Minnesota Timberwolves center Nikola Pekovic, left, of Montenegro, drives on Phoenix Suns center Marcin Gortat, of Poland, in the first quarter of an NBA basketball game on Monday, March 12, 2012, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)

Minnesota Timberwolves center Nikola Pekovic finished third in voting for the NBA’s Most Improved Player Award, announced Friday, May 4.

Pekovic became the Wolves’ starting center early in the season and finished with averages of 13.9 points and 7.4 rebounds per game after averaging 5.5 points and 3.0 rebounds in 2010-11, his rookie season. He shot 56 percent from the floor after shooting 52 percent the season before.

Pekovic received 10 first-place votes and 104 points in the voting. Orlando Magic forward Ryan Anderson (260 points) won the award, and Milwaukee Bucks forward Ersan Ilyasova was second with 159 points.

Wolves forward Kevin Love, who won the Most Improved Player Award last year, received one first-place vote and eight points this season.

Anderson led the NBA in three-pointers made (166) and attempted (422). He joins Rashard Lewis as the only other power forward to lead the league in three-pointers made. He averaged career highs in points (16.1) and rebounds (7.7).

The Minnesota Timberwolves clung to the eighth spot in the Western Conference playoff race for longer than anybody could have ever predicted. It was after the All-Star break, Minnesota was sitting at 21-19, and the youthful team seemed to have every chance at a playoff appearance. Then, the Wolves saw their season get turned upside down. Ricky Rubio went down with an ACL injury, and the Wolves finished out the season 5-21.

Let’s take a look at the “two seasons” of Minnesota’s 2011-2012 campaign (before Rubio’s injury, and after):

Minnesota’s “first” season: 21-19.

Fans should have known they would be in for something special when the Timberwolves opened their season with a close loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder, one of the best teams in the NBA. After another close loss to the Milwaukee Bucks and a last-second loss to the Miami Heat, the Timberwolves delivered the first win of the Ricky Rubio era, a 17 point victory over the reigning NBA champion Dallas Mavericks. Wins against teams like the Los Angeles Clippers, San Antonio Spurs, Philadelphia Seventy-Sixers, and the Houston Rockets gave the rest of the NBA reason to fear the Wolves.

Kevin Love, Ricky Rubio, and Derrick Williams all took part in All-Star weekend, with all three players earning highlight time on ESPN. The Wolves looked cohesive, like a team on the rise.

Minnesota’s “second” season: 5-21. Ricky Rubio’s presence for this young team was crucial, but his importance quickly became even more apparent as the Wolves started falling apart. Despite valiant efforts by Kevin Love and Nikola Pekovic, the injury-riddled Wolves started dropping games and falling behind in the standings. Losses to New Orleans (twice), Golden State, and Sacramento were uncharacteristic of the “first season” team. Soon, injuries started catching up with the Wolves, and several players missed significant time, including Nikola Pekovic, Kevin Love, Ricky Rubio, Luke Ridnour, Michael Beasley, and J.J. Barea.

Although there was nothing too serious, there were a few spats between players that were publicized. Kevin Love and J.J. Barea had words on the bench during a game, and Barea was critical of the team after a dismal performance in late April. The team seemed to lose cohesiveness, and it showed in their poor finish.

If Minnesota can regain its health, and get one or two more players to fill the holes on the roster, they will be a force to be reckoned with next year in the Western Conference. Timberwolves fans are hoping that the team carries over the success from the first half of this season, and forgets about their second half collapse.

Jack Grunpe is an avid Minnesota Timberwolves fan. Follow him on Twitter at @MNSportsWriter1.

For the first time in three years, the Minnesota Timberwolves are looking to win consecutive games in April.

Whether star Kevin Love will be on the court to help them accomplish that remains to be seen.

The Timberwolves look to build on their first victory in almost a month while trying to avoid a 16th straight April home defeat Sunday night against the Golden State Warriors, who hope to avoid a ninth consecutive loss overall.

