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Beasley, Tolliver Out For Wolves

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- Just when the Minnesota Timberwolves finally appeared to be getting healthy, two more key players went down.

Leading scorer Michael Beasley and top reserve Anthony Tolliver missed the game against Cleveland on Saturday night after being injured in a loss to San Antonio the previous night.

Beasley, averaging 21.6 points this season and 26.0 over the past 11, sprained his right ankle against San Antonio on Friday and is listed day-to-day. He tested it before the game, but it was too sore to go, so Corey Brewer got the start at small forward.

Tolliver sprained the MCL in his right knee, an injury that is considered more serious. He will get an MRI on Monday and coach Kurt Rambis called the injury "significant" and said the versatile forward will be "out for a while."

It was bad news for a team that desperately needs something good to happen. The Wolves had lost six straight games heading into the night, and losing their most dynamic offensive player and a trusted veteran off the bench certainly won't help matters.

"You've just got to keep going," Rambis said. "You can't worry about it. You can't gripe about it. It gives other players an opportunity to play."

Veteran forward Martell Webster (back) and second-year point guard Jonny Flynn have not played this year because of injuries and rookie center Nikola Pekovic missed nine straight games with a sprained left foot.

But Webster has returned to practice, Flynn was recalled on Saturday from a one-game stint in the D-League and Pekovic was activated on Saturday night for the first time since Nov. 12.

Flynn played with the Sioux Falls Skyforce on Friday night, notching eight points, nine assists and six turnovers in 24 minutes. He planned to wait another day or so to see how his body responded to his first game action in more than four months since his hip surgery and still could go back down to the D-League again before playing with the Wolves.

"I'm feeling good right now, but a lot of things can change in a day or two after exerting all that energy like you haven't done in a while," Flynn said. "We're just going to keep a close eye on it and hopefully I'll be back really, really, really, really, really soon."

(© Copyright 2010 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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