Good Job, Timberwolves, Now Take One Day Off

And the Timberwolves’ prize after all that is ... the Lakers?

Somebody up there is definitely not looking out for the little team that never made it out of the first round in seven tries but advanced to the Western Conference finals Wednesday.

The Minnesota Timberwolves, or what’s left of them after seven games going toe to toe with the Sacramento Kings, will now face the Lakers, who will have had six days to recover from the Spurs. With Kobe Bryant getting IVs and three starters 32 or older, there’s nothing like a week off in the middle of the playoffs.

Then the league office, which had been letting teams sit around for days on end, decided to start the West finals on Friday, giving the Timberwolves one day to celebrate or get ready for the Lakers or both.

As Kevin Garnett, who went 46 minutes Wednesday night, noted afterward, “We’re going to try and get off our feet as fast as possible.”

Every second counts, because the Lakers are coming, soon.

The Timberwolves didn’t have enough problems?

Troy Hudson, last spring’s star, had knee surgery. Wally Szczerbiak, injured most of the season, now comes off the bench. Michael Olowokandi was so bad in the playoffs, they wouldn’t even let him off the bench as a backup in the last four games.

Worse, Sam Cassell, the coldblooded little shot-maker who turned the Timberwolves into an elite team, has a back injury and made it through the series on willpower, averaging only 13 points over the last five games.

Or as Coach Flip Saunders said after Cassell somehow scored 21 points Wednesday night: “He’s hurt a lot more than people think he is right now.”

On the bright side, Cassell has all day to try to get better.

If the Lakers and Spurs got all the attention, the Timberwolves and Kings just did some number on each other.

In Game 1 in Minnesota, the Kings broke through, winning, 104-98, as Garnett, who had just been presented his MVP trophy, made six of 21 shots and scored 16 points.

In Game 2, the Kings led, 88-78, with 4:11 left, but, just when they were about to deal the death blow, the Timberwolves finished with a 16-1 run.

In Game 3 in Sacramento, the Kings trailed by 13 before rallying in the last 2:00 of regulation to send it into overtime ... where the Timberwolves won, anyway, 114-113. King fans, always loud, now became rowdy as they sensed their moment slipping away and threw plastic giveaway bottles on the floor.

In Game 4, the Kings won to even the series, 2-2, with a laboring Cassell missing 11 of 15 shots.

In Game 5 back in Minnesota, Latrell Sprewell, the streaky threat who can either make the Timberwolves or break them, scored 34 points in an 86-74 victory.

At 33, Sprewell is no longer the slasher he used to be, often settling for jump shots. To that point, Sprewell was averaging 22 points in their wins, and nine in their two losses.

Meanwhile Sacramento’s Brad Miller and Minnesota’s Darrick Martin were tossed for their spat, in which Miller pushed Martin, who was on the floor, in the back.

In Game 6 back in Arco Arena, which Webber guaranteed the Kings would win, they did, 104-87, tying it, 3-3. Peeler elbowed Garnett in the stomach, laying him out on the floor, after which Garnett elbowed Peeler in the chest, and Peeler got him back with one to the jaw. Peeler was suspended for two games, and Garnett got off with a $7,500 fine, after having come perilously close to watching Game 7 from the stands too.

Cassell, limited to 30 minutes and 16 points before fouling out, was hit with a technical and had to be pulled away from an official. King fans littered the floor once more with the giveaway item of the day, glow sticks.

Doug Christie’s wife, Jackie, said she hated Cassell “with a purple passion.” Garnett said the Kings’ fans weren’t a “class act,” then embarrassed himself with his war metaphor for the upcoming Game 7. With the nation in an actual war, which claimed the life of former NFL player Pat Tillman, this called for a full-dress apology, which Garnett made.

Game 7 was an emotional, pressure-packed ordeal, with the Kings trailing by nine points with 1:43 left, closing to within one and falling, 83-80, when Chris Webber’s last-second three-pointer rimmed out.

Game 1 is Friday. Good luck, home team.