Minnesota (26-38) had lost 27 straight games in April dating to 2009 before snapping an 11-game overall skid with a 91-80 win at Detroit on Thursday.

“We finally got a win,” said guard J.J. Barea, who had 13 points, 12 assists and six rebounds.

Hit hard by injuries, the Timberwolves are looking for anything positive to finish the season after falling out of playoff contention in the Western Conference.

“Hopefully, we can win out and build on this,” forward Anthony Randolph told the Timberwolves‘ official website after he had 15 points and 10 rebounds against the Pistons. “We’re all competitive. Everybody wants to win and this has been a tough season. We lost a lot of important guys. If we had everyone here and we were healthy, we would have make the playoffs, no problem.”

It’s uncertain if Love will miss a sixth straight game with a concussion.

Averaging a career-high 26.0 points with 13.3 rebounds, Love went through a light practice Saturday and has passed all the required post-concussion tests.

“I just want to be back out there and be part of the team again,” Love said. “If I’m able to play, I’ll go out there. If not, then so be it. But I’m just trying to work back.”

Though the Timberwolves have no real reason to play Love, they could certainly use their All-Star as they try to snap a six-game home skid. Minnesota has dropped 15 in a row at home in April dating to a 110-101 overtime victory over Milwaukee on April 16, 2008.

Minnesota split the first two meetings this season with Golden State (22-41). Love had 29 points and 12 rebounds in the Timberwolves‘ 97-94 home loss to the Warriors on April 4.

Golden State, however, has allowed 110.0 points per contest on 49.9 percent shooting during a season-high six-game road skid since that victory in Minnesota.

The Warriors’ 99-96 defeat at Houston on Saturday also extended their season-high overall skid to eight games. Rookie guard Klay Thompson scored 24 points as the depleted Warriors lost for the 20th time in 24 games.

The end of the season likely can’t come soon enough for Golden State, which has been hampered by injuries to forwards David Lee (groin and stress reaction), Andris Biedrins (concussion) and guard Stephen Curry (ankle).

The team announced earlier Saturday that Curry and Andrew Bogut would undergo surgery on their injured ankles, then went out and shot 49.3 percent to remain competitive against a club fighting for a playoff spot.

“I was really proud of my guys,” coach Mark Jackson said. “We were short-handed, but put ourselves in position down the stretch to win the ballgame.”

Thompson has averaged 24.0 points on 47.1 percent shooting in the last six games.

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) The Indiana Pacers approached Monday night’s game against the Minnesota Timberwolves as though they were facing the Chicago Bulls or the Miami Heat.

The Pacers rolled to a 25-point lead in the first 9 minutes and beat the Timberwolves 111-88 for their fifth consecutive win.

This young team is starting to get it.

”We came out with the killer instinct tonight,” Pacers coach Frank Vogel said. ”That set the tone for us. That’s what we want to go into the playoffs with.”

David West had 22 points and 10 rebounds, Danny Granger scored 19 points, Paul George had 18 and Roy Hibbert added 12 points and 11 rebounds for the Pacers, who solidified their grip on the No. 3 position in the Eastern Conference standings.

Indiana has won eight of nine games, but none of the other wins started this well. The Pacers generally have been stronger in the second half than in the first, but this time, they did the right things from the opening tip.

”I think the biggest thing is that we continue to build good habits,” West said. ”We’re coming out and trying to make the right play every single time. I think that’s imperative for us. We continue the momentum we’re starting to build and hopefully, we’ll be playing some of our best ball a week-and-a-half from now.”

Indiana scored at least 100 points for the 10th time in 11 games.

”We’ve been trusting the pass,” George said. ”Everybody’s been willing to share the ball, and we’ve been moving.”

Jose Barea had 14 points and nine assists and reserves Michael Beasley and Derrick Williams added 13 points each for Minnesota, which lost its 10th in a row. Kevin Love, one of the league’s top scorers and rebounders, sat out for the third consecutive game with a mild concussion and a neck strain.

