Timberwolves Hang on, Beat Pistons 97-91

The Wolves got their first win of the season tonight in their home opener at Target Center, beating the Pistons 97-91.

After a sloppy first half that featured lots of Wolves free throws and lots of missed shots by both teams, the Wolves got rolling in the third, building a 19 point lead by getting in the paint, with Nikola Pekovic coming alive and Andrew Wiggins making some impressive plays.

It wasn't to last, however, as the Pistons stormed back behind some hot shooting by Caron Butler and others, and tied the game in the 4th at 88. A Thad Young three broke the tie, and the Wolves wouldn't trail again, as they managed a couple of big stops on the defensive end and fouled Andre Drummond who missed some free throws late. The Wolves made their free throws to ice the game.

Once again, some good things and some not so good from the Wolves. Nikola Pekovic broke out of his six quarter "slump" with a solid 17 and 10 on 13 shots. Thad Young once again was the Wolves leading scorer with 19 along with 3 steals.

Ricky Rubio finished with 12 points and a better looking jumper, along with 8 assists and 7 boards. Andrew Wiggins struggled badly in the first half, but came alive in the third quarter, scoring all 8 of his points. It's clear that Flip Saunders doesn't yet trust his young players late in games, as the closing lineup was Rubio, Mo Williams, Corey Brewer/Kevin Martin, Young and Pekovic.

It's good to get the first win of the season. Of course losing to the Pistons at home after building a 19 point lead would have been a disaster. Fortunately, the Wolves were able to close it out.

Zach will have a full recap later.