Michael Beasley is still figuring out life as a member of the Minnesota Timberwolves. But if this is a sign of what could be, the T’Wolves will be very happy with the offseason acquisition.

Beasley scored a career-high 42 points Wednesday night, sparking the T’Wolves to their first road victory of the season and only their second victory overall, a 98-89 victory at Sacramento.

Acquired in an offseason trade with Miami, Beasley put together his best game to date with his new team. The forward hit on 17-of-31 attempts from the floor, blowing past his previous career high of 30 points in the third quarter.

Victory is a rare feat for Minnesota, which coming in had lost a staggering 36 of its past 39 games dating back to Feb. 8. Sebastian Telfair scored 16 points and Wesley Johnson added 12 for Minnesota.

The T’Wolves return home to the Target Center on Friday night to play host to the New York Knicks.

For the Minnesota Timberwolves, it’s yet another Southeast Division power tonight.

Wednesday, the T’Wolves were blown out in an ugly 42-point loss at Orlando, one night after a lopsided loss at Miami. Tonight, Minnesota is back home to face Atlanta, the only unbeaten team in the Eastern Conference.

That’s the way it’s unfolded in the early days of the season for the T’Wolves, who are 1-4 on the season and in fifth place in the Northwest Division. Minnesota beat Milwaukee last Friday for its only win, then responded with a 129-97 loss at Miami on Tuesday, then fell 128-86 Wednesday in Orlando.

The Orlando game represented the worse loss in franchise history. Minnesota could not slow down the Magic, allowing 78 first-half points.

In the Hawks, Minnesota faces a team that’s 5-0 on the season and is coming off a victory over Detroit. Following Friday’s game, the T’Wolves hit the road again for contests at Houston, the Lakers (along with the Hawks and New Orleans the only unbeatens left in the NBA) and Sacramento.

—30—

Flynn won’t be back for the start of training camp in the fall and will likely miss the start of the season.

The recovery time is anywhere from three to four months, meaning he wouldn’t start playing until at least October.

Flynn hurt his hip near the end of last season and then aggravated the injury while preparing for summer league play.

The loss of Flynn puts the Timberwolves in a bind as they try and fill the starting point guard position.

Ridnour averaged 10.4 points and 4.0 assists per game last year with the Milwaukee Bucks as the backup to Brandon Jennings.

Several teams expressed an interest in Ridnour, with the Miami Heat being one of the most aggressive.

The Timberwolves might have significantly overpaid for Ridnour, but they were desperate to give Johnny Flynn some help.

Minnesota is still waiting for former first-round pick Ricky Rubio to make his way over from Europe and join the team.

Love is always willing to do an interview with the media and interact with fans via his Twitter account. It also doesn’t hurt that he has more than proven himself at the NBA level as a quality starter.

The forward/center has paired up with Al Harrington to form an impressive frontline that few can match.

He may not be a scoring machine, but Love is a fantastic passer who does a lot of the little things that help teams be successful.

Watching former Minnesota Timberwolves’ star Kevin Garnett play in the NBA Finals for the second time in three seasons with the Boston Celtics may not have been pleasant.

But, with five of the top 56 picks in the upcoming NBA Draft, there is reason to think the T’Wolves might one day soon grace TV screens from coast-to-coast come late spring.

The T’Wolves hold the fourth pick in the draft, scheduled for Thursday. But Minnesota will be busy on draft night. The T’Wolves hold the first-round selections of Charlotte (No. 16) and Utah (No. 23). In the second round, Minnesota holds two picks: No. 45 (from Houston) and No. 56 (from Phoenix).

There is plenty of reason to be optimistic Minnesota can bring in plenty of talent to turn things around. Last season’s NBA rookie of the year, Tyreke Evans, was taken No. 4 overall last June. Other No. 4 picks include Antawn Jamison, Chris Bosh and Chris Paul.

Minnesota finished with an NBA-worst 15-67 record in 2009-10, closing the season with a seven-game losing streak.

—30—