Wolves play well but lose; Speedy Claxton sparks Hornets win 100-94
KG 19/21, Ricky 23/6 assists, Carter 10/6 assists, Blount 12/5, Banks 12, Mad Dog 6/5/3 blocks
*Boxscore *Video Highlights *Mad Dog Diary
*Speedy alternative lifts Hornets win, Houston
*Timberwolves let leads slip, Rick Alonzo

     (Minnesota 2/11/06 by Poundmaster) The New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets tonight defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves 100-94 behind the 4th quarter sparkplug pay of backup guard Speedy Claxton, who with his 28 points and 7 assists, showed why many think he is the best backup in his position in the NBA.
     The Wolves led the Hornets 90-88 with 2:24 remaining in the game. But the Hornets tied and passed the Wolves on a Kirk Snyder three and Speedy Claxton's two jumpers to make it 95-90 lead with a minute to go.
     Kirk Snyder also had 28 points for the Hornets. Ricky Davis led the Wolves with 24 points and 6 assists. Kevin Garnett had a huge night on the boards with 19 points and 21 rebounds. Mark Blount and Marcus Banks had 12 points. Mark Madsen who left the game with 5 minutes to play, had 6 points, 6 rebounds (5 on offense!) and 3 blocked shots.
     Ricky Davis stepped up early in the 4th quarter to make it a one possession game at 76-73. Justin Reed made it 76-74 with a free throw. Mark Blount hit a trailing rebound return to tie the game at 76-76. Minnesota had a 15-2 run to start the 4th quarter.
     The Hornets caught and passed the Timberwolves in the 3rd quarter to lead 76-67 at the end of the 3rd quarter. The Timberwolves built an 8-point lead to start the 2nd half 57-49, but went cold shooting to allow the Hornets who went on a 15-0 run to take a 64-57 lead at 4:10 in Q4.
     The Timberwolves led the Hornets 53-47 at the end of the first half, but the score did not reflect the dominance of the Wolves.