Eight was enough to beat the Detroit Pistons. A career-high scoring game by Anthony Morrow wasn’t enough to beat the new-look Minnesota Timberwolves.

Morrow scored 42 points and hit a career-best eight 3-pointers for the Nets, but they were all wasted as the Nets were stunned by the Timberwolves, 108-105, tonight at Prudential Center.

Kevin Love had 20 points and 10 rebounds, and rookie Ricky Rubio had 10 points and 10 assists plus the interception of a Deron Williams pass in the final seconds that sealed the victory for Minnesota (11-12).

Williams had a double-double — 12 points and 14 rebounds — but shot just 5-for-18 from the floor and had six turnovers, including three in the final minute-and-a-half. He admitted he wished he hadn’t thrown that last pass right to Rubio.

“Yeah, definitely,” Williams said. “(Morrow) was open, too. I’m sure everybody in the arena had confidence he was going to hit that shot” to tie the game.

“Unfortunate turnover,” he continued. “The last two of the game were on me. It’s just tough, that’s how it happens sometimes. I like those situations the most and when I do something like that it definitely upsets me and it’s on me. I told the team it was my fault.”

Morrow’s previous career high had been 37, and his previous high in 3-pointers had been six. His previous high as a Net was 30 last season against the 8-15 Knicks, whom the Nets (8-16) face Saturday night in Madison Square Garden.

“He was just on fire and our guys were finding him, guys were setting great screens for him, he was just letting it fly,” Nets coach Avery Johnson said of Morrow.

“And (after) every timeout play that we drew up for him, he executed it perfectly. I think he was perfect. So he was special tonight. It was a special performance.”

“It’s been me being aggressive,” Morrow said of his career night. “When you’re playing with a guy like (Williams) that’s going to find you and make life easy, you’ve got to take advantage of it. It’s not just me, it’s other guys too. That’s just something that I’m trying to build on, and our chemistry is getting better.”

Morrow had 20 points in the first half, his first hot streak coming late in the second quarter to help dig the Nets out of a 14-point hole when they trailed, 36-22. Morrow had four 3-pointers and knocked down three free throws when he was fouled attempting another. That keyed a 28-9 run that put the Nets ahead, 50-45. They led 50-49 at the half.

The Nets fell behind, though, in the third quarter, and were trailing by 11 (74-63) when Johnson took Williams out and put in his five reserves — Sundiata Gaines, Jordan Farmar, Keith Bogans, Jordan Williams and Johan Petro. The quintet helped the Nets cut the deficit to 80-75 by the end of the quarter, and Jordan Williams, the rookie who was recalled from the D-League early in the week, played so well that Johnson left him on the floor — and kept Deron Williams on the bench — at the start of the fourth quarter.

Jordan Williams finished with eight points and five rebounds in 15:42 of court time. He also grabbed an offensive rebound and passed to Morrow for a 3-pointer that put the Nets up, 86-84, with 9:36 to play. It was their first lead since 15-14, back in the first quarter.

From there, the teams changed leads several times. Then, with the score tied, 99-99, Deron Williams tried to force a pass into the paint for Morrow, but it was stolen and Luke Ridnour ended up with a wide open 3-pointer at the other end to make it 102-99. With 29.9 seconds left, Williams tried to drive the lane and lost the ball out of bounds. That led to two foul shots by Ridnour to put the T-Wolves up, 104-99.

Morrow gave the Nets another chance as he hit a 3-pointer and was fouled with 22.7 seconds left. He converted the foul shot, completing his third four-point play of the season, to cut the deficit to one.

But J.J. Barea hit two foul shots, and after a Kris Humphries dunk, Ridnour hit two more foul shots with 10.6 seconds left to seal it.

Colin Stephenson: cstephenson@starledger.com; twitter.com/Ledger_Nets

BOX SCORE

Read More: Kevin Martin (G – HOU), Michael Beasley (F – MIN), Kevin Love (F – MIN), Ricky Rubio (G – MIN), Rick Adelman (H – HOU), Minnesota Timberwolves, Houston Rockets, Minnesota Timberwolves at Houston Rockets, Jan 30, 2012 7:00 PM CST

On Monday night in Houston, Minnesota Timberwolves’ forward Michael Beasley found himself in a bit of an unfamiliar role. . .coming off of the bench. If tonight’s results are any indication, that might not be the worst thing Rick Adelman could do.

Beasley led the Wolves in scoring on Monday night, pouring in 34 points while hitting 10-of-14 shots from the field and going a perfect 12-of-12 from the line in Minnesota’s 120-108 victory over the Houston Rockets at the Toyota Center. The victory marked just the second time the Timberwolves have beaten the Rockets in their last 18 meetings.

