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The Bobcats had no answer for the Timberwolves inside presence as they suffered a 102-89 loss at the Target Center on Saturday. With the Timberwolves starting frontcourt of Kevin Garnett, Wally Szczerbiak and Michael Olowokandi combining for 52 points, Minnesota attacked the Bobcats from the opening tipoff.

In what has become a common theme for Charlotte, their opponent jumped out quickly, with Minnesota building an early 11-4 lead. Charlotte gradually chipped away at the advantage, with a jump shot by Kareem Rush helping cut the lead to three at the end of the first quarter.

After scoring the final four points of the first quarter, the Bobcats extended their scoring run in the second, outscoring the Timberwolves 10-3 in a 3:59 stretch to take a one-point lead at the 8:41 mark of the second period. It would be their lone lead of the game, however as they hit a cold-shooting spell, connecting on just two of their final 10 shots in the half. The Timberwolves, meanwhile, behind five points from Marko Jaric, went on a 12-2 run to build a 10-point advantage with 2:51 left in the stanza.

Free throws kept the Bobcats in the game as Charlotte hit seven free throws in a 1:41 stretch to cut the Timberwolves to five with 47 seconds left in the half. The Timberwolves kept coming though, with Anthony Carter hitting a jump shot as time expired to give Minnesota a 45-38 lead at halftime.

The Bobcats finished the game connecting on 28-32 shots from the free throw line for 87.5 percent accuracy while the Timberwolves shot 66.7 percent, going 18-27 from the stripe.

Unfortunately, Charlotte could not find the same success from the field. The Bobcats shooting woes continued into the third quarter as they missed their first four shots and finished the period shooting 35.8 percent from the floor. With Minnesota holding a six-point lead, the Timberwolves outscored the Bobcats 12-4 to push their lead to 14 with 2:57 left in the third.

The start of the fourth quarter belonged to Timberwolves center Michael Olowokandi, as he scored eight-straight points and helped the Timberwolves push their lead to 19. Minnesota would lead by as many as 23 before Charlotte went on a 14-4 run to cut the lead to 13. The Timberwolves lead was too much for Charlotte to overcome as they dropped to 3-8 on the season.

Raymond Felton posted 15 points, his fifth double-figure point total of the season, to lead the Bobcats. Kareem Rush added 13 while Emeka Okafor tallied a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds.

Garnett also finished with a double-double, posting 19 points and 11 rebounds while Olowokandi finished with 18 points.

The Bobcats will return to the court on Wednesday, November 23 as they host the New York Knicks at Charlotte Bobcats Arena at 7:30 p.m.

NOTES: The Timberwolves outscored the Bobcats 46-13 in points in the paint...Three members of North Carolina's 2005 NCAA Championship Team were on the court in tonight's game...Charlotte's Sean May and Raymond Felton faced former teammate Rashad McCants for the first time in the NBA....McCants finished with 11 points off the Timberwolves bench while May tallied six points and seven rebounds and Felton posted 15 points off the Bobcats bench... Okafor's double-double was his third consecutive and seventh double-double of the season...Kareem Rush has averaged 22.7 points in the last three games.

INSIDE THE LOCKER ROOM
Bobcats Head Coach Bernie Bickerstaff
I just don't think tonight is an indication of anything. We just did not play very well, and on a night like tonight, when you don't have it, then you're going to settle on jump shots. Because early in the basketball game we settled for easy shots. It set a tone. As far as I'm concerned tonight, that was about the best we could do.

We were not very good tonight, so the outside shots had nothing to do with their points in the paint. Olowokandi was the reason that they got points in the paint. We really didn't have an answer for him tonight. I thought he had a tremendous basketball game. We just didn't play well. Minnesota came out with a purpose, played awfully well. We didn't have an answer for Olowokandi in the paint. It was simple: we were not very good tonight.

Bobcats forward Sean May
(Olowokandi) played like an All-Star... I don't know what our problem was tonight. We just didn't have it. You let a guy like that get off... I'm not knocking him, but he hasn't played up to his abilities the last couple of years. But he had it going tonight.

We were out of sync all night. We weren't doing the things that we normally do, for whatever reason. I don't know. I can't pinpoint it... I wasn't on my game. I wasn't doing my part, playing the way I was supposed to play. We just didn't have it tonight. We just have to reach down deeper and find out what it's going to take to bring it every night.

Our guards were getting in there, giving it to the bigs and the bigs weren't finishing tonight. That's just toughness on our part. We have to take it upon ourselves. That should be a slap in the face when a team like Minnesota, with Kevin Garnett -- one of the best players in the league -- and Olowokandi had a good night, but for there to be that big a discrepancy (points in the paint) is pretty shocking and insulting.

Bobcats guard Kareem Rush
They played well. We know what KG is going to bring to the table every night, and Szczerbiak has been in a slump so I knew eventually he was going to break out of it. But Olowokandi was the big surprise tonight... He definitely killed us in that fourth quarter, pulled them ahead... They played well. You have to give them credit. We didn't play up to our capabilities, but in the end they executed down the stretch and they got the win.

They focused on me. They made my shots a little tougher than I have been getting lately. I had some good looks. They just happened to not be falling tonight. I just have to stay aggressive and keep shooting... I didn't expect to get any easy shots tonight, and I didn't.

Bobcats guard Raymond Felton
I was just using my quickness, using my moves, just trying to get to the basket. Trying to attack and trying to make something happen. Trying to get us going, basically... It was nice to see my man (McCants) out there doing well, doing his thing, but at the same time I was trying to get a win. I'm glad for him, good to see him, but when you are on the court playing against one another, you know its business.

Olowokandi had a great game tonight. He was hitting everything. He was hitting turnaround jumpers, he was hitting the jump hook. When the big guy is playing like that, it is hard to stop. Our guys played great defense -- they were there every time -- he was just scoring over them.