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Opening Night:
The Minnesota Timberwolves open the season at home for the fourth consecutive year, and look to buildon a nine-game winning streak in home openers. Minnesota is 8-7 all-time in seasonopeners, starting seven of the last eight seasons with victories. Kevin Garnett has postedsome of the Wolves best opening night performances, scoring 34 points against Sacramento in 1999, and grabbing 21 rebounds in the 2003 opener against Milwaukee. Pooh Richardson is the Wolves assist leader in openers, dishing out 15 against Dallas in 1990.

New York State of Mind:
The Wolves have won five of their last six meetings against the Knicks, Wednesday's opponent, slicing New York's all-time lead to 19-10. The two teams met during the 2004-05 preseason in Sioux Falls and Minnesota cruised to a 102-82 victory behind KevinGarnett's 21 point, nine rebound, seven assist night. Wally Szczerbiak and Michael Olowokandi contributed 20 and 17 points, respectively. The Wolves finished the preseason with a 4-4 record.

Last Season vs. New York:
Minnesota and New York split the two-game series last season. In the first meeting, the Knicks' Allan Houston scored 13 fourth-quarter points to help New York make up a nine-point deficit in the final six minutes and secure the 97-92 win. Kevin Garnett led Minnesota with 25 points and 14 rebounds while Sam Cassell added 23 points and 10 assists. Game two brought Latrell Sprewell back to Madison Square Garden for the first time since being traded. He and Cassell each poured in 31 points as the Wolves ran their winning streak to six with a 98-92 victory.

Wolves 2004-05 Preseason Top Performances:
Kevin Garnett led the Wolves in scoring four times, including a 26-point performance against Atlanta. Wally Szczerbiak, once again healthy for the preseason, led the team in points three times. Minnesota also received significant contributions from the bench, as both Eddie Griffin and Mark Madsen posted game highs in rebounds and Fred Hoiberg twice led the team in three-point shooting on two occasions.

Upcoming Opponents:
The Wolves go on the road to take on the Denver Nuggets Thursday night, then return to the Target Center to host the New Orleans Hornets on Saturday. Minnesota took three offour regular-season meetings with Denver last year, and had won eight straight against the Nuggets before a 101-92 loss on March 24. Minnesota beat Denver 4-1 in the first roundof the playoffs, ending the Wolves drought of seven consecutive exits in the first round. Minnesota swept the season series with the Hornets last year, winning in New Orleans on January 13th behind Latrell Sprewell’s 26 points, and then again at home six days later as Garnett dropped in 29 points and grabbed 15 boards. The Hornets will join the Western Conference this season, with the expansion Charlotte Bobcats taking their place in the Eastern Conference.