| 10 December 2009
The somber feeling inside the locker room was the complete opposite emotion from the first half of action. Minnesota closed the second quarter on a 12-5 run to take a 64-53 lead and produce one of the most efficient offensive performances of the season. Led by Jonny Flynn's terrific court vision, the Wolves ran the floor, hitting 64.4 percent from the field. Flynn dished out seven of his nine assists in the first 24 minutes. Fans at the Target Center were treated to several highlight reel dunks courtesy of Ryan Hollins and fast break finishes from Corey Brewer.
"We get stagnant," Rambis said, stuck in a pattern of feeding Jefferson "where everyone on the planet knows what we're doing."
Or so it seemed, until a basket by Corey Brewer two minutes earlier was disallowed after a video review showed that the shot clock had expired.
Al Jefferson did take the lead 40 seconds later, but he made only the front end of a pair of free throws, setting up Chris Paul's last minute heroics.
The defensive breakdown led to a surprisingly easy basket for all-star point guard Chris Paul and allowed New Orleans to slip out of Target Center with a 97-96 victory in front of 12,056 fans who braved winter storm conditions to see the Wolves fall to 3-19.
"Our execution got sloppy, and we stopped getting the ball inside," Rambis said. "Everything went downhill from there."
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