With the trade deadline looming and the Timberwolves making frequent appearances on the rumor wire, the team resumed regular season action against the Phildelphia 76ers on Wednesday night. The 'Wolves rode a fast offensive start and the outstanding play of center Nikola Pekovic to a 94-87 victory.
A free agent at the end of the season and once the subject of trade rumors of his own, Pekovic looked right at home on the Target Center floor. He scored 27 points on 9-16 shooting to go along with 18 rebounds and a +10 mark on the night. His play also inspired the quote of the season from his teammate Ricky Rubio: ''If you play physical with Pek, you're in trouble because he hits the weight room. His arm is as big as my head.''
Derrick Williams, in the midst of an up and down season, started for the 'Wolves and played well. He scored 17 points on 7-12 shooting. Point guard Luke Ridnour, the most likely member of the team to be traded in the next 12 hours, delivered a fairly quiet 8 points and 5 assists in the winning effort.
Whatever shuffles might be made to the roster between now and Thursday's deadline will be on display Friday night on national television against the Oklahoma City Thunder. Any moves that do not involve the injured Brandon Roy, that is. Otherwise Wednesday night's game provided a preview of what the rest of the season will hold. With head coach Rick Adelman settled back in at the helm to assess the situation, the team will start the process of evaluating talents such as Rubio, Pekovic, Williams, and Alexey Shved to see what kind of foundation they have moving forward.
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