This is pretty straight forward Wolves faithful.
We don’t remember what it’s like to be a part of the NBA playoffs anymore, so in this continuing series, we’ll live vicariously through the 2003-04 Minnesota Timberwolves, most likely once a week.
We came to you last week with Minnesota’s first matchup against their eventual Western Conference semifinal opponent, the Sacramento Kings, which was an overtime loss. We come to you with a not-so-pleasant reminder that 10 years ago on this day, it wasn’t always easy for this talented 2003-04 squad.
SEATTLE 89, MINNESOTA 87: The first month of the season wasn’t the most fortuitous for the Wolves. They put up just 61 points against New Jersey, had to play the role of road warrior via 12 games away from Target Center, and hung around .500 for most of November.
On this night, they would struggle offensively all night, only to be put away at the buzzer by Ronald “Flip” Murray.
After Latrell Sprewell made a three with 14.5 seconds left to tie the game at 87, Murray, starting in place of superstar guard Ray Allen, would get the last of his game-high 29 points as time expired on a 13-foot jumper to give Seattle the win.
Murray was a hot commodity at the time, and drew interest from the Timberwolves in 2005, before going on to play eight seasons for eight NBA teams.
Minnesota would learn their lesson, beating Seattle the other three times they played, and holding Murray to just 17 points in the other three contests combined.
