-pointers and made life miserable for the Wolves with his energy and spunk. The Wolves responded, though, for one of the rare times this season after an opponent made a run. New York's Mardy Collins tied the score 74-74 early in the fourth quarter, but Foye made a three-pointer, and the Wolves never relinquished the lead the rest of the way. With 1:31 left, Davis' three-pointer bounced off the rim and down, giving the Wolves a 96-87 lead. Robinson answered with a three for the Knicks, and later they were able to cut the score to 96-94 when Renaldo Balkman got an offensive rebound and then scored a layup with about 16 seconds left. Eventually, the Knicks were forced to foul. After Foye made a free throw but missed the second, Smith came down with the offensive rebound with 12.3 seconds left, the Wolves leading 97-94. Garnett was fouled and added another free throw for a four-point edge with four seconds left. The Wolves face reality again tonight at Target Center against the New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets, a team with an outside chance to make the playoffs in the West. --

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