The 120 points is a high scoring mark on this season for the Timberwolves, eclipsing the 106 they put up in a victory over the San Antonio Spurs on January 2.

Minnesota trailed going into halftime of this one by a score of 56-54, but started the second half on a 12-4 run to give themselves a 66-60 lead. After the Rockets fought back to tie the game at 68, the Timberwolves went on a 19-6 run, and were really never threatened after that point.

In addition to Beasley’s big night, Kevin Love chipped in with 29 points and seven rebounds. Ricky Rubio did what Ricky Rubio does, coming up just short of a triple-double by putting up 18 points, 11 assists, and eight rebounds. The Rockets were paced by guard Kevin Martin, who scored 29 points. He didn’t get much support, however, as none of his teammates scored more than 13.

Minnesota’s victory in coach Rick Adelman’s return to Houston once again puts them within one game of the .500 mark at 10-11. They also collected their fifth road victory of the season, matching the total that they’ve put up in each of the past two seasons in just nine games.

Minnesota will once again try to get to that elusive .500 mark on Wednesday, when they return to the Target Center to host the Indiana Pacers.

HOUSTON (AP) — Michael Beasley scored 34 points, Ricky Rubio had 18 points and 11 assists and the Minnesota Timberwolves beat the Rockets 120-108 on Monday night in Rick Adelman’s return to Houston.

Kevin Love had 29 points for the Timberwolves, who blew open a close game with 42 points in the third for their highest scoring quarter this season. Minnesota shot a season-best 58 percent (43 of 74) from the field and eclipsed its previous high point total for the season by 14.

Kevin Martin scored 29 points after missing two games with inflammation in his right heel. The Rockets lost for only the second time in 11 games.

Adelman went 193-135 in four seasons with Houston, and turned down the team’s offer to renew his contract after last season.

(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

MINNEAPOLIS – It was a tense tied game late in the fourth quarter, one these nervous fans were used to seeing their Minnesota Timberwolves let slip away.

Ricky Rubio then splashed a 20-foot jumper through the net for a lead, and the rookie point guard raised his arms, urging them out of their seats and trying to reassure them that times are changing around here.

It’s certainly starting to look that way.

Rubio scored nine of his 18 points in the fourth quarter and dished out 10 assists to lift the Timberwolves to an 87-79 victory over the San Antonio Spurs on Friday night.

Kevin Love had 18 points and 16 rebounds and Nikola Pekovic added 14 points and 10 boards for the Wolves, who have beaten the Spurs two straight times in the same season for the first time since 2000.

“We weren’t playing to win the game (last year),” Love said of a team that won just 17 times and faltered down the stretch on countless occasions. “This year, we’re playing to win the game. We’re confident. Real confident.”

Tony Parker scored 20 points and Tiago Splitter continued his strong play off the bench for the Spurs, scoring 12 points and grabbing seven rebounds.

But the Spurs scored only one field goal over the final seven minutes against a suddenly stingy Wolves defense. They also had only two offensive rebounds, which was a franchise record for a Timberwolves opponent.

Derrick Williams scored 12 points for the Wolves, who held the third-leading scoring team in the league 20.5 points under its average and outrebounded the Spurs 46-34 to improve to 9-10.

“It’s a terrific win for our guys, especially against a veteran team like that that wins those games all the time,” coach Rick Adelman said. “Hopefully it’s really a step forward for us.

The Wolves led 73-67 with less than nine minutes to play, but Parker kept the Spurs in the game by relentlessly attacking the rim. He scored on a driving layup, hit a pull-up jumper and then converted a three-point play on another explosion to the basket to bring the Spurs within 1 in a two-minute flurry.

Splitter then fed Gary Neal for a 3-pointer and a 79-77 Spurs lead.

Rubio responded with two free throws and a jumper, then fed Love for a layup that gave Minnesota an 83-79 lead with 1:45 to play.

The Spanish rookie raised his arms to cajole the crowd, who stood and cheered “Rubio! Rubio!”

Rubio had been mired in a terrible shooting slump over the last six games, hitting just 23 percent of his shots. He played more than 46 minutes in Minnesota’s surprising win at Dallas on Wednesday night, then followed that by hitting seven of 12 shots in 42 minutes against the Spurs.

“Even though I didn’t (shoot well) the last six games, I knew that I can do it because I work hard,” Rubio said. “My confidence is high. Sometimes your shot’s going to miss a lot, but you have to keep shooting because if not, that’s going to affect you.”

