* Love's game ain't pretty but he sure is effective. He works and works for rebound, threw another of those long outlet passes (to Brewer for a dunk), showed 3-point range and has 9 points, 7 rebounds, five assists (including a nice interior pass to Darko for a dunk) and a block in 16 minutes.
* Good thing the Wolves kept Kosta Koufos. They're going to need him: Pekovic scored five quick points in relief of Darko, but also got three fouls and sat down after only 2 1/2 minutes of play. The big tough guy looked pretty good but he's going to have to learn how to stay on the floor early here in his NBA career.
* I barely noticed Martell Webster in training camp scrimmage, but he asserted himself here in the first and had 10 quick points -- including a three -- in 12 minutes off the bench. Included was a nice drive down the lane and a hanging scoop shot he turned into a three-point play.
* Here's maybe the biggest surprise from the first half: Wayne Ellington was your backup point guard, replacing Luke Ridnour because Sebastian Telfair has a sore hamstring. Now, of course, this is temporary until Jonny Flynn returns, but still unusual and interesting to see. He looked a little uncertain handling the ball, but had a basket and no turnovers in nearly 9 minutes.
* Darko started slowly, but by halftime had eight points, three rebounds, four assists and a block. He doesn't need to be great or even really good. If he just rebounds, blocks a shot or 2 a game and moves the ball instead of it getting sucked into a black hole when it goes in to the center, he'll earn his money.
* Love and Darko have combined for nine of the team's 13 assists so far.
