Minnesota Timberwolves superstar forward Kevin Love came back from a broken right hand almost two weeks quicker than anyone had anticipated. Despite Love’s stellar performance (34 points and 14 rebounds), the Wolves fell to the visiting Denver Nuggets. Per the Star Tribune: “Wednesday night at Target Center began with buzz that All-Star forward Kevin Love was about to return after missing four-plus weeks because of a broken hand. As word spread, the Wolves’ crowd grew; about 1,000 walk-up tickets were sold in the hour before the game with the Denver Nuggets, 200 more than normal. The game began with Love and the Wolves doing everything right while building a 14-point halftime lead. But it ended with a 101-94 Wolves loss […] It was a disappointing end to a very promising evening. The news that Love would play came moments after Rick Adelman, during his pregame meeting with reporters, had demurred on the subject. But it spread quickly. Actually, Love and some of his teammates knew on Tuesday, when Love got word back from his specialist in New York that the X-ray of the hand looked good enough for Love to play. Love had said the minute he got clearance he was going to go. So, without as much as a full practice under his belt, with a fingerless glove-like protective wrap on his hand, he did. ‘I told my teammates,’ he said. ‘They didn’t really believe me. Once they saw the jersey in my locker they believed it was true.'”