Minnesota coach Rick Adelman said Love’s injury was no excuse.

”You have to come out and compete, and we didn’t compete,” he said. ”It’s a glaring problem. We know we have injuries, but we’re better than that.”

The Pacers rolled to a 22-4 lead as Minnesota missed 10 of its first 11 shots.

”They came out with a lot of energy,” Minnesota forward Anthony Randolph said. ”They are getting ready for playoff basketball. It was just a tough loss.”

Indiana made three consecutive 3-pointers to take a 55-23 lead in the second quarter. Later in the period, Indiana got six offensive rebounds on one possession before an emphatic right-handed putback dunk by George Hill put the Pacers up 59-27.

The Pacers led 64-30 at halftime as Indiana made 8 of 14 3-pointers and outrebounded Minnesota 33-23. Minnesota shot just 27.5 percent in posting its lowest-scoring half of the season.

”It’s inexcusable to play the way we did in the first half,” Adelman said. ”They were tougher than we were. It’s as simple as that. They’re going to be physical and come at us, and we have to be ready to play.”

Indiana maintained its lead in the third quarter behind 12 points from West. The Pacers shot 50 percent in the third quarter in taking a 93-63 lead.

A flurry by Minnesota cut Indiana’s lead to 95-77 with 6:54 remaining, causing Vogel to call a timeout. The Pacers made just one of their first nine shots in the fourth quarter. The Timberwolves cut Indiana’s lead to 14 points before a 3-pointer by A.J. Price pushed the Pacers’ lead to 98-81 and helped the increasingly restless crowd relax.

Even with the shaky fourth quarter, West liked what he saw.

”This is the time of year where you’ve got to be coming together,” he said. ”We’re fine-tuning some things we want to do offensively. Obviously, trying to be a collective unit defensively. And then, just play with a certain level of aggression, especially when you’re dealing with teams that don’t have anything to play for this time of year, like the Timberwolves.”

The Pacers are 2 1/2 games ahead of Orlando and Atlanta for third place with five games remaining. A top three seed would give Indiana homecourt advantage in the first round of the playoffs.

”Everything we do is geared toward winning in the playoffs,” Vogel said. ”And the first step is getting homecourt advantage.”

Notes: Former Pacers C Brad Miller entered the game in the first quarter for the Timberwolves and got a loud cheer. … Indiana Mr. Basketball Gary Harris attended the game. He will play at Michigan State. … Indiana PG Darren Collison played after missing the past four games with a sore groin. He went scoreless and committed three fouls in 19 minutes as a reserve. … Minnesota shot 22.7 percent in the first quarter. … Granger scored at least 18 points for the 12th straight game. … It was West’s second game this season with at least 20 points and 10 rebounds. … Minnesota has allowed at least 111 points in six of the 10 losses.

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Follow Cliff Brunt on Twitter: www.twitter.com/cliffbruntap

Minnesota Timberwolves power forward Anthony Randolph (15) shoots against Utah Jazz shooting guard Gordon Hayward (20) during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Thursday, March 15, 2012, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Colin E Braley)

INDIANAPOLIS – Minnesota Timberwolves forward Anthony Randolph, an impressive performer in the team’s past three games, will make his first start of the season on Monday, April 16, against the Indiana Pacers at Conseco Fieldhouse.

Timberwolves coach Rick Adelman inserted the 6-foot-11 Randolph into the starting lineup ahead of rookie forward Derrick Williams, who had started the past two games since Kevin Love suffered a mild concussion and strained neck in the Timberwolves’ April 11 game at Denver.

Love still is recovering from the injury, and Adelman said his status for returning to the lineup remains unclear. The Timberwolves (25-36) have only four games remaining after tonight’s game.

Randolph, a four-year veteran, is averaging 22.0 points and 8.6 rebounds and shooting 59 percent from the floor off the bench in the Timberwolves’ past three games. Tonight’s game will be Randolph’s first start since the 2010-11 season.

