Timberwolves sting Kings

Minnesota wins battle of conference leaders, 92-75

? The Minnesota Timberwolves believe this is their year to get out of the first round of the playoffs — and beyond.

A first-place finish in the Western Conference would give them a great start, which is why beating Sacramento was so important.

Kevin Garnett had 22 points and 24 rebounds for the Timberwolves in a 92-75 victory over the Kings on Thursday night in a matchup of the West’s top teams.

Sam Cassell added 18 points for Minnesota (39-15), which used a whopping 60-34 rebound advantage to beat Sacramento (38-14) in a surprisingly Eastern Conference-style game.

“We’re trying to get that No. 1 seed,” Cassell said. “We’ve got to continue to do what we can to get that seed.”

Peja Stojakovic had 15 points for the Kings, who were held to a season low in points. They were under 90 points for just the third time this season.

“Unfortunately, everyone took turns missing shots,” coach Rick Adelman said.

This budding rivalry has been, recently, one of the tightest matchups in the league. The last four meetings went to overtime, an NBA record, including a 112-109 road win by Minnesota in December.

Garnett didn’t have a great shooting night — he was 8-for-19 — but he was a magnet to the basket as usual, grabbing 12 rebounds in the first quarter alone.

Minnesota's Wally Szczerbiak, right, goes up for a shot against Sacramento guard Anthony Peeler in the fourth quarter. Szczerbiak, who had been sidelined since training camp because of a sore left foot caused by a plantar fascia strain, scored six points in 16 minutes in his season debut. The Timberwolves won, 92-75, Thursday night in Minneapolis.

Late in the third quarter, Garnett made a pair of no-look passes to Oliver Miller for easy baskets in the lane, the second one which was a three-point play that put the Wolves up 61-55.

The rebounding was just one part of the hustle Minnesota showed.

“Hustle plays make the game more exciting,” Garnett said. “It shows the other team, and the refs, who wants the game.”

Sacramento is the league’s highest-scoring team at 105 points per game, but this was one of its worst offensive performances. After tying a franchise record with 16 three-pointers against Boston on Tuesday, the Kings fell behind 17-6 with 3:13 left in the first quarter and trailed the entire game.

“When you hold a team 30 under its average, you’re doing something right,” Timberwolves coach Flip Saunders said.

When the Kings missed, they missed badly — even on layups and bank shots in the lane. They missed often, too, hitting just 29.4 percent (15-for-51) in the first half and 33.7 percent for the game.

“I can’t remember the last time we played like that,” guard Bobby Jackson said. “And we still had a chance to win the game. That’s the scary thing.”

The Wolves weren’t exactly pretty themselves, but they didn’t let sloppy stretches cost them the game. Sacramento came as close as 57-55 and cut it to 72-68 with 7:54 left on two free throws by Smith.

Latrell Sprewell, whose 13 points, seven rebounds and five assists didn’t fully reflect his contribution, led Minnesota on a 20-7 run to close the game.

On consecutive possessions, Sprewell set up a fast-break layup for Wally Szczerbiak and threw a long pass inside to Mark Madsen, whose layup made it 76-68.

Szczerbiak, out since training camp with a sore left foot caused by a plantar fascia strain, scored six points in 16 minutes in his season debut. He entered the game early in the second quarter, smiling at a rousing standing ovation from the crowd of 18,667. Garnett stood up in front of the bench and clapped enthusiastically.

Borrowing a page from Sacramento’s book, Minnesota maximized its depth and got sizable contributions from nearly everyone on the roster. Szczerbiak’s return clearly gave the Wolves some energy.

“It’s big for his confidence,” Cassell said. “World is an important part of this team.”

76ers 112, SuperSonics 101

Seattle — Allen Iverson returned to Philadelphia’s starting lineup to score 40 points.

New Sixers coach Chris Ford kept Iverson out of the starting lineup Tuesday night in a loss to Denver after the star guard missed a practice after the All-Star break.

Iverson was 10-of-24 from the field and made 17 free throws to help Philadelphia snap a five-game road losing streak. Glenn Robinson added 26 points, and Willie Green had 10.

Ray Allen led Seattle with 31 points and 11 rebounds.

Clippers 102, Celtics 100

Los Angeles — Eddie House made an off-balance 19-foot jumper with 1.8 seconds remaining to give the Los Angeles Clippers a victory over Boston.

Elton Brand scored 24 of his season-high 39 points in the first half, and the Clippers overcame the early ejection of Quentin Richardson to end a five-game losing streak.

Brand also had 11 rebounds and blocked six shots.

The Clippers, who snapped a string of seven straight losses against Boston with a 95-86 road victory Feb. 4, swept the Celtics in a season series for the first time since 1996-97 and handed them their fourth straight defeat.

Keyon Dooling added 16 points off the bench for the Clippers, who were coming off a nine-game road trip — the longest in franchise history and the longest of the season for any team.

The Celtics, who entered tied with the idle Miami Heat for the eighth and final Eastern Conference playoff spot, have lost four straight and 10 of 11.