The Associated Press reports: Free agent point guard Rod Strickland will sign with the Minnesota Timberwolves by Saturday, his agent said.

``It's going to happen,'' agent Leon Rose said Friday afternoon, adding he expected a deal to be finalized in the next 24 hours.

Strickland, 36, played last year with Miami, his sixth team in 14 NBA seasons. He would add some vital depth to Minnesota's injury-depleted backcourt.

Veteran point guard Terrell Brandon, recovering from February knee surgery, is out indefinitely and guard Felipe Lopez will miss the season with torn ligaments in his left knee.

Strickland is likely to receive a one-year deal for the minimum.

The Minnesota Timberwolves were close to reaching an agreement with free agent point guard Rod Strickland, his agent said Thursday, a move that would add depth to Minnesota's injury-thinned backcourt.

"It's getting close,'' agent Leon Rose said.

Terrell Brandon, recovering from February knee surgery, is out indefinitely and guard Felipe Lopez will miss the season with torn ligaments in his left knee.

The Timberwolves' season opener is Wednesday against Denver, and right now they've got only four healthy guards -- Troy Hudson, Kendall Gill, Anthony Peeler and Igor Rakocevic. Maurice Evans and rookie Marcus Taylor, Minnesota's second-round draft pick out of Michigan State, were waived Thursday.

Tom D'Angelo of the Palm Beach Post reports that the Miami Heat will make a push for Tim Duncan next summer. The Spurs? Duncan is expected to opt out of his contract, one that would pay him nearly $13.3 million next season. Duncan would join the Nets' Jason Kidd at the top of a strong free agent crop.

Whether Duncan re-signs, which the Spurs expect, or leaves San Antonio, he will command a long-term deal starting at $12.5 to $13 million. The Heat are committed to about $30 million in salaries next season, and the salary cap is expected to be close to $42 million.

Duncan has dropped hints that he will return to San Antonio. He has a great relationship with the organization, and its low-key, relaxed environment fits his personality. Additionally, the Spurs have the potential to surround Duncan with a dramatically improved team. With David Robinson retiring, the team is committed to just $14 million in salaries next season, meaning it can keep Duncan, add an additional high-priced free agent, and others.

The only teams projected to have max-contract space are the Clippers, Pacers, Spurs, Jazz, Nuggets and Heat.

Long before the Miami Heat escaped Teco Arena with an 82-81 preseason victory over the Orlando Magic Saturday night, Coach Doc Rivers had already proven his point.

Rivers unleashed a "small-ball" unit triggered by Grant Hill playing the point and utilized a spread offense that catapulted the Magic to a 70-63 lead entering the fourth quarter.

Even with the Magic utilizing backup players against the Heat's frontline players in the decisive fourth quarter, there were still plenty of opportunities for Orlando (1-2) to win the game outright.

But Rivers was tickled just to see a glimpse of the matchup problems his team can cause with Hill running the show and the offensive tempo turned up a notch or two.

"That offense is a [expletive] to guard," Rivers said, a broad smile coming across his face. "But you know we were really impatient, though. We could have gotten our shot any time that we wanted. But we shot the ball quick and we were making them."

Tracy McGrady started to heat up in the third period. He scored nine points with a mix of long-range jumpers and drives to the hoop resulting in fouls, to help the Magic claim the largest lead for either team entering the fourth period. He finished with 17 points and spent the entire fourth quarter on the bench.

Hill, meanwhile, scored 7 of his 14 points in the third as well as the Magic continued with their fine shooting, which allowed them to shoot better than 50 percent through three quarters. Hill also finished with four rebounds and three assists and said the starting unit was determined to make something happen before their early exit.

"We just tried to turn up there in the third quarter a little bit," Hill said. "We knew that we weren't going to be playing in the fourth.

"We had some fun and did a good job of executing. As far as our defense, we locked them down and we were able to use our quickness. That's what we're going to try to do."

Darrell Armstrong came off the bench to lead the early Magic scoring. He tallied 10 first-half points, matching the output of Miami rookie forward Caron Butler. Still, the Heat claimed a 49-47 lead at the break. Butler led all scorers with 18 points and LaPhonso Ellis added 15 points off the bench.

But the game was ultimately decided by a pair of Brian Grant free throws with 1:32 to play that put the Heat ahead 82-81.

Prior to that, Magic rookie Ryan Humphrey, who scored all five of his points in the fourth quarter, hit a pair of free throws to put Orlando ahead 81-80.

During one sequence in the final 30 seconds, Humphrey, Peter Cornell and Olumide Oyedeji each had chances to score the potential go-ahead basket from close range.

"We proved our point," Rivers said. "We went mano-y-mano with them in the third quarter. They had their starters. They had their starters in and we left with a seven-point lead. And we missed some layups down the stretch."

L.C. Johnson can be reached at lcjohnson@orlandosentinel.com.

Troy Hudson scored 19 points, leading the Timberwolves to a 90-85 victory over the Miami Heat on Friday night in the first NBA exhibition game played in the Dominican Republic.

The crowd cheered nonstop for Timberwolves swingman Felipe Lopez, the only Dominican player on an NBA roster. He finished with 10 points.

Loren Woods added 14 points for the Timberwolves and Kevin Garnett had 10 points and nine rebounds.

"I'd rather have 12 healthy guys and that's it," he said. "Then the team is tighter and you don't have two guys hanging out and wondering whether they're going to be playing or not."