Meanwhile, Timberwolves center Nikola Pekovic said he will undergo arthroscopic surgery after the season to remove bone spurs in his right ankle. Pekovic has been bothered by the condition for the past month.

“I want to do it so I can be ready for next season and feel better,” Pekovic said.

Pekovic said he will go home to his native Serbia and Montenegro for two weeks, then return to the United States to have surgery.

The Indiana Pacers are inching closer to securing home-court advantage for the opening round of the playoffs. A visit from the Minnesota Timberwolves could help them take another step toward to that goal.

Indiana will try to earn a fifth straight win and send the short-handed Timberwolves to a 10th consecutive loss Monday night.

The Pacers (38-22) have taken a firm grip on the No. 3 spot in the Eastern Conference by winning eight of nine. If they remain in the top four, they’ll open the playoffs at home for the first time since 2004.

Indiana defeated Milwaukee 105-99 on Saturday despite not making a basket in the final 4:19. Roy Hibbert scored the team’s final six points from the free-throw line and finished with 23 to lead seven Pacers in double figures.

“We did a great job of finishing our plays,” guard Leandro Barbosa said. “We’ve been doing that for a couple of games, and that’s going to be important for the playoffs.”

The current four-game winning streak has been particularly impressive because starting point guard Darren Collision hasn’t played due to a sore groin. He did warm up before Saturday’s game, though his status for Monday remains uncertain.

The Timberwolves (25-36) have plenty of injury problems of their own and are on their longest skid since losing a franchise-worst 18 straight March 13-Dec. 30, 2011. They’ve played the last two without leading scorer and rebounder Kevin Love, who has no timetable to return from a concussion.

Luke Ridnour is dealing with a sprained right ankle, and Ricky Rubio is out for the season following knee surgery.

“We need some other players to step up,” center Nikola Pekovic said.

In Love’s absence, three Minnesota players topped 20 points against visiting Oklahoma City on Saturday, and the Timberwolves gave the Western Conference leaders a scare before losing 115-110.

J.J. Barea had 24 points, including a 3-pointer with 15.6 seconds left which got Minnesota within one, and reached double figures in assists for a third straight game with 10. Michael Beasley scored 26 points and Anthony Randolph added 22 with 11 rebounds.

“We’re just out there trying to be scrappy,” Beasley said. “Kevin might not be here for the rest of the season. That’s 26 points, sometimes 40 points and 20 boards. Everybody has to step up and we’re trying to finish this season with a bang.”

Even with Love’s 21 points and 17 rebounds in the first meeting of the season between these teams, Minnesota lost 109-99 at home Feb. 1. Indiana’s Danny Granger scored a season-high 36 and Collison added 20.

Granger is scoring 22.8 per game in April, easily his best average of any month this season. He’s averaged 26.3 points over his last three home games against Minnesota.

Minnesota is seeking just its fifth win in 22 visits to Indiana.

MINNEAPOLIS — At one point during the fourth quarter, Minnesota Timberwolves coach Rick Adelman was so desperate to stop Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook that he put 6-foot-11 Anthony Randolph on the Oklahoma City Thunder’s star point guard.

That, like practically everything else the Timberwolves and the rest of the NBA have tried this season, didn’t work, either.

Durant scored 43 points and Westbrook had 35 and eight assists to keep the Thunder atop the Western Conference with a 115-110 victory over the Timberwolves on Saturday night.

“I don’t think we ever thought we’d be putting Randolph on Westbrook in the fourth quarter and whoever on Durant,” Adelman said. “We were trying anything to find answers.”

Try again.

Durant scored 16 in the final seven minutes for the Thunder (44-16), who started the day one game ahead of the Spurs — but tied in the loss column — for the top seed in the West. After a three-game losing streak earlier this month, the Thunder have won four of their last five games.

