Perimeter Shooters Struggle

At the very least, none of this is Kevin Garnett’s fault.

The league MVP had 28 points on 12-of-24 shooting in Game 4 against the Lakers, sitting out only 32 seconds, a quick breather at the end of the third quarter. He finished with 13 rebounds and nine assists but couldn’t get any scoring help from his Minnesota teammates.

“Kevin’s done his job,” swingman Latrell Sprewell said. “But the perimeters haven’t played well except [in Game 3] we shot the ball well late, but at that point we were down so much.”

The Timberwolves’ outside shooting has definitely stumbled.

After frying the nets in the first two rounds of the playoffs, the Timberwolves have made 27 of their 76 three-point shots, or 35.5%, off from their 42.4% long-range success against Sacramento and Denver.

Fred Hoiberg made 15 of 30 three-point shots against Sacramento but hasn’t been a factor against the Lakers, making only three three-pointers and averaging 3.8 points.

Reserve guard Darrick Martin had a 15-point outburst in Game 2 but has made one of eight shots since then.

Sprewell was four of 18 in Game 4, missing all five of his three-point attempts.

The story might be different if All-Star guard Sam Cassell were more than a part-time player, but he has been nagged by back spasms and an injured hip. His availability, the team announced Friday, will be a game-time decision.

And so the Timberwolves are left with Garnett, whose teammates already seem to be apologizing.

“He comes out and lays it on the line, gives 115% every night,” Martin said. “I just feel bad. He’s just such a competitor.”

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Shaquille O’Neal’s scoring has dipped a bit, but the Timberwolves aren’t about to point it out.

“Shaq’s doing a great job,” center Ervin Johnson said, adding that O’Neal may not be scoring as usual, “but he’s getting offensive rebounds, he’s getting defensive rebounds. He’s very active on both ends of the floor, and when you get a big guy like that doing that, that’s a plus for the team.”

O’Neal is averaging 20.5 points and 17.5 rebounds against the Timberwolves after averaging 21.5 points and 11.5 rebounds during the regular season.

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Center Michael Olowokandi has not scored since a 10-point effort in Game 1, missing five shots in 33 minutes in the last three games. He played nine minutes in Game 4 and picked up three fouls in the first quarter.... The Timberwolves are 0-2 in Game 5s in their 15-season history.... Forward Mark Madsen on being down, 3-1: “We have to embrace this. I know that guys like Spree and KG are embracing this because right now people are writing us off. But we’re not writing ourselves off.”