Timberwolves Move to 6-0

The matchup of unbeatens turned out to be a dud--for the Milwaukee Bucks.

Kevin Garnett scored 20 points, and all five Minnesota starters reached double figures before the end of the third quarter as the Timberwolves defeated the Bucks, 98-82, Saturday night at Milwaukee.

The Timberwolves (6-0) and Lakers (5-0) are the two remaining undefeated teams. The Bucks had started 4-0 for only the second time in franchise history.

“Milwaukee’s a great team and for us to come in here and play with that intensity from the beginning to the end ... it pretty much controlled the tempo, which I thought we did with our defense,” Minnesota Coach Flip Saunders said.

Minnesota, which never trailed, got double-doubles from Garnett, who had 15 rebounds, and Rasho Nesterovic (10 points, 11 rebounds).

Wally Szczerbiak added 19 points, Joe Smith had 16 and Terrell Brandon added 13.

“We just want to keep rolling,” Szczerbiak said. “We don’t want to change a thing.”

Ray Allen scored 16 points, and Glenn Robinson had 14 for Milwaukee, which shot 44% and made only five of 17 free throws.

Philadelphia 98, Dallas 91--Allen Iverson, the reigning league most valuable player, scored 18 points and had nine assists in his return from elbow surgery as the 76ers got their first victory of the season at Dallas.

Even though he made only seven of 28 shots, and was still a long way from top form with some bad misses, Iverson scored half of his points in the fourth quarter as the 76ers denied Dallas its first 6-1 start.

Iverson missed the first five games, all losses for the 76ers, after arthroscopic surgery on his right elbow Sept. 25. He averaged 31.1 points last season as Philadelphia won the Eastern Conference.

Indiana 105, Portland 96--Jalen Rose scored 19 points, and Al Harrington added 18 as the Pacers got another comeback victory, this time against the Trail Blazers at Indianapolis.

The Pacers finished the week 4-1, all against playoff teams from a year ago, and are 6-2 for the first time in the team’s NBA history.

After trailing in victories by 10 in the fourth against Sacramento and 20 in the first half to New York, the Pacers were down by 11 to the Trail Blazers in the second quarter before rallying.

Golden State 90, New York 71--Rookie Jason Richardson scored 14 points in the first quarter when the Warriors took the lead for good, and the reserves maintained a big lead throughout the fourth quarter in a surprising rout at New York.

Chris Mills scored 12 points and rookie Troy Murphy had 11 as Warrior Coach Dave Cowens kept all his starters except Larry Hughes on the bench for the final 12 minutes. Golden State already has three road victories after recording six all last season.

Allan Houston scored 17 and Kurt Thomas had 15 for the Knicks, who lost for the fifth time in seven games.

New Jersey 87, Cleveland 84--Kenyon Martin scored 18 points, and Jason Kidd made two free throws in the closing seconds as the Nets won at East Rutherford, N.J., to improve to 5-1 for the first time in franchise history.

Kerry Kittles scored 17 points, and Keith Van Horn added 16 points and 10 rebounds for the Nets.

Lamond Murray led the Cavaliers (1-6) with 21 points.

Sacramento 90, Miami 75--Peja Stojakovic scored 22 points and Vlade Divac added 18 points and 10 rebounds as the Kings ended a two-game losing streak with a victory at Miami.

Miami’s NBA-record streak of 594 consecutive games with a three-pointer ended, as the Heat missed on four three-point shots. It was the first time the Heat didn’t make a three-pointer since Jan. 19, 1994, against Indiana.

Toronto 117, Utah 96--Vince Carter scored 26 of his 43 points in the second half and the Raptors broke open a close contest in the third quarter to win easily at Salt Lake City.

Morris Peterson scored 26, three off his career high, and the Raptors tied a team record with 15 three-pointers. Carter had 15 points in the third quarter as Toronto outscored Utah, 34-18.

San Antonio 110, Atlanta 88--Tim Duncan scored 20 points, and rookie Tony Parker added 19 to lead the Spurs to a victory over the Hawks at San Antonio.

David Robinson and Antonio Daniels each had 14 points, and Steve Smith added 12 for the Spurs (5-2), who won their third in a row. Duncan grabbed 13 rebounds to post his seventh double-double in as many games.

Charlotte 89, Chicago 85--Elden Campbell sank a go-ahead jumper with 24 seconds left and made two free throws to seal the victory at Chicago.

Jamal Mashburn scored 26 points, and Baron Davis added 21 for the Hornets, who ended a three-game losing streak.