“We want to win as much games as we can going down to the stretch of the season,” Durant said. “Hopefully we get (the No. 1 seed). If not, we’ve just got to keep playing. We can’t worry about that. We’ve just got to worry about how we can get better every single game.”

Anthony Randolph had 22 points and 11 rebounds and Michael Beasley scored 26 for the Timberwolves, who lost their ninth straight game and 25th in a row in April dating to 2009.

The Wolves were without All-Star Kevin Love, who missed his second straight game with a concussion. J.J. Barea had 24 points and 10 assists, but Minnesota missed 12 free throws.

Barea’s 3-pointer cut the deficit to 112-110 with 13.8 seconds to play, but Westbrook iced the game at the line, where the Thunder hit 28 of 32 shots.

Serge Ibaka had eight points, 12 rebounds and five blocks and James Harden returned from a one-game absence because of a sore right knee. He scored six on 1-for-11 shooting.

The Wolves gave the Thunder all they could handle in their first two meetings, losing 104-100 in the season opener and 149-140 in an epic double overtime game in Oklahoma City on March 23. But they had Love in both of those games and weren’t expected to give the mighty Thunder much trouble on Saturday night playing without Love, Ricky Rubio (knee) and Luke Ridnour (ankle).

The Thunder appeared to be taking control with a 10-0 run to start the third quarter, but Beasley and Randolph kept the plucky Wolves in the game and Barea looked more like the annoying pest who helped the Mavericks win the title last season.

Randolph converted a three-point play and knocked down a jumper, Malcolm Lee had a three-point play and Beasley hit a 15-footer to cut the lead to 91-90 with 10 minutes to play.

“We’re just out there trying to be scrappy,” Beasley said. “Kevin might not be here for the rest of the season. That’s 26 points, sometimes 40 points and 20 boards. Everybody has to step up and we’re trying to finish this season with a bang.”

Durant simply had an answer for every Wolves push. He blew by Anthony Tolliver for a dunk, knocked down a silky jump shot from the wing, scored on a back-down in the post and drove past Randolph for another bucket and a 105-97 lead with just under 4 minutes to go.

He even came up big on defense, forcing a traveling violation by Randolph and poking the ball away to create a fast-break bucket for Westbrook to hold the Wolves off.

“Sometimes I don’t have to score, I can make a pass, but my teammates did a great job man,” Durant said. “Russell had it going in the third and he sacrificed for me to get some easy baskets.”

Westbrook was 12 of 25 from the floor, and he’s received some criticism for the amount of shots he takes and not being more of a playmaking point guard that keeps his teammates, particularly Durant, more involved. Adelman scoffed at that notion before the game, saying “everybody doesn’t have to be John Stockton.”

“If they’re really down on him, he can come over here,” Adelman deadpanned. “I’ll let him play.”

NOTES: It was Durant’s fourth 40-point game of the season. … The Wolves announced a crowd of 19,552, their 11th sellout of the season. That’s the most since they went to the Western Conference finals in 2003-04. … Timberwolves G Wayne Ellington was active after missing the previous two games with back spasms. He did not play.

Suns (29-27) at Timberwolves (25-32)

C: Marcin Gortat … Nikola Pekovic

PF: Channing Frye … Kevin Love

SF: Jared Dudley … Wesley Johnson

SG: Shannon Brown … Martell Webster

PG: Steve Nash … J.J. Barea

Key T-wolves injuries: Ricky Rubio (knee) is out. Darko Milicic (hamstring) is doubtful. Luke Ridnour (ankle) missed the past two games.

Key T-wolves reserves: Wayne Ellington, Michael Beasley, Derrick Williams, Anthony Randolph, Malcolm Lee.

Onto today’s Orange Slices…

* The Suns’ streak of most important games of the season stays alive.

With 10 games to go and ground to make up, the streak will keep going until they clinch or get eliminated.
The gravity of needing a win tonight comes because this is the start of a four-game road trip with the next three games all coming against teams with better records than the Suns.

