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

HOUSTON (AP) – Rick Adelman has mostly good memories from his years in Houston, and his new team delivered one more on Monday night.

Michael Beasley scored 34 points, Ricky Rubio had 18 points and 11 assists and the Minnesota Timberwolves beat the Rockets 120-108 in Adelman’s return to Houston.

Kevin Love had 29 points for the Timberwolves, who blew open a close game with a franchise-record 42 points in the third, also a season high for any quarter.

The 6-foot-10 Beasley, in just his third game back after missing 11 games with a sprained right foot, set a franchise record for single-game points by a reserve. He went 10 for 14 from the field and 12 for 12 from the free-throw line to finish just eight points shy of his career high.

“That’s what I’ve got to do,” Beasley said. “I’ve got to penetrate, use my athleticism.”

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.

And it could’ve hardly happened on a better night for Adelman, who turned down the Rockets’ offer to renew his contract after last season because of philosophical differences with owner Leslie Alexander and general manager Daryl Morey.

“We didn’t try to attack on one pass, we moved the ball from side to side,” Adelman said. “I thought we could get to the basket if we did that. It was a really good team win. A lot of guys played and a lot of guys contributed.”

Adelman revealed more about the reasons for his departure before the game, half-joking that he was still awaiting a phone call from Alexander. Adelman said he read in a local newspaper column that he was to blame for the communication breakdown between the two during his tenure.

“I didn’t think anything of it, until I saw the stuff about how I never listened to anything,” he said. “I’m not real smart, but I’m going to listen to my boss. That just kind of turned me the wrong way.”

Morey walked up and shook Adelman’s hand during pregame warmups, and the two had a brief, apparently cordial conversation.

Adelman seemed more animated on the sideline than usual, though, especially once the second half began.

The Timberwolves opened the second half with a 12-4 burst, capped by Love’s second 3-pointer for a 66-60 lead. Kyle Lowry and Kevin Martin answered with 3 pointers, and Lowry turned a steal into a breakaway layup to tie it at 68.

Minnesota then pushed the tempo and poured it on, finishing the quarter with a 19-6 spurt. The Wolves hit 15 of 24 shots, including four 3-pointers, and went 8 for 8 from the free-throw line to put together the highest scoring quarter against Houston this season.

“It was just like we were sitting there and we could never find any kind of rhythm defensively,” Houston coach Kevin McHale said. “We never got many consecutive stops, we never really dug in and got things.”

Rubio, Beasley and Love led the scoring barrage, with 32 points in the third on 10-for-12 shooting. Minnesota led 96-81 heading to the fourth, and the Rockets hardly challenged the rest of the way.

“It’s fun basketball when you’re that efficient,” Love said. “We got open shots, set good picks and we just did the little things that helped us have a big third quarter.”

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.

“Just felt like one of those games when we were stuck in the mud,” McHale said.

Minnesota finished 28 of 31 from the free-throw line and dished out 18 assists. The Timberwolves have won six of nine to get within one game of .500, and they’re starting to get excited about the possibilities this season.

“We know we can go on big runs,” Love said. “It’s just the case of not getting down so much and not having to fight back from such a large deficit.”

Chase Budinger scored 13 for Houston, also outrebounded 40-34.

The Rockets beat Minnesota 107-92 a week ago in McHale’s first game back in his home state since he succeeded Adelman last June. The teams play again in Minneapolis on Saturday.

NOTES: The Timberwolves have five road wins, already matching their total in each of the previous two seasons. … Timberwolves G J.J. Barea (sprained left ankle) sat out for the 10th time in 11 games. … The Rockets had their streak of games with double-digit leads halted at 13. … Minnesota’s field-goal percentage (58 percent) was a high for a Houston opponent this season.
 

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.

Forget potential, for the Minnesota Timberwolves the future was now as Ricky Rubio and Kevin Love teamed up to take down the San Antonio Spurs 87-79 on Friday night.

The Southwest Division-leading Spurs started the game strong but eventually both teams settled into a tight affair with the Spurs leading by one after each of the first two quarters before taking a tied game into the fourth quarter. Minnesota took a six-point lead early in the fourth quarter but San Antonio came back to tie things up at 79-79 with just over three minutes remaining in the game.

That’s when Rubio and Love took over, fueling an 8-0 run by the Wolves to close the game and secure the big W in front of an approving Target Center crowd. Rubio sparked the run scoring the first four points and then finding Love for a layup. The Spurs had no answer and Tony Parker, Tim Duncan and Richard Jefferson took turns trying to answer but continued to come up empty.

Rubio finished the game with 18 points and 10 assists including some beautiful bounce passes through traffic for easy buckets at the rim. Love added his patented double-double with 18 points and 16 rebounds, but was joined in the double-double ranks by Nikola Pekovic with 14 points and 10 rebounds.

Parker led the way for the Spurs with 20 points and three assists while Duncan finished with nine points and 10 rebounds.

Minnesota has a day to enjoy this victory as they prepare for another high-profile guest on Sunday when Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers visit.

For more on the Minnesota Timberwolves, check out Canis Hoopus. You can also head over to SB Nation’s main NBA hub at SBNation.com/NBA.

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

Minnesota Timberwolves star forward Kevin Love will stay in Midwestern state for the immediate future — he and his team has agreed to a four-year contract extension worth a reported $60-62 million million.

According to ESPN, the deal gives the 23-year-old the option to opt out of his contract in the fourth year if he doesn’t like the direction of the team. Love wanted a five year contract, but accepted the four-year deal with the option on the last year.

Via the deal, Love will stay with the Timberwolves, at least, through the summer of 2015.