San Antonio 22 20 22 15– 79

Minnesota 21 20 23 23– 87

SAN ANTONIO (79)

Jefferson 4-9 0-0 10, Duncan 2-12 5-6 9, Blair 0-2 0-0 0, Parker 9-19 1-1 20, Leonard 1-4 0-0 2, Splitter 5-7 2-2 12, Green 1-3 0-0 2, Joseph 1-3 0-0 2, Neal 4-9 0-0 9, Bonner 4-7 2-2 13. Totals 31-75 10-11 79.

MINNESOTA (87)

Johnson 3-7 0-0 6, Love 6-13 6-7 18, Pekovic 7-13 0-2 14, Rubio 7-12 3-4 18, Ridnour 2-8 1-1 5, Beasley 3-11 1-2 7, Ellington 1-4 2-2 4, Randolph 0-1 0-0 0, Williams 6-10 0-0 12, Webster 1-3 0-0 3. Totals 36-82 13-18 87.

3-Point Goals_San Antonio 7-16 (Bonner 3-6, Jefferson 2-5, Parker 1-2, Neal 1-3), Minnesota 2-9 (Webster 1-1, Rubio 1-2, Love 0-1, Beasley 0-1, Johnson 0-2, Williams 0-2). Fouled Out_None. Rebounds_San Antonio 38 (Duncan 10), Minnesota 58 (Love 16). Assists_San Antonio 17 (Duncan 4), Minnesota 18 (Rubio 10). Total Fouls_San Antonio 17, Minnesota 10. Technicals_San Antonio defensive three second. A_16,699 (19,356).

Tags:
sports, updates, timberwolves, basketball

CBSSports.com wire reports
Jan. 27, 2012

MINNEAPOLIS — It was a tense tied game late in the fourth quarter, one these nervous fans were used to seeing their Minnesota Timberwolves let slip away.

Ricky Rubio then splashed a 20-foot jumper through the net for a lead, and the rookie point guard raised his arms, urging them out of their seats and trying to reassure them that times are changing around here.

It’s certainly starting to look that way.

Rubio scored nine of his 18 points in the fourth quarter and dished out 10 assists to lift the Timberwolves to an 87-79 victory over the San Antonio Spurs on Friday night.

Kevin Love had 18 points and 16 rebounds and Nikola Pekovic added 14 points and 10 boards for the Wolves, who have beaten the Spurs two straight times in the same season for the first time since 2000.

“We weren’t playing to win the game [last year],” Love said of a team that won just 17 times and faltered down the stretch on countless occasions. “This year, we’re playing to win the game. We’re confident. Real confident.”

Tony Parker scored 20 points and Tiago Splitter continued his strong play off the bench for the Spurs, scoring 12 points and grabbing seven rebounds.

But the Spurs scored only one field goal over the final seven minutes against a suddenly stingy Wolves defense. They also had only two offensive rebounds, which was a franchise record for a Timberwolves opponent.

Derrick Williams scored 12 points for the Wolves, who held the third-leading scoring team in the league 20.5 points under its average and outrebounded the Spurs 46-34 to improve to 9-10.

“It’s a terrific win for our guys, especially against a veteran team like that that wins those games all the time,” coach Rick Adelman said. “Hopefully it’s really a step forward for us.

The Wolves led 73-67 with less than nine minutes to play, but Parker kept the Spurs in the game by relentlessly attacking the rim. He scored on a driving layup, hit a pull-up jumper and then converted a three-point play on another explosion to the basket to bring the Spurs within 1 in a two-minute flurry.

Splitter then fed Gary Neal for a 3-pointer and a 79-77 Spurs lead.

Rubio responded with two free throws and a jumper, then fed Love for a layup that gave Minnesota an 83-79 lead with 1:45 to play.

The Spanish rookie raised his arms to cajole the crowd, who stood and cheered “Rubio! Rubio!”

Rubio had been mired in a terrible shooting slump over the last six games, hitting just 23 percent of his shots. He played more than 46 minutes in Minnesota’s surprising win at Dallas on Wednesday night, then followed that by hitting seven of 12 shots in 42 minutes against the Spurs.

“Even though I didn’t [shoot well] the last six games, I knew that I can do it because I work hard,” Rubio said. “My confidence is high. Sometimes your shot’s going to miss a lot, but you have to keep shooting because if not, that’s going to affect you.”

The Spurs are 10-1 at home this season, but they entered the Target Center just 2-6 on the road, including a 106-96 loss here on Jan. 2 in which San Antonio allowed the Wolves to shoot almost 58 percent for the game. That follows the pattern they’ve set all season, where they have allowed 104.4 points per game on the road versus just 89.5 at home.

“If we’re on the road and we hold somebody to 87 points, I think we have a good chance,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. “I felt good about that. But like many NBA games, the last four or five minutes, whoever scores wins.”

