11/21/2008 - Minneapolis, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kevin Garnett made 8-of-12 field goals en route to scoring 17 points, as the Boston Celtics notched a 95-78 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves.
It was Garnett's first game back in Minnesota, as the long-time Timberwolves player missed the Celtics' contest there last season because of an abdominal strain.
Paul Pierce finished with 12 points and 11 rebounds for Boston, which has won four in a row and 10 of 11. Rajon Rondo added 13 points, seven rebounds and five assists in the win.
Al Jefferson scored 23 points to pace the Timberwolves, who were coming off just their second win of the season, one that snapped an eight-game slide. But Minnesota lost their ninth contest out of 10 after a 31.3-percent shooting effort, and whose only other double-digit scorer was Sebastian Telfair with 13 points.
Boston trailed at halftime, but erased its deficit with a Pierce jumper and Garnett dunk in the first minute of the third quarter. The baskets were part of an 11-2 run to open the second half, which ended with a Rondo bucket for a 47-41 lead.
"We were rushing things offensively in the first half," Boston's Ray Allen said. "Still playing pretty good defense...keeping them from scoring."
The teams traded baskets until Boston ended the third on a 14-0 run. Rondo concluded the burst with a layup and long three-pointer in the waning seconds, as the Celtics took a 71-49 lead into the fourth.
"They turned it on," Minnesota's Kevin Love said. "We didn't hit them. They were aggressive."
After Minnesota opened the final stanza with six consecutive points, Boston countered with five of its own, going up 76-56 on a three-point play from Tony Allen, and the Celtics cruised to the finish from there.
In a back-and-forth first quarter, Brian Scalabrine made a three-pointer with half a minute left to put Boston ahead 22-21 going into the second.
But Minnesota opened the second quarter on an eight-point run, and led 29-22 after a Telfair jumper three minutes in. The T'Wolves continued to play in front and led 39-36 at halftime.
Game Notes
The T'Wolves, in addition to making just 26-of-83 field goals, were successful on just three of 15 three-point attempts. They made 23-of-27 free throws...Boston shot 49.3 percent (37-of-75) from the floor, but only 17-of-24 from the free throw line...Ray Allen had 11 points and six assists for Boston, while Tony Allen had 14 points and Leon Powe 10.
<< Flyers top Sabres as Biron blanks former club
Buffalo, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Martin Biron stopped all 40 shots he saw
against his former team to post his first shutout of the season as the
Philadelphia Flyers downed the Buffalo Sabres, 3-0, at HSBC Arena.
Biron, who play
<< Staal records hat trick as 'Canes top Coyotes
Raleigh, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Eric Staal snapped an eight-game goalless
drought with his fifth career hat trick, helping the Carolina Hurricanes to a
5-2 win over the Phoenix Coyotes at RBC Center.
Ray Whitney added a pair of third
<< Hansbrough starts against UCSB
Santa Barbara, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - North Carolina senior forward Tyler
Hansbrough, who missed the first two games of the season, started Friday night
when the top-ranked Tar Heels battled UC-Santa Barbara.
Hansbrough missed the firs
<< Lewis has the Magic in OT win over Pacers
Indianapolis, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rashard Lewis scored 23 points, including
the final seven for Orlando in overtime, as the Magic edged the Indiana
Pacers, 100-98, for their fifth straight victory.
Lewis finished 9-of-12 from th
Stempniak leads Blues to OT win over Ducks >>
St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Lee Stempniak's goal 2:39 into overtime
lifted St. Louis over Anaheim, 3-2, at Scottrade Center.
Stempniak gained control of the puck near center ice, and once over the Ducks'
blue line, crossed to th
Mavs finally get first home win, top Grizzlies >>
Dallas, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dirk Nowitzki had a game-high 25 points and
grabbed 10 rebounds as the Dallas Mavericks got their first home win
of the season at the expense of the Memphis Grizzlies in a 91-76 victory at
America
UCLA's Aboya injures wrist >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - UCLA forward/center Alfred Aboya injured his
left wrist in Friday's 77-60 win over Southern Illinois at the 2K Sports
Classic Benefiting Coaches vs. Cancer.
Aboya scored 22 points for the fourth-rank
Lecavalier gives Tocchet first win as Bolts down Preds >>
Tampa, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Vincent Lecavalier scored twice to lead Tampa Bay
over Nashville, 4-1, at St. Pete Times Forum.
Vinny Prospal and Mark Recchi also tallied for the Lightning, who gave interim
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Kurt Warner to start, Matt Leinart to watch
Despite the debate that's swirling , Kurt Warner will remain the starting quarterback for the Arizona Cardinals, coach Dennis Green said today. The Arizona Cardinals are the +7 point underdog at online sportsbook MySportsbook.com for this Sunday's game.
Green's comment came in a statement released by the team following an ESPN report that Green decided that rookie Matt Leinart would replace Warner as starter for Sunday's game at Atlanta.
"Generally talking about the starting lineup is not something we do," Green told the AP. "However, given the speculation that was out there we want to make it clear. We're disappointed after last week, but we still expect to be a playoff football team and we fully expect Kurt Warner to be the quarterback that leads us. That has not changed."
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