Sports / Basketball |
Portland spoils Wolves' Wittman's debut(AP)Updated: 2007-01-25 14:26 PORTLAND, Ore. - Zach Randolph had 22 points, 15 rebounds, and two key free throws at the end as the Portland Trail Blazers spoiled Randy Wittman's first game as Minnesota's interim head coach with a 101-98 overtime victory over the Timberwolves on Wednesday night. Jarrett Jack made a driving layup with 28.7 seconds left in overtime to give the Blazers a 97-96 lead. Kevin Garnett answered with a turnaround jumper to give it back to Minnesota. Blazers rookie Brandon Roy made two free throws with 12.3 seconds left, as Portland again took the lead. Ricky Davis' jumper rimmed out and Randolph hit two free throws with 6.3 seconds left for what would prove to be the winning margin. Garnett, who missed a 3-point attempt at the buzzer, had 31 points and eight rebounds for the Timberwolves, losers of five straight. Wittman took over for Dwane Casey, who was fired by the Timberwolves the day before. Rookie Sergio Rodriguez had 18 points for Portland, which has won four of its last six. Jamaal Magloire hit one of two foul shots, before Martell Webster scored on a fast-break layup to tie it at 85 with 28.7 seconds to go in regulation. Davis pounded his chest after he hit a jumper with 11.6 seconds lefts to pull Minnesota back in front. Portland rookie LaMarcus Aldridge hit a pair of free throws with 2.8 seconds left to tie it again. After a timeout, Trenton Hassell inbounded to Garnett, who missed a jumper from the baseline as the clock ran out. Davis hit a 3 and Mark Blount had a long jumper to give the Timberwolves a 94-91 lead in overtime, a lead they maintained until Jack's layup. Following a 106-91 loss to Utah on Monday night, the Timberwolves were 20-20 and in eighth place in the competitive Western Conference. The next day Casey was let go. Wittman has spent nearly 10 seasons as an assistant in Minnesota during three different stints, including the last 31 games of the 2004-05 season under McHale, who took over after firing longtime coach Flip Saunders. Wittman was once head coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers, where he went 62-102 from 1999-2001. Portland was coming off a 99-95 victory over Milwaukee on Sunday. The Blazers went up 15-8 early, but Minnesota closed the gap and took a 24-23 lead on Davis' jumper. The teams traded the lead and stayed close until the half, when Davis' jumper tied it at 46. Davis had 16 points in the first half. He was booed often by the fans at the Rose Garden, in response to reports that Davis called the Blazers a "pack of roaches" during a game back in November. It stayed close in the third quarter, Garnett scored Minnesota's first 13 points, before Davis made a layup with 2:42 left in the period. Webster made a 3-pointer with 4:59 left in the game and it appeared the Blazers were finally pulling ahead, but Craig Smith hit a running jumper and Garnett added a jumper of his own to make it 78-77 with 3:28 to go. A pair of free throws from Garnett put Minnesota ahead, 79-78. |
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