Timberwolves to be without three starters against Knicks

The Timberwolves will be without three starters for Wednesday’s home game against the Knicks.

The Minnesota Timberwolves will be without three starters for Wednesday’s home game against the New York Knicks, reports The Minneapolis Star-Tribune.

Center Nikola Pekovic, forward Thaddeus Young and point guard Ricky Rubio won’t suit up against New York.

Pekovic injured his ankle last Saturday in a loss to the Dallas Mavericks and will miss at least the next three games, Timberwolves coach Flip Saunders told the Star-Tribune. Pekovic will be re-evaluated next week, missing games against New York, the San Antonio Spurs and Sacramento Kings.

Young, who is averaging 14.3 points and five rebounds a game, is away from the team and is expected to miss three games after his mother’s death. Rubio is still on crutches and out indefinitely after suffering a severely sprained ankle two weeks ago.

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Pekovic is averaging 11.9 points and a team-leading 8.1 rebounds in nine games this season for Minnesota (2-7), which has the Western Conference’s second-worst record.

The team will start rookies Andrew Wiggins and Zach LaVine along with Anthony Bennett, Gorgui Dieng and veteran Kevin Martin.

"We'll be a little undermanned, but we'll be ready to go," Saunders said, according to the Star-Tribune. "No one got hurt today, so that's a positive."

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