Even without two starters, point guard Terrell Brandon and power forward Joe Smith, the Minnesota Timberwolves remain a formidable foe, strong enough to have come into Wednesday's contest with the Seattle SuperSonics with a five game winning streak and eight wins in their last nine games. They're even tougher at home, where the Wolves had gone 14-2, the third best home record in the NBA. It was also in the friendly confines of the Target Center where Minnesota had spanked the Sonics, 113-88, on December 4.

If the Sonics were to avenge the blowout loss which sparked a four-game losing streak, they would have to play an almost-flawless game.

Instead, they played a very good game. And that wasn't enough, because the Timberwolves played better in winning 111-106. This despite the fact that the Sonics had three players, Rashard Lewis, Gary Payton, and Vin Baker, with over 20 points apiece. They shot 51% from the field, 41% from three, and 90% from the free throw line.

Still not enough.

Why? The Timberwolves played a phenomenal game, getting 29 points and 10 rebounds from Kevin Garnett and 26 points off the bench from Anthony Peeler. They bettered the Sonics with 52% shooting from the field and 45% from beyond the three point line. Of course, not all of their performance was due to their own hot streak. It was also due to the Sonic defense, which seemed to forget about the fact that Peeler has throughout his career been a Sonic-killer so noted that his coach, Flip Saunders, has nicknamed him "Seattle Slew". Left alone much of the first half, Peeler went off, hitting four three pointers in five minutes as the Wolves went from down two to up seven.

Up to that point, the Sonics had started off very hot, leading the first ten minutes of the game thanks to strong play on the inside and hot shooting from Payton on the perimeter. On the other end, the Wolves were forced into several turnovers in the early going as the Sonics scrambled and recovered well.

Thanks to Peeler and a Wally Szczerbiak buzzer beater, Minnesota took a slim 29-28 lead to the second quarter. In the second quarter, the Wolves got the lead as large as 12 with five and a half minutes left after a 9-0 run. After this, however, the Sonics circled the wagon. They ended the half with a 12-6 run, closing the gap to six.

In the third quarter, the game bogged down about as each offense's effectiveness decreased. Garnett was at the top of his game, however, scoring 12 of his team's 23 points as they maintained and extended their lead to eight. In an odd coincidence, neither side's bench scored during the period.

Peeler resumed his launching of daggers in the fourth quarter. His second of the period, with nine minutes left, put Minnesota up by their largest margin of the night, 13. It seemed that the game was over when a Szczerbiak layup pushed the lead back to that same 13 with seven minutes left. The bucket was particularly egregious because it came after Lewis turned the ball over in backcourt and the rest of the team failed to get back.

The Sonics, however, simply refused to give back, getting up off the ropes and delivering a strong counter punch to Minnesota. Lewis in particular came alive, scoring 11 points and hitting three three pointers in the final two minutes and thirty seconds alone. Seattle trailed by only six with just over a minute left, and a Payton deuce reduced the margin to three with seven seconds left, but a pair of Szczerbiak free throws put the game to bed.

Lewis led the Sonics with 30 points on 9 of 18 shooting and 10 rebounds. He made a nice living at the free throw line, going 9 for 10. Payton had 25 points, shooting 10 of 17 from the field, and added four steals. Rebounding from three straight poor efforts, Baker made 10 of 15 shots, scoring 23 points and grabbing nine rebounds.

Garnett's team-leading 29 points came on 11 of 16 shooting, and he added 10 rebounds. Peeler made 8 of 11 attempts, 7 of 9 from beyond the arc, and finished with 26 points. Despite shooting a relatively poor 7 of 17, Szczerbiak had 16 points, as did Chauncey Billups; they tied for the team lead with six assists apiece. Despite foul trouble, Gary Trent scored 14 points on 5 of 9 and added 7 rebounds.

Notes:
The Sonic bench, strong of late, had a poor night tonight. As a group, they shot 6 of 17, scored but 15 points, and grabbed only 4 boards ... due to foul trouble for Trent and starting center Rasho Nesterovic, rookie Loren Woods played 17 minutes, and veteran Sam Mitchell also played 12 ... both teams shot well from the free throw line, with the Sonics rebounding from several poor performances of late with a 19 of 21 showing at the charity stripe.

SC.com Player of the Game: It was not enough tonight, but kudos to Rashard Lewis for his performance. Not only was Lewis successful from the perimeter, as he usually is, but he also did an excellent job of getting to the free throw line, with 10 attempts.