=== Banged-up Wolves welcome Bobcats to Twin Cities ===
 
 (Sports  Network) - The Minnesota Timberwolves have limped to their best start
 in  11  years. The  Wolves look to  shake off some  more injuries on Wednesday
 night  and record a second straight victory as they play host to the Charlotte
 Bobcats, winners of back-to-back games for the first time in 19 months.
 
 Minnesota  has  claimed victory in  five of its  first seven games this season
 despite opening up the campaign without stars Kevin Love and Ricky Rubio. They
 have  still  managed their best start  since beginning the 2001-02 season with
 six wins in a row.
 
 It  hasn't been  easy for the Timberwolves, who have played without guard J.J.
 Barea  for the  last three games due  to a sprained left foot and fellow guard
 Brandon  Roy for the  past two contests because of a sore right knee. They are
 both  questionable for  Wednesday as is center Nikola Pekovic, who left in the
 third  quarter  of Monday's 90-82  win over the  Dallas Mavericks because of a
 sprained left ankle.
 
 Also,  forward Chase  Budinger  underwent  surgery to  repair  a torn  lateral
 meniscus  in his  left knee on Tuesday  and is slated to miss 3-to-4 months of
 action.
 
 Pekovic  still led Minnesota with 20 points and added six rebounds in Monday's
 win  before  his exit, while  Andrei Kirilenko finished  with 16 points and 11
 rebounds. Alexey Shved also wrapped the contest with 16 points.
 
 "It  was  a great team win,"  Timberwolves coach Rick Adelman said. "They came
 out and believed they could win. Our defense was terrific all night long."
 
 The Timberwolves will certainly miss Love tonight. He tallied 70 points and 37
 rebounds  in  two wins over  the Bobcats as  Minnesota swept the season series
 after having lost eight of the previous nine encounters.
 
 The   Bobcats,  the  first  of  three  straight  opponents  at  home  for  the
 Timberwolves,  got  to .500  on Tuesday night  thanks to a  92-76 win over the
 winless  Washington Wizards.  It  marked  the first  time  that Charlotte  won
 consecutive games since April 11-13, 2011. The club failed to win two in a row
 at  any  point  during  last  season's  lockout-shortened  campaign  in  which
 Charlotte produced just a 7-59 record.
 
 The  last time that the Bobcats won three straight came during a four-game run
 from March 25-30, 2011.
 
 Ramon  Sessions  led Charlotte with  21 points  and five rebounds in Tuesday's
 win,  Kemba Walker  poured  in  17 points  and  rookie Michael  Kidd-Gilchrist
 notched 15 points and eight boards.
 
 "Any  time you can  get any kind of winning streak in this league is a step in
 the  right direction," Sessions said. "We knew sitting in the locker room that
 we should come out and get this one. That's what good teams do."
 
 Charlotte  played without  guard Ben Gordon due to personal family reasons and
 his status for this game is unknown.
 
 The  Bobcats also made a roster move on Tuesday, sending guard Matt Carroll to
 the  New Orleans Hornets earlier in the day for forward Hakim Warrick. The 30-
 year-old appeared in just one game this season with the Hornets, notching four
 points and a steal in just over seven minutes of action.
 
 11/14 10:55:13 ET