T'wolves Fan Storms Court for Szczerbiak

MINNEAPOLIS - The Timberwolves' otherwise uneventful 91-73 win over the Washington Wizards (news) on Friday night was livened up in the final minute, when a young woman emerged from the corner of the court, tried to block Gary Trent's shot, ran around for a little bit and then raced toward the heart-throb Wally Szczerbiak.
The star-struck fan lunged at him, and Szczerbiak avoided contact and scurried away before security guards finally nabbed the intruder.


"I wasn't taking a charge on that play," Szczerbiak said, smiling rather sheepishly.


Szczerbiak scored 20 points in the win.


Sam Cassell, who had 13 points and seven assists, got a huge kick out of it — scampering over to Szczerbiak and planting a mock hug on his grinning teammate as the crowd chanted "Wally! Wally!"


"World should've given her a hug," Cassell joked. "Lady got arrested for nothing."


Yes, the Timberwolves (53-24) had plenty to smile about after winning for the seventh time in nine games. Kevin Garnett scored 22 points, Szczerbiak led Minnesota's bench to a season-high 50, and Minnesota stayed right behind Sacramento (52-23) and the Los Angeles Lakers (53-23) in the race for the top playoff seed in the Western Conference.