Minneapolis ? Kevin Garnett gave the Minnesota Timberwolves a big scare in the third quarter when he banged his head on the floor and left for the locker room with a bloody gash.

Returning in the fourth after receiving a dozen stitches, Garnett gave his team a big lift.

Garnett had 20 points including seven of his team’s final nine and 18 rebounds Thursday night to lead Minnesota to a 113-111 victory over the Dallas Mavericks.

“I knew it wasn’t major,” Garnett said. “I still had my wits about me. It wasn’t like I couldn’t remember my name or anything.”

Wally Szczerbiak scored 26 points and Chauncey Billups had 23 points and a career-high 17 assists for the Timberwolves, who held a players-only meeting the day before to address their monthlong slump.

Minnesota, which lost 10 of its first 13 in March, had dropped seven of its previous eight at home.

Jazz 112, Cavaliers 91

Salt Lake City Filling in for the ailing Donyell Marshall, Andrei Kirilenko and Scott Padgett each scored 17 points as Utah beat Cleveland. Kirilenko started in place of Marshall (strained left calf) and had six rebounds, four steals and three blocked shots.

76ers 99, Bulls 79

Chicago With Allen Iverson out with a broken hand and Derrick Coleman sidelined by a sore knee, Eric Snow scored 24 points and Speedy Claxton 17 as Philadelphia beat Chicago.

Raptors 85, Hawks 83

Atlanta Jerome Williams’ putback with 6.1 seconds left gave Toronto a win over Atlanta. Antonio Davis and Morris Peterson scored 15 points each and Alvin Williams added 14.

Bucks 95, Nuggets 88

Milwaukee Sam Cassell scored 29 points despite a painful toe injury and Glenn Robinson had 19 points and 15 rebounds in Milwaukee’s victory over Denver.

Kings 101, Rockets 74

Houston Chris Webber scored 19 points and Doug Christie added 17 as Sacramento defeated Houston for the eighth straight time to improve the NBA’s best record to 51-19.