Charlotte, N.C. — The Minnesota Timberwolves remembered their history against the Charlotte Hornets. This time they did something about it.
Losers of four straight to the Hornets and winless in 11 previous games in Charlotte, the Timberwolves finally broke the streak with a 95-89 victory for their first win over the Hornets since 1997.
Toronto's Antonio Davis, right, launches a shot over Sacramento's Vlade Divac. The Kings defeated the Raptors, 98-91, Tuesday night in Sacramento, Calif.
"Someone mentioned to us how long it had been during the morning shootaround and I think it stuck in everyone's mind for the rest of the day," said Kevin Garnett, who led the Timberwolves with 22 points and 13 rebounds.
"As a franchise, we haven't always done well and we allowed them to create a record that we are not proud of. But we are a team making strides, trying to erase some of that, and tonight we took another step in doing that."
Minnesota improved to 8-16 overall against Charlotte and 1-11 in The Coliseum. In doing so, the Timberwolves snapped Charlotte's seven-game winning streak while winning their fourth consecutive game.
"We don't feel like this team is better than us," said Chauncey Billups. "It was kind of personal because we lost so many to them and we just didn't feel like they were better than us."
It was a hard-fought victory, though. Minnesota blew a 21-point second-half lead and let Charlotte cut the score to 90-87 with 1:01 to play.
But LaPhonso Ellis hit a jumper with 37 seconds to play and Minnesota stopped Baron Davis on a driving layup at the other end. Billups claimed the rebound, was fouled and made one of two free throws to put Minnesota up 93-87.
Jamaal Magloire hit a hook shot with 10 seconds left to cut it to 93-89, but the Hornets had to foul on the next possession and Terrell Brandon hit both free throws to seal the win.
"You know a home team is going to make a run, especially one that has won seven straight," said Minnesota coach Flip Saunders. "But we felt like we had the ability to win if we could get to the free throw line. We got tough when we had to so we could get to the line."
Wally Szczerbiak had 16 points for Minnesota and Brandon added 13. Billups finished with 13 points and hit three of his four three-pointers in the fourth quarter.
"Billups was the key with the three-pointers," said Charlotte coach Paul Silas. "That broke our back. They hit big shots at the end and deserved to win."
David Wesley led the Hornets with 21 points. Davis added 17 points, 9 assists and 6 rebounds. Jamal Mashburn had 16 points on 5-of-15 shooting.
The Timberwolves, who built a 14-point halftime lead behind 60 percent shooting, stretched their lead to 57-36 with 10:03 to play in the third.
Charlotte slowly started to chip away and cut it to 66-60 behind 3-pointers from Wesley, Davis and Mashburn. Wesley added another one at the end of the quarter to keep Minnesota's lead at six.
Knicks 97, Pacers 83
New York After being booed off the court following a lousy first quarter, the New York Knicks rediscovered the intensity that had been missing for a week and came back to defeat Indiana. Kurt Thomas scored 19 points, Latrell Sprewell had 16 and Mark Jackson 15 for the Knicks, who had six double-figure scorers. Marcus Camby returned from a two-game absence and had 12 points and 10 rebounds. Travis Best had 18, Jalen Rose added 16 and Reggie Miller 14 for the Pacers. Miller went 0-for-5 from the field in the fourth quarter and scored just three points over the final three quarters.
Bulls 87, Cavaliers 74
Chicago Five Bulls scored in double figures as Chicago won for the fifth time in 11 games since the All-Star break. Reserve Marcus Fizer's 17 points paced Chicago, which still has the league's worst record at 11-48. Ron Artest and Elton Brand scored 14 points apiece, while Brad Miller added 13 and Fred Hoiberg 12.
Cleveland was held to 35 percent shooting by the Bulls, whose 13-point victory margin was their second-highest of the season.
Spurs 101, Sonics 73
Seattle Tim Duncan scored 22 points and David Robinson added 19 as San Antonio routed Seattle. Derek Anderson added 14 for the Spurs, who were up by 24 at the half and never let Seattle get closer than 13 after that. The point total was a season low for the Sonics. The Spurs (41-19) have won 18 of their last 22 games since dropping four straight in mid-January.
Lakers 97, Warriors 85
Oakland, Calif. Shaquille O'Neal threw himself a birthday bash that upstaged Antawn Jamison's rematch with Kobe Bryant. O'Neal had 26 points, 17 rebounds and a dominant defensive game on his 29th birthday as Los Angeles beat Golden State. The last time the Lakers visited Golden State, Bryant and Jamison scored 51 points apiece as the Warriors won an overtime thriller. There were no such dramatics this time just a solid, balanced performance by the Lakers, who won for the seventh time in eight games as they warm up for the playoffs.
Grizzlies 105, Trail Blazers 97
Portland, Ore. Shareef Abdur-Rahim scored 26 points, including two big baskets in the final two minutes as Vancouver defeated Portland . It was Vancouver's first victory in Portland since Nov. 3, 1995, when the expansion team won the opening game in franchise history. Scottie Pippen, Bonzi Wells and Damon Stoudamire each scored 15 points to lead the Blazers, who lost All-Star forward Rasheed Wallace to yet another ejection. Wallace received two quick technical fouls early in the third quarter.
Suns 93, Nuggets 82
Denver Shawn Marion, playing for the first time in 10 days, scored 22 points on 10-of-12 shooting as Phoenix beat Denver. Tom Gugliotta added 25 points and Jason Kidd had eight points, eight rebounds and 10 assists to help the Suns defeat Denver for the second time in four days. Phoenix has won seven straight over Denver and 16 of 17.
Kings 98, Raptors 91
Sacramento, Calif. Chris Webber, returning from a 10-game absence, scored 19 points and grabbed 13 rebounds as Sacramento defeated Toronto.
The Kings survived a first-half stretch that saw them miss 21 of 23 shots in running their home record to a league-best 24-5.
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