Love gives team scare after knee takes a blow

It's probably a reflection of how jinxed the Timberwolves feel that when Kevin Love lay writhing in pain on the Target Center floor, grasping his left knee, probably everyone in the building assumed the worst. So Al Jefferson -- whose season ended two months early last February when he tore ligaments in his own knee -- was happy to hear the diagnosis: Just a bruise.

"I just knew how bumping knees hurt," Jefferson said. "It just takes a little time for the pain to go away, and he'll be all right. But he'll be sore tomorrow."

Love, moving into position in hopes of taking a charge from Corey Maggette with three minutes left in Wednesday's 107-101 loss to Golden State, banged his left knee into Maggette's knee, then slumped to the floor in obvious pain. The 21-year-old forward was helped into the locker room as the small Target Center crowd fretted. But he emerged to cheers just a couple of minutes later and finished the game, scoring 23 points with 16 rebounds.

"He's a tough kid," coach Kurt Rambis said of Love, who received treatment for a half hour after the game. "He was limping after the ballgame, but we'll find out what his status is tomorrow."

The ties that bind

There was a time Stephen Curry thought he would be with the Wolves. Come to think of it, he can remember the exact moment when he was most certain he was headed for the Twin Cities.

"About 7:30 p.m. in New York," he joked about draft night. "Right up until the moment [Jonny Flynn's] name was called."

Yes, Curry was as surprised as the rest of the basketball world that Wolves boss David Kahn decided to use both the No. 5 and 6 draft choices on point guards Ricky Rubio and Flynn. When Rubio's name was announced as the fifth pick, Curry began picturing himself in snowboots and parkas.

"I was pretty positive" he would be Kahn's choice, Curry said. "I had done a lot of talking to them during the whole draft process, and when they had two picks, I didn't think they would take both" point guards.

Nelson nears record

With the victory, Golden State's Don Nelson is now 13 victories short of Lenny Wilkens' NBA record of 1,332, a mark that reflects the coach's 31 years on an NBA sideline. But Nelson was a Hall of Fame player before moving to the bench, a trait he shares with each of the six winningest coaches in league history.

So do most NBA players have the potential to run a team, too?

"No, not at all," Nelson said. "Maybe 10 percent."

The typical player, Nelson said, masters his own position. "That's the way most guys play. But a guy [who can develop into a coach] has to understand all five positions, all the defensive schemes," he said. "It's a very complicated game we have here. It looks simple, but it's very complicated at this level."

Nelson understands the complexity better than most, Rambis said of the 69-year-old legend. "He always finds a way to be productive with the players he has," Rambis said. "... He's very good at getting the most from his players."

Hollins out

Reserve center Ryan Hollins missed the game because of an upper respiratory infection. His absence cleared playing time for Nathan Jawai and Oleksiy Pecherov and allowed guard Alando Tucker to suit up for the first time since being acquired from Phoenix a week ago. Tucker did not play.