Nailbiter Express

And I mean it. With 24 seconds left, the Hornets led the Timberwolves 94-93, and Minnesota tried their darnedest to get a shot. The Bees thought otherwise, and the Wolves fouled Chris Paul during the stop. Paul hit two from the charity stripe, and the Hornets were up by three. Minnesota, with three seconds left, answered with a Mike James trey, to tie it at 96. The Wolves, expecting a drive to the rim, zealously guarded the basket; Peja Stojakovic fired a 3-pointer from far away, putting the Bees up 99-96, and that's how it ended.

In fact, there were lots of 3-balls tonight: the Wolves made 5 of 14 — Troy Hudson, who scored 20 off the Minnesota bench, got four of them — and the Hornets sank 4 out of 10. The Wolves outrebounded the Bees, 50-37, but what killed them was the dynamic duo of CP3 and Peja, who took control of matters halfway through the fourth. Stojakovic wound up with 20 points; Paul hit 12 of 18 from the floor, including a trey, and 10 of 11 from the line for a personal-best 35 points. The only other Hornet in double figures was Desmond Mason, who picked up 10 points; rookie Cedric Simmons led the rebounders with 9.

Kevin Garnett still amazes me. He pulled down 22 points tonight, and was seemingly everywhere at once, grabbing 17 boards. Turning 30 obviously hasn't slowed him down in the slightest. I expect him to be a major threat when the Wolves visit the Ford Center next Friday.

Next game in Oklahoma City: Tuesday, against the Shaq-less Miami Heat.

Posted at 9:53 PM to Net Proceeds