Timberwolves rout Wizards 97-77 in Garnett’s emotional return

Shooting guard Kevin Martin scored 28 points to lead the Minnesota Timberwolves to a comfortable 9777 victory over the Washington Wizards, making Kevin Garnett’s emotional return to his former team a victorious one.

Garnett, who spent 12 seasons with the Timberwolves and led them to the Western Conference Finals in 2004 before being traded three years later to the Boston Celtics, scored five points and grabbed eight rebounds in just 18 minutes of play on Wednesday night.

The 38yearold power forward, who was the MVP of the 20032004 season and won a championship in his first season with Boston, was traded back to Minnesota by the Brooklyn Nets last week.

The nearly 20,000 fans at the Target Center in Minneapolis gave Garnett a standing ovation before the start of the game and chanted “KG! KG!” as he left the court as time was expiring in the fourth quarter.

Martin made 10 of his 15 shots from the field to lead all scorers.

The Timberwolves (1343), who are stumbling through their 10th consecutive losing season, also got 19 points from budding star Andrew Wiggins and 15 points and 13 rebounds from center Nikola Pekovic.

Spanish point guard Ricky Rubio scored just six points on 2of9 shooting but dished out eight assists, grabbed seven rebounds and made four steals.

The Wizards (3325), who remain on course for a playoff berth, lost their fifth straight game and have fallen to fifth place in the Eastern Conference standings.

Otto Porter led Washington with 13 points, while Brazilian power forward Nene Hilario scored 12 and shooting guard Garrett Temple added 11.

Hilario also grabbed four rebounds in 25 minutes of action.

In other action around the NBA Wednesday night, the Miami Heat edged the Orlando Magic 9390 in overtime, the Atlanta Hawks cruised past the Dallas Mavericks 10487, the Boston Celtics routed the New York Knicks 11594, the New Orleans Pelicans defeated the Brooklyn Nets 10296, the Charlotte Hornets topped the Chicago Bulls 9886, and the Houston Rockets slid past the Los Angeles Clippers 110105.

The Milwaukee Bucks trounced the Philadelphia 76ers 10488, the Phoenix Suns topped the Denver Nuggets 11096, the Los Angeles Lakers edged the Utah Jazz 10097, the Sacramento Kings surprised the Memphis Grizzlies 10290, and the Portland Trail Blazers cruised past the struggling San Antonio Spurs 11195.