The Spurs were much better defensively in the early going on Friday night, forcing three turnovers on Minnesota’s first three possessions and harassing Love into a 2-for-9 start.

But the Wolves turned the ball over just two times in the second half, Tim Duncan was 2 for 12 from the field and the Spurs offense ran out of gas.

The Wolves got Michael Beasley back from an 11-game absence because of a sprained right foot and Martell Webster played for the first time all season after having back surgery in September. Beasley had seven points on 3-for-11 shooting.

Love was playing his first game at home since signing a four-year extension worth more than $60 million. The deal allows Love to opt out after three years, which has the fans a little nervous. But they gave him a loud ovation upon introduction and hope that the Timberwolves continue their upward climb in the standings to keep him in Minnesota for years to come.

“This city is ready to explode,” Love said. “You can feel it.”

Notes

• Matt Bonner scored 13 points for the Spurs.
• Adelman joked that he has banned J.J. Barea from wearing his enormous Dallas Mavericks championship ring. “I don’t want him to pull the other hamstring,” Adelman said.
• Wolves C Darko Milicic missed the game because of illness.

Ricky Rubio scored nine of his 18 points in the fourth quarter
and dished out 10 assists to lift the Minnesota Timberwolves to an
87-79 victory over the San Antonio Spurs on Friday night.

Kevin Love had 18 points and 16 rebounds and Nikola Pekovic
added 14 points and 10 boards for the Wolves, who have beaten the
Spurs two straight times in the same season for the first time
since 2000.

Tony Parker scored 20 points and Tiago Splitter continued his
strong play off the bench for the Spurs, scoring 12 points and
grabbing seven rebounds.

Derrick Williams scored 12 points for the Wolves, who held the
third-leading scoring team in the league 20.5 points under its
average.

The Wolves led 73-67 with less than nine minutes to play, but
Parker kept the Spurs in the game by relentlessly attacking the
rim. He scored on a driving layup, hit a pull-up jumper and then
converted a three-point play on another explosion to the basket to
bring the Spurs within 1 in a two-minute flurry.

Splitter then fed Gary Neal for a 3-pointer and a 79-77 Spurs
lead.

Rubio responded with two free throws and a jumper, then fed Love
for a layup that gave Minnesota an 83-79 lead with 1:45 to
play.

The Spanish rookie raised his arms to cajole the crowd, who
stood and cheered “Rubio! Rubio!”

Rubio had been mired in a terrible shooting slump over the last
six games, hitting just 23 percent of his shots. He played more
than 46 minutes in Minnesota’s surprising win at Dallas on
Wednesday night, then followed that by hitting seven of 12 shots in
42 minutes against the Spurs.

The Spurs are 10-1 at home this season, but they entered the
Target Center just 2-6 on the road, including a 106-96 loss here on
Jan. 2 in which San Antonio allowed the Wolves to shoot almost 58
percent for the game. That follows the pattern they’ve set all
season, where they have allowed 104.4 points per game on the road
versus just 89.5 at home.

The Spurs were much better defensively in the early going on
Friday night, forcing three turnovers on Minnesota’s first three
possessions and harassing Love into a 2-for-9 start.

But the Wolves turned the ball over just two times in the second
half and Tim Duncan was 2 for 12 from the field and the Spurs
offense ran out of gas.

The Wolves got Michael Beasley back from an 11-game absence
because of a sprained right foot and Martell Webster played for the
first time all season after having back surgery in September.
Beasley had seven points on 3-for-11 shooting.

Love was playing his first game at home since signing a
four-year extension worth more than $60 million. The deal allows
Love to opt out after three years, which has the fans a little
nervous. But they gave him a loud ovation upon introduction and
hope that the Timberwolves continue their upward climb in the
standings to keep him in Minnesota for years to come.

He closed the game with six straight points to hold off the
Spurs and send the Wolves to their sixth win in nine games.

Notes: Matt Bonner scored 13 points for the Spurs. … Wolves
coach Rick Adelman joked that he has banned J.J. Barea from wearing
his enormous Dallas Mavericks championship ring. “I don’t want him
to pull the other hamstring,” Adelman said. … Wolves C Darko
Milicic missed the game because of illness.

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — It was a tense, tied game late in the fourth quarter, one these nervous fans were used to seeing their Minnesota Timberwolves let slip away.

Ricky Rubio then splashed a 20-foot jumper through the net for a lead, and the rookie point guard raised his arms, urging them out of their seats and trying to reassure them that times are changing around here.

It’s certainly starting to look that way.

Rubio scored nine of his 18 points in the fourth quarter and dished out 10 assists to lift the Timberwolves to an 87-79 victory over the San Antonio Spurs on Friday night.

