To say that Minnesota were disappointed with their defensive efforts against the San Antonio Spurs would be an understatement, and today the Wolves have the opportunity to prove things have changed in the past few days.

The Wolves appear to have found the same page in coach Flip Saunders' playbook. Part of it could be credited to Saunders having tightened up the rotation, in some ways through necessity because of Troy Hudson's bad ankle. And Wally Szczerbiak has started finding both his range and his confidence.

"We've got a little bit of our swagger back," Saunders said after Monday's practice.

"The last two games our defense has been very, very good," Saunders said. "That's been a positive. We've had a lot of help . . . we've protected in the paint."

That was not the case in San Antonio.

The Spurs outscored the Wolves 48-26 in the paint. The Spurs shot 48.1 percent from the field. Perhaps the best statistic showing the Wolves' lack of defensive intensity is that they managed zero steals.

But in the two games since, the Wolves forced both Phoenix (38.1 percent) and Denver (30.9) to shoot poorly.

"We didn't play that well against San Antonio defensively," Wolves forward Kevin Garnett said. "We had a meeting about it. Really, we got down to the logistics of it. I think in Phoenix we did a better job, and it carried over [against Denver]. We have to continue to do the things we've been doing of late. . . . What you're starting to see -- knock on wood -- we're starting to find our stroke a little bit. Defensively, we're on the same page consistently. We have nice momentum now. It's important to keep carrying it on."