After twelve minutes of play at Verizon Center, the Washington Wizards trail the Minnesota Timverwolves 20-17. With Rashard Lewis out injured with a sore knee, Chris Singleton got the start for Flip Saunders and was active in the paint and on the glass. Most notably at that position, the sixth overall pick Jan Vesely got into his first game with a little over a minute remaining in the first. Vesely has been bothered by a hip injury, but with Lewis being scratched late, it was expected that he would see his first game action this afternoon. Vesely posted up Wesley Johnson late and drew a foul, but missed both free throw attempts.
Nick Young led the Wizards with seven points, but was taken out late in the first and appears to still be laboring from a slight back injury he sustained while taking a charge against the Knicks on Friday. Ricky Rubio was inserted into the lineup late in the quarter, and the Wolves immediately went on a short 7-0 run to take the three point lead. In addition to Rubio, Kevin Love dominated in the paint grabbing a whopping eight rebounds already.
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