It was March 6, 2007.
George W. Bush was in the White House, Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger was still the Pope, The Departed had just won Best Picture and Britney Spears had just shaved her head for the first time.
It was also the last time the Timberwolves defeated the Los Angeles Lakers, 117-107 in double overtime.
Since then, Minnesota has failed to beat the Lakers in 20-straight contests between the two teams. That’s the longest active NBA streakfor one team over another.
Could that change tonight at Staples Center?
Let’s just say the Wolves — once again — will be playing shorthanded, with Andre Kirilenko out of the lineup again (his third injury this year) with a strained left calf.
The Lakers, meanwhile, still aren’t a playoff team — but they’re a lot closer to the Western Conference 8th-spot (2.5 games behind Houston) than the Wolves are (8.5 games behind Houston).