Kevin Love had 18 points and 16 rebounds and Nikola Pekovic added 14 points and 10 boards for the Wolves, who have beaten the Spurs two consecutive times in the same season for the first time since 2000.

“We weren’t playing to win the game (last year),” Love said of a team that won just 17 times and faltered down the stretch on countless occasions. “This year, we’re playing to win the game. We’re confident. Real confident.”

Tony Parker scored 20 points and Tiago Splitter continued his strong play off the bench for the Spurs, scoring 12 points and grabbing seven rebounds.

But the Spurs scored only one field goal over the final seven minutes against a suddenly stingy Wolves defense. They also had only two offensive rebounds, which was a franchise record for a Timberwolves opponent.

Derrick Williams scored 12 points for the Wolves, who held the third-leading scoring team in the league 20.5 points under its average and outrebounded the Spurs 46-34 to improve to 9-10.

“It’s a terrific win for our guys, especially against a veteran team like that that wins those games all the time,” coach Rick Adelman said. “Hopefully it’s really a step forward for us.”

The Wolves led 73-67 with less than nine minutes to play, but Parker kept the Spurs in the game by relentlessly attacking the rim. He scored on a driving layup, hit a pull-up jumper and then converted a three-point play on another explosion to the basket to bring the Spurs within one in a two-minute flurry.

Splitter then fed Gary Neal for a 3-pointer and a 79-77 Spurs lead.

Rubio responded with two free throws and a jumper, then fed Love for a layup that gave Minnesota an 83-79 lead with 1:45 to play.

The Spanish rookie raised his arms to cajole the crowd, who stood and cheered “Rubio! Rubio!”

Rubio had been mired in a terrible shooting slump over the last six games, hitting just 23% of his shots. He played more than 46 minutes in Minnesota’s surprising win at Dallas on Wednesday night, then followed that by hitting seven of 12 shots in 42 minutes against the Spurs.

“Even though I didn’t (shoot well) the last six games, I knew that I can do it because I work hard,” Rubio said. “My confidence is high. Sometimes your shot’s going to miss a lot, but you have to keep shooting because if not, that’s going to affect you.”

The Spurs are 10-1 at home this season, but they entered the Target Center just 2-6 on the road, including a 106-96 loss here on Jan. 2 in which San Antonio allowed the Wolves to shoot almost 58% for the game. That follows the pattern they’ve set all season, where they have allowed 104.4 points per game on the road versus just 89.5 at home.

“If we’re on the road and we hold somebody to 87 points, I think we have a good chance,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. “I felt good about that. But like many NBA games, the last four or five minutes, whoever scores wins.”

The Spurs were much better defensively in the early going on Friday night, forcing three turnovers on Minnesota’s first three possessions and harassing Love into a 2-for-9 start.

But the Wolves turned the ball over just two times in the second half, Tim Duncan was 2-for-12 from the field and the Spurs offense ran out of gas.

The Wolves got Michael Beasley back from an 11-game absence because of a sprained right foot, and Martell Webster played for the first time all season after having back surgery in September. Beasley had seven points on 3-for-11 shooting.

Love was playing his first game at home since signing a four-year extension worth more than $60 million. The deal allows Love to opt out after three years, which has the fans a little nervous. But they gave him a loud ovation upon introduction and hope that the Timberwolves continue their upward climb in the standings to keep him in Minnesota for years to come.

“This city is ready to explode,” Love said. “You can feel it.”

NOTES: Matt Bonner scored 13 points for the Spurs. … Adelman joked that he has banned J.J. Barea from wearing his enormous Dallas Mavericks championship ring. “I don’t want him to pull the other hamstring,” Adelman said. … Wolves C Darko Milicic missed the game because of illness.

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Kevin McHale hired and fired both Flip Saunders and Randy Wittman to coach the Minnesota Timberwolves. But now that Wittman has replaced Saunders in the latest Wizards’ coaching shakeup, McHale was in no mood to reminisce about the time he shared with either man in Minnesota or discuss their current situations.

I don’t like this line of questioning!
(Jim Mone – AP)
“I’m not too worried about Washington,” McHale, now coach of the Houston Rockets, said after a lengthy practice at Toyota Center on Thursday. “We’ll play them tomorrow night and that’ll be the last time I think about them till next year because we don’t play them again. So, I don’t think too much.”

Wittman won his debut with the Wizards (3-15) on Wednesday and is hoping to lead his team to its first road win on Friday at Toyota Center. When reminded that he worked with Wittman for nearly eight years in Minnesota, McHale responded, “I worked with Flip, too. Again, I’ll prepare tonight. Watch film of them. All last night, I watched our bad performance against Milwaukee. Then we’ll watch what Washington’s doing and prepare for that. Other than that…I’m not thinking about….”

