http://www.startribune.com/511/story/995564.html Timberwolves guard Ricky Davis held his pose on the right baseline for a long time, in relative terms. A good beat or two longer, say, than Michael Jordan, out front, Delta Center, Game 6, 1998 NBA Finals. Davis went freeze-frame on the follow-through of his wide-open jumper from 18 feet, fairly confident with just 0.2 seconds left that he had broken a few hearts right behind him on the Boston Celtics' bench. Then Wolves center Mark Blount rushed over and embraced Davis, two former Celtics celebrating their team's 109-107 victory at Target Center on Sunday evening as if Bird, McHale and Parish still were around, as if something vital had been at stake. Actually, there was: The Wolves' reputation. Shaky enough already, it might have bottomed out had Minnesota succumbed to a Boston club that had lost 17 in a row (now 18) heading into this one. As it was, it took a perfect play on an inbounds pass with 3.6 seconds left. The Celtics, their inexperience showing mostly near the end, had given up the ball on a 24-second violation after guard Delonte West passed up a shot. After a timeout, Marko Jaric saw a crowd around Kevin Garnett and passed instead to Randy Foye out top. Foye headed toward the lane, and Paul Pierce instinctively left his man, Davis, to help stop Foye's drive. But the rookie -- who started for the first time this season at point guard in place of veteran Mike James -- reacted and zipped the ball to Davis. The 6-7 swingman, who already had 22 points in the second half, aimed and fired. "I am proud of those guys the way they executed down at the end," coach Randy Wittman said. Wittman looked more frantic than proud at that very moment, because the Blount-Davis whoop-de-doo was cutting into the 20-second timeout that Boston called with only 0.2 seconds left. Afterward, though, Wittman didn't sweat the celebration. "How many games have we lost like this? We're trying to gain momentum," the coach said. "I'm glad they're excited. They should be excited." Exasperated and excoriated were more appropriate words after the first half, with Boston leading by three, scoring 56 points and shooting 58.3 percent. The Wolves (24-27), by their own admission, were playing tight, due mostly to the fear of becoming the Celtics' highly publicized next victims. They also were adjusting to a new starting point guard, a decision Wittman made after Saturday's practice. He attributed the move to a "gut" feeling. An airing-out at halftime turned into more obvious energy for the Wolves in the third quarter, and Davis scored half of their 36 points in the period. Minnesota got its first lead at 71-68 on a Davis three-pointer, led by two when the quarter ended and was up 101-96 after Blount's jumper with 5:35 remaining. But Paul Pierce -- playing only his second game after missing 24 because of a stress reaction in his left foot -- stuck around longer than anyone expected and scored all of Boston's points in a 9-0 run that left the Wolves down by four with three minutes left. Garnett, with his second triple-double in three games (26 points, 11 rebounds, 10 assists), scored four points to tie it, 107-107, at 1:06. West missed a three-pointer, Garnett missed a turnaround shot and the Celtics ran out of clock. Then Davis went statue. --

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