Sonics, Timberwolves battle at Target Center

This is the first of four meetings between the teams this season. Seattle has lost two straight after winning its last two at Minnesota. The SuperSonics have won four of the last six contests in this series.

Minnesota attempts to bounce back from a tough loss. T.J. Ford scored a season-high 28 points and dished out seven assists to lead the Toronto Raptors past the Timberwolves, 100-97, on Wednesday at Air Canada Centre.

Kevin Garnett scored a team-high 24 points in the loss to Toronto for Minnesota, which saw its brief two-game winning steak halted and fell two games below the .500 mark. Mike James added 20 points and Marko Jaric scored 15 points for the Timberwolves.

The Timberwolves, who have won three in a row at the Target Center, are 7-5 at home this season. They will visit Jason Kidd and the New Jersey Nets on Saturday at Continental Airlines Arena.

Seattle plays the finale of a short two-game road trip. On Thursday, All-Star Allen Iverson poured in a game-high 44 points and dished out 10 assists to lead the Denver Nuggets to a 112-98 thrashing of the SuperSonics at the Pepsi Center.

Damien Wilkins scored 26 points and had five steals in the loss to Denver for the SuperSonics, who had a two-game winning streak halted and lost for the seventh time in nine contests overall. Luke Ridnour posted 16 points and five assists in defeat.

All-Star guard Ray Allen did not play against Denver in order to be present for the birth of his third child. Allen is expected to be with the team for tonight’s contest. The Sonics are 3-7 without him this season.

The SuperSonics are 4-11 on the road this season. They return home to host the Boston Celtics on Sunday at KeyArena.