He walked quickly off the Target Center floor, a white towel clutched tightly in his right hand. To give Kevin Garnett and the Timberwolves credit, they never threw it in Sunday in their 115-102 playoff loss to the Dallas Mavericks.

Still, the towel ended up in the same place it has the past five seasons ? pressed to a sweaty, steely-eyed, disappointed face.

"The thing about the loss, it's a heavy blow,'' Garnett said, his eyes still a bit glazed after his 22-point, 17-rebound, five-assist finale. "You can imagine that. Tomorrow is no purpose other than to live. I mean, the shower's long, the ride home is long. You guys get to go home, but I've got to deal with myself every day. That's a little hard.''

Harder still: Minnesota's Game 3 defeat marked the sixth consecutive season the Wolves have failed to advance past the first round, tying the dubious NBA record set by the Portland Trail Blazers from 1993-98. The 3-0 defeat was the team's second, matching a 1997 sweep by Houston.

"It's always disappointing when you lose,'' said Wolves coach Flip Saunders, the only man to coach the same team to five consecutive first-round NBA defeats.

What more could be said?