Minny T-Pups 32, Brooklyn Nets 10

   The above score represents the fourth quarter alone, as impressive and thrilling a quarter as I’ve seen from the Minnesota Timberwolves since the early 2000s. The 32-10 walloping the T-Pups handed Brooklyn in the penultimate period led to an amazing comeback from 22 points down midway through the 3rd quarter and resulted 107-96 win.

  Leading the way, the Runnin’ Russian Duo of Andrei Kirilenko and the freshly-shorn Alexey Shved, the sturdy play of JJ Barea, the timely shooting of Chase Budinger, and the loose-ball owning Dante Cunningham. And, oh, what do you know--the second half master of tweaks, Coach Rick Adelman. It's a different game when you play with the brain.

  I actually missed most of the first half—night class grammar lessons at the local college (coordinating and subordinating conjunctions, y’all, oh yeah)—but turns out that part of the game sucked eggs anyways. Nic Pekovic must’ve kept the guys afloat in the first half as he had a team-high 21 tallies (and also my man Phelps texted that Big Pek was hot) at game’s end. 

  But the real fun started midway through the third as I tore into a piece of re-heated lasagna and sat down in the TV room rocker with my two kiddies to witness the comeback. This was another great thing about the comeback: my kids saw it. When, at a young age, you watch your team win an exciting game, I believe that it makes an indelible mark, and, possibly, makes it that much more likely that you will be a sportsfan for life. Archdoggins and Vi were going nuts right along with me as Kirilenko dunked and D’d and Shveddy and Chase rained down threes. I was hootin and hollerin. They were miming the plays. The most fun I’ve had in my living room on a nothing Monday night in many days.

  P.S.: The Nets’ new court looks pretty spiff, I thought, with the black paint and parquet, though the crowd seemed less raucous than I thought it might since it was only Brooklyn’s second game ever in the Barclay Center…. The Nets uniforms leave something to be desired. White and black? How about a real color in there somewhere? A hint of blue or gold or red or something…. While I’m at it, I might as well disparage the fact that the franchise kept its lame “Nets” moniker. You’re leaving New Jersey and its sad history with the team for Brooklyn, so why not make a wholesale name change? Alliteration in moderation is always good. The Brooklyn Barons. The Brooklyn Breakdancers. The Brooklyn Big Boys. The Brooklyn Badasses. I don’t know. All those ideas are pretty lame, too. But no worse than the Nets.

  P.P.S.: Alexey Shved’s new haircut was a good move, I think. He’s so slight and fine featured that I’ll bet the girly way he was wearing his hair was probably drawing ridicule at an unreasonable rate. Chicks might have been loving it, but they still have Louis Amundson's lustrous tresses to admire… Chase Budinger’s hair glows in the dark, I’m willing to wager. The closer in they zoom on it, the more I wish I was wearing sunglasses… Andrei Kirilenko looks a great deal like Ivan Drago, as many people have pointed out before, I’m sure. But he really looks Drago-like in fourth quarters when he’s extra-sweaty. This seems to be a good thing, intimidation-wise… Kevin Love’s closely shaved scalp is a good look for him. He and Rubio looked sort of tough on the bench, I thought, some nice facial hair for both, decked out in scuffling-savvy blacks. A natty bunch.