Timberwolves at Pacers
THE STORY: Indiana, one of the hottest teams in the league, hosts
slumping Minnesota on Monday. The Pacers have won four straight and
eight of nine. Indiana is third in the Eastern Conference and leads
fourth-place Boston by 2 1/2 games. The injury-riddled Timberwolves are
playing out the string, and not doing it very well. Minnesota has lost
nine in a row and 12 of 14. The Timberwolves have also lost their last
25 games in April dating back to 2009.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, FS Indiana
ABOUT
THE TIMBERWOLVES (25-36): Minnesota's season started going south when
point guard Ricky Rubio tore up his knee in March. It's been all
downhill since and the Timberwolves are now dealing with the loss of
All-Star forward Kevin Love. He didn't make the trip to Indiana and will
miss his third consecutive games because of a concussion and strained
neck. Love was injured after playing eight minutes in the April 11 game
against Denver. Guard Luke Ridnour will miss his seventh straight game
with a sprained right ankle sustained April 2.
ABOUT THE PACERS
(38-22): It's always crucial for a team's best player to come through
when it matters the most. That's what Danny Granger, the team's leading
scorer, has done for Indiana. The Pacers small forward has scored at
least 18 points in 11 consecutive games. Since being held to five points
in a loss to New Jersey on March 28, Granger has put the Pacers on his
back. He's scored at least 20 points eight times in this stretch,
including games of 32, 27, 26 and 25. Granger is also shooting 51.2
percent. It's no surprise Indiana is 9-2 in its hot streak.
BUZZER BEATERS:
1.
Darren Collison, Indiana's starting point guard, has missed four
consecutive games with a sore groin. He participated in warmups
Saturday, but didn't play and is listed as day-to-day.
2. Minnesota coach Rick Adelman has been forced to use 14 different starting lineups because of the Timberwolves' injuries.
3.
Granger scored a season-high 36 points in Indiana's 109-99 victory at
the Target Center on Feb. 1. The Pacers are looking for their first
season sweep since 2003 and have won five of the last eight games
between the teams.