Does he have any thoughts on how the Wizards might look with Wittman at the helm as opposed to Saunders? Before waiting to hear the end of the question, McHale smiled and said: “No thoughts. I’m pretty much not going to answer anything you’re asking on that. That’s usually a hint. If I don’t answer the first question, I’m not answering the second or third.”

After both Saunders and Wittman were dismissed, Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor forced McHale to leave his position as vice president of basketball operations to take over the more laborious task as coach.

McHale reluctantly took over for Saunders midway through the 2004-05 season but returned to his front office position after the season ended. He hired Dwane Casey, but replaced Casey with Wittman after 1½ seasons. Then after he replaced Wittman in December 2008, McHale was dismissed completely from the Timberwolves organization at the conclusion of the season.

After taking two years off to work as an analyst for Turner and NBATV, McHale has returned to a profession he once dreaded and taken over as head coach of the Rockets. When the Rockets defeated the Wizards, 114-106, at Verizon Center on Jan. 16, McHale offered perfunctory comments about being “happy” for Saunders, his former college teammate and colleague for nearly 10 years with the Timberwolves.

Nothing close to that before the rematch with the Wizards with Wittman at the helm. Should be a fun game on Friday.

More on the Wizards:

Wittman hopes to build on past experience

D.C. Sports Bog: Wittman comapres Wizards to ex-smokers

Insider: McGee talks contract, demurs on Saunders

The Minnesota Timberwolves spoiled what could have been a great celebratory night for Mavs fans by defeating Dallas 105-90 on the night the team was presented last year’s championship rings. The fans gave a standing ovation to former Mav JJ Barea, who now plays for Minnesota, as he and two other retired Mavs also received their championship rings at the Wednesday night pregame ceremony.

The game started off well enough for Dallas who led 27-26 at the end of the first quarter and was rolling to a double-digit head with just five minutes to go in the first half. Then somehow Minnesota flipped a switch and started playing lights out. Kevin Love hit two three pointers, and then a couple of turnovers and suddenly the Mavs just had a two point lead at half. Unfortunately, the Timberwolves rode the momentum into the second half as their hot shooting continued. Dirk Nowitzki-less Dallas simply could not respond and was outscored by eight and nine points, respectively, in the third and fourth quarters.

Kevin Love started earning his new $60 million contract with a 31 point, 10 rebound performance for Minnesota. Love has now had a double-double in 17 out Minnesota’s 18 games this NBA season. Ricky Rubio also chipped in 17 points and 12 assists for the Timberwolves. Jason Terry was the leading scorer for Dallas with 17 points, and Shawn Marion added 15 points and 6 rebounds.

Dallas drops to 11-8 with the loss and will host Utah on Friday at 8:30 PM EST. Minnesota moves to 8-10 on the season with the win and gets to enjoy a day off before returning home to face the Spurs on Friday night at 8 PM EST

Note: This article was written by a Yahoo! contributor. Sign up here to start publishing your own sports content.

Read More: Kevin Love (F – MIN), Minnesota Timberwolves

Kevin Love and the Minnesota Timberwolves agreed Tuesday to a four-year extension worth $62 million, according to Ray Richardson of the Pioneer-Press.

Richardson reports that Love is expected to sign the contract on Wednesday afternoon — making the deal official just hours before the NBA’s midnight (ET) deadline. Had the two sides not reached common ground in time, Love would have become a restricted free agent this summer. Instead, he’s locked up for the foreseeable future.

Earlier this week, Christopher Gates of SB Nation Minnesota noted Love’s fantastic start to the season:

If there’s a better power forward in the league than Kevin Love, I really don’t know who it would be. Love has notched a double-double in each of the Timberwolves’ first 15 games, which is one shy of the NBA record for most consecutive double-doubles to start a season. He is also currently the only player in the NBA in the top five in scoring (fifth at 24.7 points/game) and rebounding (second at 14.5 boards/game). For good measure, he’s also hitting nearly 40% of his three-point attempts.

Gates must have jinxed Love, who came two rebounds shy of a double-double in the Wolves’ 16th game, but Love responded on Monday with 39 points and 12 boards. Love came into his own last season, and he’s taken the next step into truly elite company this year, ranking No. 6 in SB Nation’s latest MVP Power Rankings, sandwiched between the likes of Dwight Howard and Derrick Rose.

For more on the Wolves and Love, visit Canis Hoopus and SB Nation Minnesota.

Records aside, the stats say there is probably not a dime’s worth of difference between Utah and Minnesota, two of the younger teams in the NBA.

