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New-look Timberwolves open season against Nuggets

Nov 2, 2007 - 1:32 PM Denver (1-0) at Minnesota (0-0) 8:00 pm EDT

MINNEAPOLIS (Ticker) - The revamped Minnesota Timberwolves begin life without Kevin Garnett on Friday as they open the 2007-08 season at home against the Denver Nuggets.

After the Timberwolves missed the playoffs for the third straight season, Minnesota traded away the 10-time All-Star Garnett, as well as their second and third-leading scorers, Ricky Davis and Mark Blount.

In what should be considered a rebuilding year, Minnesota returns only five players from a season ago, but will be without guard Randy Foye to begin the campaign. The second-year player has a stress reaction in his left knee and will be out indefinitely.

The Timberwolves will likely lean on center Al Jefferson, who was the biggest acquisition in the trade of Garnett on July 31. The 22-year-old, who signed a five-year, $65 million contract extension on Wednesday, averaged 16.0 points and 11.0 rebounds last season for the Celtics.

Denver opened its season Wednesday with a 120-103 win over Seattle.

The Nuggets were the third-highest scoring team in the NBA last season and are led by Carmelo Anthony and Allen Iverson - who begin their first full season together. The duo combined for 57 points and 19 assists against the SuperSonics.

The game also marked the return of Kenyon Martin, who had missed 106 games over the past two seasons in Denver. Martin scored seven points and had three blocked shots in 18 minutes.

Denver was knocked out in the first round in five games by the eventual-champion San Antonio Spurs last season.