Sprained Ankle Sidelines Luke Ridnour

Tough blow for Luke Ridnour and the Minnesota Timberwolves, as the point guard’s ankle injury leaves Minny (4-11 since Ricky Rubio’s season-ending knee injury) even more short-handed in the backcourt late in the season. From the Star Tribune: “Just when the Wolves got Nikola Pekovic back from an injury list that already includes Ricky Rubio, J.J. Barea and Michael Beasley, starting point guard Luke Ridnour went down in pain late in the third quarter clutching a right ankle he sprained after he landed on another player’s foot. Ridnour didn’t play again and probably won’t be available for Wednesday’s home game against Golden State at the very least. Ridnour’s injury leaves coach Rick Adelman with just one healthy point guard: Malcolm Lee, a second-round pick rookie who played the entire fourth quarter. ‘It’s something we didn’t need,” Adelman said. ‘But I think we had some guys play the second half. Our team is committed. We’re not going to quit on the season. That’s what I told them. I don’t care what happens with the playoffs. We’re not going to quit on the season, and it’s up to the people we have right now.’ […] The Wolves are five games under .500 (25-30) for the first time this season and 4 1/2 games out of the West’s eighth and final playoff spot. Suddenly, their aim doesn’t seem to be the franchise’s first playoff berth since 2004, but rather just finishing the season strong enough to get the team’s first victory in April since 2009, for starters. ‘Everybody seems to be hurt right now,’ forward Kevin Love said. ‘We just want to keep fighting. It’s tough for us right now. We can still win games. Maybe not make the playoffs, but we can still make it a good season for us.'”