Minnesota Gets Overtime Win

The Minnesota Timberwolves were paying attention when Sacramento dismantled New Jersey.

A night before playing the second-best team in the Western Conference, the Timberwolves watched the Kings beat the East’s top team by 26 points.

“We saw what they did to Jersey last night and we didn’t want to end up on the other end of that type of game,” Joe Smith said.

Smith had a season-high 25 points and 10 rebounds, and Kevin Garnett added 24 points and 15 boards as the Timberwolves held off the Kings to win, 115-109, in overtime Friday night at Minneapolis.

The Timberwolves overcame a torrid second half by the Kings, who scored a season-low 34 points in the first half but responded with 69 in the second -- tying their best scoring half this year. The Kings scored 69 in the first half Thursday against New Jersey.

Chris Webber led the Kings with 30 points, and Peja Stojakovic scored a season-high 27 for Sacramento, which had won four straight games. But the Wolves shut down Mike Bibby, who scored only seven points on two-for-12 shooting a night after scoring 23 against the Nets.

“I put a lot of this loss on me,” said Bibby, who had 16 assists. “I let them control what I did.”

Webber had a chance to win the game for the Kings at the end of regulation after hitting a driving layup and drawing a foul on Smith with 1.3 seconds left. But Webber, four for 11 from the free throw line, missed the potential game-winning foul shot.

Dallas 103, Boston 78 -- Dirk Nowitzki scored 15 of his 28 points in the first quarter to help Dallas build a 30-point third-quarter lead and win at home. The Celtics lost for the sixth time in eight games and Vin Baker did not play for the first time this season despite being healthy. Baker was the only player on either team not to play.

New York 114, Philadelphia 112 -- Charlie Ward made a three-point basket with 31 seconds left, one of New York’s club-record 16, and Allan Houston, who had 31 points, knocked the ball away from Allen Iverson on a potential game-tying shot in the final seconds at Philadelphia.

Indiana 101, Orlando 97 -- Reggie Miller’s three-point basket with 24.1 seconds left in regulation capped Indiana’s comeback from a late 10-point deficit and helped the Pacers win in overtime at Orlando, Fla. Grant Hill returned from a left ankle injury that had sidelined him the last six games, but the tendinitis flared up again, and he was sidelined early in the third quarter.

Detroit 101, New Orleans 99 -- Chauncey Billups capped a 32-point performance with two three-point baskets in the last 2 minutes of overtime and two go-ahead free throws with 1.6 seconds remaining to help the Pistons win at New Orleans. Jamal Mashburn, who led New Orleans with 26 points, missed a three-point shot at the buzzer.

Phoenix 96, Memphis 90 -- Amare Stoudemire, the 20-year-old rookie, had a career-high 21 rebounds to help the Suns win their ninth straight home game. Stephon Marbury scored 11 points in the final 4:11, going seven of seven on free throws.

Milwaukee 93, Chicago 85 -- Toni Kukoc, playing his first game after sitting out 18 games following surgery to repair a torn ligament in his right thumb, had 17 of his 19 points in the fourth quarter and overtime to help the Bucks win at Milwaukee and hand the Bulls their 16th straight road loss.

Golden State 104, Washington 99 -- Earl Boykins made an 11-foot runner with 16 seconds left and scored nine of his 16 points in the fourth quarter to help the Warriors win at Washington.

New Jersey 94, Toronto 79 -- Jason Kidd had 25 points and eight assists to help the Nets win at Toronto and hand the Raptors their 12th straight defeat. Toronto’s Vince Carter missed his 16th straight game with a strained right knee.

Atlanta 84, Houston 75 -- Jason Terry scored a season-high 33 points for the Hawks, who gave up 18 straight points in the third quarter but still won at Atlanta to snap a six-game losing streak.

Utah 92, Miami 76 -- Matt Harpring scored 31 points to help the host Jazz win for the ninth time in 11 games. Miami played its fourth straight without leading scorer Eddie Jones (sprained ankle).

Denver 82, Portland 81 -- The Nuggets held on to win at Denver after Portland’s Rasheed Wallace and Dale Davis missed shots in the final seconds.