So, with the Timberwolves playing back-to-back games and nursing a few injuries, it was up to the Jazz to exploit their advantage. That’s what they did Saturday night in EnergySolutions Arena by bumping up the tempo as well as Minnesota’s players.

The results were obvious down the stretch as Utah (10-5) pulled away for a 108-98 victory.

“You feel it in your legs, in the last four [minutes] especially,” T-Wolves (7-9) guard Ricky Rubio said. “We don’t have to complain about that. Sometimes it’s the opposite thing. We rest the day before and receive a team … that played back-to-back, and that’s how it is.”

Rubio, Minnesota’s flashy Spanish rookie point guard, pulled his team to within four points, 100-96, with about 5 1/2 minutes to play. From that point, the Wolves missed six consecutive shots — a sign of tired legs — to go with a couple of turnovers.

The Jazz weren’t great down the stretch, but played well enough to rebound from Thursday night’s disappointing loss to Dallas. Meanwhile, Minnesota had just defeated the L.A. Clippers on Friday in an energy-sapping come-from-behind effort that came down to the last shot.

“We just didn’t do enough things,” Minnesota coach Rick Adelman said. “It was a very physical game. [Utah] came out and they’re going to do a lot of grabbing and holding and bumping. We have to find a way, if not called, to play through it.”

Coming into Saturday’s game, the Timberwolves were on a three-game win streak. They played with confidence. Even when the Jazz went on a 20-8 run in the third quarter to open a 14-point lead, the Wolves attacked and cut the margin to three and eventually tied the game in the fourth period.

Story continues below

Even with a handful of players out hurt, Minnesota challenged the Jazz. There were 13 lead changes and 12 ties in the first half and seven players, led by Rubio’s 17, scored in double figures.

It all came apart in the final five minutes.

“We took them out of their sets,” said Utah’s Paul Millsap, who finished with a game-high 26 points and nine rebounds. “The effort wasn’t really there the whole game, but we turned it on in the fourth quarter.”

It was a lesson in finishing.

“I felt like we came out well,” Minnesota’s Kevin Love said. “They hit big shots and executed well. We need to bring it every single night.”

martyr@sltrib.com

Twitter:@tribmarty

SALT LAKE CITY — An All-Star worthy effort from Paul Millsap helped the Utah Jazz get back on track Saturday night.

Millsap scored 26 points to lead the Jazz to a 108-98 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Jazz have momentum again after Thursday’s tough loss to Dallas, and are scoring well again on their report card.

GUARDS: Devin Harris was back in the starting lineup, and wasn’t even booed by his home crowd. That’s a plus. He played a lot better after the disaster against Dallas, but notably got fewer minutes than Earl Watson. Harris, after committing a turnover 11 seconds into the game, played well and finished with nine points on 4-for-5 shooting. Raja Bell is finding his stroke, as he went 5-for-6 and tied his season-high with 12 points. Bell again played well on defense. Ricky Rubio dazzled in his Utah debut, finishing with 17 points and 11 rebounds. Luke Ridnour hit some key shots for the Timberwolves. Give Minnesota a slight edge, but Bell and Harris did nothing to put Utah in danger of losing. Grade: B

FORWARDS: Millsap was outstanding, and outplayed Kevin Love. Millsap had one more rebound than Love, who for the first time this season did not record a double-double. He had 15 points and eight rebounds. Gordon Hayward continues to struggle shooting the ball, but is helping in other ways. He had six assists and five rebounds. Wes Johnson was tough for Minnesota, finishing with 13 points and six rebounds. Grade: A-

CENTERS: Al Jefferson was solid against his old team, finishing with 18 points and 12 rebounds. Darko Milicic had 10 points and four rebounds and disappeared in the third quarter. He did ride a mean stationary bike in the fourth quarter. Grade: A

BENCH: C.J. Miles scored in double figures for the third straight game. He’s playing aggressively on offense and sparking the second unit. Watson continues to run the offense well, as he had 10 points to go along with seven assists. Rookie Derrick Williams scored a career-high 15 points for the Timberwolves, and Wayne Ellington scored 10. Utah’s bench had the advantage though, outscoring Minnesota’s reserves 39-33. Grade: B+

COACHING: Tyrone Corbin interestingly played Harris and Watson together in the final two minutes and it seemed to be an arrangement that could work. Watson is the better facilitator and Harris is a good combo guard. He also played Watson five more minutes than Harris. He just seems to have the pulse of this team, and he had a great gameplan in slowing Love down. Grade: A

By Jon Krawczynski, Associated Press

MINNEAPOLIS — Kevin Love had 20 points and 17 rebounds and the Minnesota Timberwolves overcame a dreadful start to the game to slug out a 93-85 victory over the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday night.