Minnesota is ripe to beaten, having lost five games in a row and with a 4-13 record since Ricky Rubio’s knee injury required season-ending surgery. However, the Suns were one of those four Minnesota victims in Phoenix. The Timberwolves beat the Suns 127-124 when Kevin Love had 23 second-half points and center Nikola Pekovic added 24 points.

“Every game, every week is make or break,” Suns guard Steve Nash said. “We can’t afford to lose two or three in a row. We’ve got to try to win two or three in a row and put ourselves in a position to upset somebody and get way ahead of the game. We’ve done phenomenal. The coaches have been unbelievable this year. You’ve got to give the coaches a ton of credit because we find ourselves incredibly in a position to get in the playoffs.”

Today’s position is alone in ninth place, one game behind Denver, 1 1/2 games behind Dallas and two games behind Houston. The Suns are a half-game ahead of Utah. Four of the five combatants play tonight. Dallas is off but Denver plays host to Golden State, Utah plays host to San Antonio and Houston plays at Portland.

Suns coach Alvin Gentry said after Saturday night’s win against the Lakers that the team leaders helped the team have a mindset to put Friday’s loss behind them and get back on track with a Saturday win. Tonight would be a night to not forget how they played against Minnesota in the last meeting and make it a vengeful night.

“They are all big,” Gentry said of the schedule remaining. “Whoever we play now we are at a point in the season where we approach every game like we are in the playoffs and it’s a playoff game. I will say that there a lot of teams that are going to be playing each other so to put a number on something , I don’t really know and don’t think anyone knows. We just have to keep trying to win games.”

* Of those five teams in the hunt for three playoffs spots, the Suns have the most remaining games against teams with winning records. After tonight, eight of the final nine Suns games are against teams with winning records. Dallas only has three of its final nine games at home.

With head-to-head tiebreakers, the Suns have clinched it against Utah and have already lost it against Denver and Dallas. They could split the season series with Houston if they win Thursday there. The next tiebreaker would be conference record, which will be tight as well. Houston is at 20-19 and Phoenix is at 19-19 but a win there would shift that for the Suns. Should the conference records tie, the next tiebreaker is record against other conference playoff teams.

* Minnesota is only 13-14 at home, giving it only one more win than it has on the road.

* When the Timberwolves lost at Phoenix on March 1, they had a season-high 12 steals. That is contrary to the Timberwolves’ turnover problems. They actually give up the third most points off turnovers per game (18.5) in the NBA for a league-worst differential in points off turnovers (minus-4.4).

* Minnesota still ranks 11th in rebounding percentage but that is a slipping status despite Kevin Love ranking second in the league with his 13.5 average. The Timberwolves have been beaten on the boards in 13 of 23 games since the All-Star break.

* The Timberwolves lean more on the 3-point shot now. In 10 of their past 24 games, they have made at least 10 3s, including a 14-for-22 night to win at Phoenix on March 12. They also set seasons highs for field goals (50) and assists (30) in that game but Ridnour’s play benefitted them tonight. He is out indefinitely with an ankle sprain.

* The Suns have a chance to move to three games over .500 for the first time this season. They are 17-8 since their turnaround began Feb. 19. Only Chicago, San Antonio and Oklahoma City have better records during that time span.

* Every day has been a new knee rehabilitation step for Grant Hill. Today, he did some basketball movements laterally. The Suns have dodged facing the type of scorers that Hill is most needed to defend.

Kobe Bryant sat out Saturday’s game and Denver, Utah, Sacramento and New Orleans did not have the wing that demands a stopper. Maybe Tyreke Evans, but he is an unusual small forward and had a bad game anyway. The last the Suns really needed Hill’s defense during his seven-game absence was against San Antonio and the Los Angeles Clippers on March 27 and 28 to handle point guards Tony Parker and Chris Paul. The Suns lost both games. The Memphis game on Wednesday would make Rudy Gay the first primetime wing scorer in Hill’s absence.