“Did I want the five years? Of course,” Love said this week. “It was something I felt strongly about, but at the end of the day, a four-year deal is still great.

“I like the direction the team is headed,” he continued. “I like the youth. I like the pieces, like we’re knocking at the door and we’re close in a lot of games.”

Before the deal was announced, a post on Love’s verified Twitter page (@KevinLove) hinted that it was all but complete: “To #twolves fans: I’ll be in Minnesota for 4 more years! Excited to see you when I get back to Minneapolis.”

ESPN says that Love was eligible for a five-year, $80 million extension — which the Oklahoma City Thunder awarded guard Russell Westbrook last week. But the Wolves refused to budge on their offer, said reports. It would’ve made him Minnesota’s “designated player.” Based on the NBA’s new collective bargaining agreement, every team is allowed to have one “designated player”, who receives a five-year maximum extension on his rookie contract.

Love has emerged as the new face of the franchise who hasn’t had a star since Kevin Garnett (who was traded to the Celtics in 2007).

The Minnesota star is currently averaging 24.9 points and 13.9 rebounds per game. If he finishes the season with those averages, he’d be the first player to do so since Moses Malone in 1981-82.

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.

By Jon Krawczynski, Associated Press

MINNEAPOLIS — Kevin Love watched friends Derrick Rose and Russell Westbrook sign five-year extensions this season and was ready to do the same with the Minnesota Timberwolves.

As the clock ticked down toward the deadline, it became abundantly clear that owner Glen Taylor and president of basketball operations David Kahn didn’t want to go that far.

So the two sides found a middle ground.

Love signed a four-year maximum extension Wednesday worth more than $60 million that allows him to opt out after three years.

The deal offers the financial flexibility and protection from injury that the Timberwolves were seeking while giving the 23-year-old Love the freedom to become an unrestricted free agent in 2015 if he so chooses.

“Did I want the five years? Of course,” Love said on a conference call from Dallas before the short-handed Wolves beat the Mavericks 105-90. “It was something I felt strongly about. But at the end of the day, a four-year deal is still great.”

Love is showing that he is worth every penny this season, including in the game against defending champion Dallas when he scored 31 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and hit 4 of 6 3-pointers in 43 minutes.

Under the new collective bargaining agreement, teams can offer one player on their roster a five-year deal with annual raises of 7.5 percent, which is one year longer and three percentage points higher than any other team can offer.

Love has emerged as the new face of the franchise in the post-Kevin Garnett era, an All-Star who led the NBA in rebounding last season and is off to an even better start this year. He is averaging 25.2 points, 13.7 rebounds and leads the league with 39.6 minutes per game.

“He’s the key of this team. He’s our leader,” point guard Ricky Rubio said. “We appreciate what he does on the court. It’s great for us.”

Coupled with the additions of coach Rick Adelman and Rubio, Love has helped form a promising foundation. Still, Love can leave if he doesn’t like the direction the organization is headed in three years.

“The early termination keeps my options open and I want to see where this team is going to head,” Love said. “I feel that we are (on the right track), and that we’ll get there. … I’m looking at this as a four-year deal and we’ll go from there.”

With this grueling, lockout-shortened season still only a quarter of the way finished, Kahn said he and Taylor felt that extending a player even as accomplished as Love for five years was more than they were comfortable doing.

Read More: Kevin Love (F – MIN), Minnesota Timberwolves, Houston Rockets at Minnesota Timberwolves, Jan 23, 2012 7:00 PM CST

With the eleventh hour approaching, the Minnesota Timberwolves may or may not have landed an extension with their star big man Kevin Love. According to Ray Richardson of the Pioneer Press, an agreement is in place. Love becomes a unrestricted free agent this summer if a deal is not reached and in writing by Wednesday at midnight eastern time.

Richardson’s report says the supposed deal is worth $62 million for four years, which would mean the T-Wolves did not make Love their “designated player” and give him the maximum $78 million over five years.

Now, for what it’s worth, less than an hour after Richardson’s post went up, Kevin Love tweeted, “if you read it on the internet it must be true right?” making it pretty implicitly clear that Richardson’s report is erroneous. Marc Stein tweeted shortly thereafter that the two sides have not agreed to anything and talks are still “ongoing.” A google search renders a result from ESPN with the headline, “Report: Kevin Love, Wolves agree,” but when you click on it, the headline changes to, “Sources: Kevin Love, Wolves talking.”

Therefore, I think it’s probably safe to assume that nothing is final yet, but things appear to be getting closer, close enough for Minnesota beat writers to jump the gun. Stay tuned for more updates.

For more on the Minnesota Timberwolves, check out Canis Hoopus. You can also head over to SB Nation’s main NBA hub at SBNation.com/NBA.

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.

 

The Minnesota Timberwolves have agreed to a four-year, $62 million contract extension with All-Star forward Kevin Love, the St. Paul Pioneer Press reported Tuesday, citing a source.

The 23-year-old is expected to sign the new deal in Dallas on Wednesday, ahead of Minnesota’s game against the defending NBA champion Mavericks that night.

ESPN.com reports that the discussions are still “ongoing” and that a final decision will not be made by Love until Wednesday.

“If you read it on the Internet it must be true right?” Love wrote on Twitter shortly after the initial report of an agreement broke.

Love, voted the NBA’s most improved player last season, averaged 20.2 points and 15.2 rebounds a game in 2010-11 on his way to getting his first All-Star selection.

This year he is averaging 24.9 points and 13.9 rebounds and leads the league in double-doubles with 16 in 17 games.

The No. 5 overall pick in 2008, Love is one of 20 finalists for the USA’s 2012 Olympic basketball team.