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Warriors, Timberwolves look to stay in contention

Feb 7, 2007 - 6:13 PM Golden State (23-26) at Minnesota (22-26) 8:00 pm EST

MINNEAPOLIS (Ticker) - The Golden State Warriors and reeling Minnesota Timberwolves are on the fringe of the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference and meet Wednesday.

The Warriors are in ninth place, 1 1/2 games behind the Denver Nuggets and Los Angeles Clippers, who are tied for seventh place in the West. The Timberwolves are in 10th, two games out of the last postseason berth.

The Timberwolves were hoping interim coach Randy Wittman would improve their fortunes. However, they are just 2-6 since Wittman replaced Casey, dropping their last four contests.

Minnesota was hammered, 105-77, by the Houston Rockets on Monday. Kevin Garnett led the Timberwolves with 18 points and recorded 12 rebounds for his league-leading 41st double-double this season. Garnett averages 12.4 rebounds, tops in the NBA.

The Warriors are trying to break even on their six-game road trip, which concludes with this contest. They moved into that position with Monday's 113-98 win over Indiana.

Stephen Jackson victimized his former team with a season-high 36 points for the Warriors, who are just 6-18 on the road this season.