* Gentry talks constantly about how the Suns can’t afford unforced or live turnovers because of how hard it is to defend in transition off a turnover. He emphasizes it so much that you would think the Suns are horrible with it. Actually, they give up the second least amount of points off turnovers (14.9 per game) than any team in the league.

* The assist crown is going to come down to the final games. Nash and Boston’s Rajon Rondo both are averaging 11.2 per game. Rondo has posted 17 consecutive double-digit assist games.

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MEMPHIS, Tenn. – With starting center Marc Gasol out with a bum right ankle, the Memphis Grizzlies started a front line of forwards.

And Dante Cunningham, who filled Gasol’s spot, took advantage of the opportunity with his best performance of the season.

Rudy Gay scored 21 points, Cunningham added season highs of 13 points and 14 rebounds, and the Grizzlies beat the Timberwolves 93-86 on Tuesday night, March 27.

Cunningham, who played only one minute in the Grizzlies’ 102-96 victory at the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday, played 40-plus against the Timberwolves and was 6 of 9 from the field as all five Memphis starters finished in double figures.

“Dante didn’t play much in the (Lakers) game and didn’t know if Marc was going

to play (against the Timberwolves) or not, but came prepared,” said guard Mike Conley, who had 12 points and eight assists. “That’s the kind of focus we need from everybody, and I think we fed off that.”

Marreese Speights had 18 points, and Tony Allen finished with 13 as the Grizzlies won their second straight.

Kevin Love led Minnesota with 28 points and 11 rebounds, while Wayne Ellington scored 15 points on 6-of-10 shooting. Derrick Williams added 14 points for the Timberwolves, who have lost six of eight.

Both teams were dealing with injuries. The Timberwolves were without guard J.J. Barea and center Nikola Pekovic, while guard Ricky Rubio is out for the season after knee surgery. Michael Beasley is dealing with a sprained toe on

his left foot that limited him to 11 minutes and three points against the Grizzlies.

“We’re all we’ve got right now,” Love said of the teammates still in uniform. “I know other guys need to step up and play as hard as they can. We’re definitely finding out about ourselves.”

Meanwhile, Memphis played without Gasol and is still waiting for forward Zach Randolph to get back in game shape after missing 2-1/2 months with a right knee injury. Then Conley went down with a twisted ankle late in the

Minnesota Timberwolves forward Martell Webster (5) goes to the basket against Memphis Grizzlies defenders Rudy Gay (22), Dante Cunningham and Marreese Speights (5) in the first half of an NBA basketball game on Tuesday, March 27, 2012, in Memphis, Tenn. (AP Photo/Lance Murphey)

first half, but finished the game.

“Somebody’s out; somebody has to step up,” Gay said. “Dante did it. Mo (Speights) did it also.”

The Grizzlies pulled away in the fourth quarter, outscoring the Timberwolves 25-19 and missing only one of six free throws in the final minute.

“Fourth quarter, we’re right there, and then they make plays down the stretch to get the stops they need,” Minnesota coach Rick Adelman said.

Memphis shot 43 percent from the floor and missed all 11 three-point attempts, but overcame that by holding Minnesota to 39 percent shooting overall and 31 percent shooting from three-point range.

Memphis led 44-41 at the break behind 12 points from Gay. Love had 11 for Minnesota in a half in which both teams committed

nine turnovers.

“It could have easily gone south for us with me going down and Marc out, guys being in different roles, different settings,” Conley said, when asked about the reserves stepping in.

Conley returned to start the second half, but Minnesota came out firing. The Wolves used a 20-6 rally to erase the Memphis advantage and take their biggest lead of the night at 63-55.

Memphis answered by closing the third quarter with a 13-4 run to retake the lead at 68-67.

“I decided to give (Love) about three minutes’ rest there, and they closed the gap and took the lead,” Adelman said. “That’s when we need to have other people step up.”