Anthony Tolliver had 11 points off the bench and shut down Tayshaun Prince in the fourth quarter to help the Timberwolves to their third win in four games.

Prince finished with 29 points, but scored only four in the fourth as the Pistons gave away a 13-point third-quarter lead. The Pistons missed 11 free throws and were outscored 29-14 in the final quarter to lose for the ninth time in 10 games.

The Timberwolves trailed by 16 in the second quarter and didn’t hold a lead until there was less than nine minutes to play in the game.

Read More: Kevin Love (F – MIN), Detroit Pistons, Minnesota Timberwolves, Los Angeles Clippers, Utah Jazz

After trailing throughout every minute of the first three quarters, the Minnesota Timberwolves (6-8) came back to beat the Detroit Pistons (3-12) by a score of 93-85 at the Target Center on Wednesday night.

The Timberwolves started the fourth quarter on a 7-0 run to tie the game 71-71, setting the tone for a dominant 29-14 fourth quarter.

Kevin Love led the Timberwolves with 20 points, and his 17 rebounds made certain that he continued his season-long streak of being the top rebounder in every game he has played in.

Ricky Rubio meanwhile finished just 1-9 shooting from the field but managed to total 9 points, 7 rebounds, 8 assists and 6 steals.

Tayshaun Prince scored a season-high 29 points to lead the Pistons.

Minnesota now goes on the road for two games in a row, starting with a date with the Los Angeles Clippers in a game slated to start at 10:30 p.m. on Friday, followed by a matchup with the Utah Jazz the next night, Saturday, at 9:00 p.m. eastern.

Canus Hoopis is the place to go for more Timberwolves coverage, check out Detroit Bad Boys for your Pistons coverage.

Detroit Pistons at Minnesota
Timberwolves

When: 8
p.m. Wednesday

Where:
Target Center

Records:
Pistons 3-11 (fifth in Central); Timberwolves 5-8 (fifth in
Northwest).

Pistons probable starters:
Tayshaun Prince, 6-9, 215
(Kentucky); Ben Wallace,
6-9, 240 (Virginia Union); Greg
Monroe, 6-11, 250 (Georgetown); Ben Gordon, 6-3, 200 (Connecticut);
Brandon Knight, 6-3, 189 (Kentucky).

Timberwolves probable
starters: Wes
Johnson, 6-7, 215 (Syracuse); Kevin Love, 6-10, 250 (UCLA); Darko
Milicic, 7-0, 275 (Serbia); Luke Ridnour, 6-2, 175 (Oregon); Ricky
Rubio, 6-4, 180 (Spain).

Last game:
The Pistons lost 97-80
Tuesday in Houston, a game in which starting center Greg Monroe was
held to a season-low four points, his third time in single-digits
this year. The Timberwolves got 33 points and 11 rebounds from Love,
and 25 and nine from Ridnour, in a 99-86 win Monday over the
Sacramento Kings.

Fast facts:
Love is the NBA’s
sixth-leading scorer (25.6 ppg). … The Pistons get their first look
at Minnesota rookie point guard Rubio, whose dynamic court vision has
seized interest throughout the NBA. … Rubio is averaging 10.8
points, 8.3 assists and 4.4 rebounds per game. … Ridnour, despite
being a prolific 3-point shooter, also ranks 19th in the league in
overall field-goal percentage (52.4). … Wayne Ellington had 15
points off the bench, and the Timberwolves were plus-18 during his 26
minutes, against the Kings. … The Timberwolves rank 29th in the
league in percentage of total points scored in the paint (35.418
percent). … Minnesota is the epitome of a halfcourt offensive team,
with only 19.091 percent of its points scored off fast breaks, last
in the league. … The Pistons rank 28th in assists per turnover
(1.13) and the Timberwolves are 29th (1.04), even though Detroit’s
Rodney Stuckey has the 13th-best ratio (2.65) and Minnesota’s Rubio
ranks 19th (2.51). … The Pistons’ 85 points per game is last in the
league.

Frank-ly speaking:
“Any time you make a
lineup change, you’re not going to get instant gratification out of
it. I don’t think there’s any miracle answers or miracle schemes.
What we’re looking at is different combinations and what works. I
thought Body (Wallace) played well (at Houston). I thought he did a
very, very good job, when you look at three blocks and four rebounds
in the minutes he played. We’re going to go with it for a little bit
and we’ll continue to evaluate it.” – Lawrence Frank, on
Wallace’s insertion into the starting lineup before last night’s
game.

TV:
Fox Sports Detroit