Team Will Be Put on the Clock

MINNEAPOLIS -- Party time ... not.

Headed for Los Angeles, a destination for tourists in general, and nightlife-loving NBA players in particular, Timberwolf Coach Flip Saunders says he’ll talk to his players about when they can go out on the town and when they have to be back.

“We’ll put in some curfews and things,” Saunders said. “We’ve got a lot they can do, so we’ll talk about it. We’ve talked about it. They all understand. They understand what this is all about.”

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The Timberwolves, who have won 50 games in three of their last four seasons in the rugged Western Conference, have been eclipsed locally by the Wild, a third-year NHL expansion team, which outdrew the basketball team, even before making a splash in its playoff debut against the Colorado Avalanche.

However, Saunders says it’s not a rivalry.

“The media wants to put it that way, but they’re not competition,” he said. “I mean, they’re competition for dollars, but I’m a Minnesota fan.

“I root for the Vikings, I root for the Twins and I root for the Wild. When I was in college, I roomed with Joe Micheletti [a star on the Minnesota hockey team] and I got a soft heart for hockey too. Winning is great for the community, whether it’s college sports or pro sports, that’s what it’s all about.”

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Troy Hudson, a former Clipper, on his one season with that franchise:

“I was just happy to get out of the CBA, I wasn’t even thinking about that [problem]. I just arrived there, trying to find a home.... They [teammates] were telling me that, but I was just happy to play in the NBA, it was going in one ear and out the other. But I found out, myself.”

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If Shaquille O’Neal’s comings and going were harrowing for Laker fans, they meant nothing to the Timberwolves, who never doubted he would be here.

Said Saunders: “Never crossed my mind.”

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When Kevin Garnett scored on a 12-foot turnaround on the game’s first possession, the Timberwolves led a playoff game at Target Center for the first time after 120 consecutive minutes of deficits. They had trailed end to end against the Lakers on Sunday and against the Dallas Mavericks in Game 3 of the first round last year and for the final 30 minutes of their Game 4 loss to the San Antonio Spurs the year before.