Even after the game was over, even after looking at a boxscore that, next to Nesterovic's name, registered 24 points, 23 shots and 12 rebounds, there was the overwhelming sense that it must have been some sort of Slovenian sleight-of-hand, even a mirage.

It took a cold slap in the face from Spurs coach Gregg Popovich to confirm what some 19,006 witnesses had seen was indeed real. "The difference in the game was that we did a poor job on Nesterovic," the coach said. "He really killed us."

This was a fine early-season matchup -- though one that meant far more to the Wolves, who still are trying to prove their legitimacy, than to the Spurs, who already have. On the court were players named Kevin Garnett, Tim Duncan and David Robinson.

Yet Popovich got it right.

The Spurs had no answer for Nesterovic, who with three minutes to go in the first quarter had 14 points and five rebounds. He was almost Paul Silas-like on the offensive boards, finishing with eight rebounds. By the fourth quarter, the Wolves were even calling plays for him.

You read that right. They were calling plays for Rasho.

Nothing fancy: Rasho was hitting short little jump hooks and follow shots. He scored six points in six minutes in the fourth period, and finished with 24 points in only 30 minutes.