Minnesota Timberwolves Grapple, Fall to Danny Granger and the Indiana Pacers

It was a valiant fight, but in the end, the Minnesota Timberwolves came up on the losing end of the 109-99 final score against the Indiana Pacers. Kevin Love led the Wolves with 21 points and 17 rebounds. Indiana forward Danny Granger tallied 36 points, including five shots made from behind the arc.

Over the first two-and-a-half quarters, the Wolves and Pacers battled back and forth for the lead—it seemed as if neither squad would pull ahead.

However, Indiana proved the stronger team. Although Minnesota has been playing excellent second-half ball thus far, Wednesday night at the Target Center spun a different story. Mark Remme, Minnesota Timberwolves writer and editor for NBA.com, sums it up:

"[Indiana] used a physicality Minnesota has not seen so far this year. The Pacers disrupted the Wolves’ offensive rhythm and out-fought them to loose balls, and in the end Indiana handed Minnesota a [defeat] that felt very different than those in weeks past."

Both rosters saw five of their players score in double digits, but Indiana shot 45 percent from the field to Minnesota's weak 37. This is the second-straight home game in which the Wolves have struggled to consistently find the net.

Ricky Rubio did add 10 points to the effort, but he landed only 3-of-8 attempted shots. He dished out six assists and had four rebounds—arguably not the rookie's most impressive performance.

Love commented, “We were pretty lethargic tonight. We never really got into a rhythm. The first half we shot in the low 30s. We got into the high 30s in the second half, but we just didn’t play well. We had everyone back, we had enough bodies, but we didn’t really get into a good rhythm.”

Toward the end of the third quarter, Minnesota noticeably began to lose steam. They entered the final period down by six, and Indiana took the lead and ran with it. At one point, the Pacers extended the lead to 18 points. The Wolves chipped away, but they found themselves unable to close the gap.

Darko Milicic and Wes Johnson, both starters, scored only four points apiece, and Milicic pulled down a meager three rebounds. After missing a few games due to illness and being replaced by center Nikola Pekovich, many fans feel that Pekovich should fill the permanent starting spot. In Wednesday's contest, the big man grabbed 13 points and 12 rebounds in just under 30 minutes on the hardwood.

Following the game, Pacers head coach Frank Vogel spoke positively of his opponents:

“They certainly didn’t play their best game, but they have a bright future and I still think they are going to be a playoff team this year,” Vogel said. “I just believe in Rick Adelman that much and obviously what Kevin Love is doing—they have a lot of good pieces. They’re a good team.”

Minnesota fell to 10-12 on the loss, and Indiana increased its record to 15-6.

The Timberwolves will now prepare to play in New Jersey on Friday before returning home to welcome Houston Saturday night. This will be Minnesota's third time playing the Rockets in three weeks' time.