Gordon Helps Bulls Handle Timberwolves

Rookie Ben Gordon scored a career-high 31 points, 16 in the fourth quarter to hold off a furious Minnesota comeback, and the Chicago Bulls beat the Timberwolves, 99-88, Saturday night at Chicago.

Minnesota trailed by 24 in the second quarter and rallied within one in the fourth quarter but couldn’t get the lead because Gordon scored 10 consecutive points for the Bulls, including a pair of three-point baskets.

Kirk Hinrich had 19 points for the Bulls (4-14), who had lost 10 in a row to Minnesota and not beaten the Timberwolves since the days of Michael Jordan on April 3, 1998.

Gordon made 13 of 24 shots from the field, including seven of nine in the fourth quarter. Tyson Chandler had 10 points and 16 rebounds.

Kevin Garnett had 16 points and 21 rebounds for the Timberwolves, who were trying for their second come-from-behind win in two nights after rallying from 13 points back to beat Sacramento on Friday night.

Sam Cassell scored 17 points, but Minnesota shot only 36% from the field.

Sacramento 97, Indiana 92 -- Chris Webber had 26 points, 10 rebounds and six assists, and Mike Bibby had 21 points as the Kings held on in overtime at Indianapolis.

Indiana had six players reach double figures, but Reggie Miller missed his last eight shots and the Pacers lost their seventh game in a row.

Sacramento’s Brad Miller, an All-Star with Indiana, sealed the win with four free throws in the last nine seconds of overtime.

Memphis 72, Detroit 68 -- Pau Gasol scored 20 points and Shane Battier made four free throws in the last 20 seconds to lead the Grizzlies at Memphis, Tenn.

Battier ended a 68-68 tie with two free throws with 19.4 seconds left, and had two more with 12 seconds left to complete the scoring. Detroit’s Rasheed Wallace missed a pair of three-point baskets and had another shot blocked by Gasol in the final seconds.

San Antonio 116, Cleveland 97 -- Tim Duncan scored 34 points at San Antonio and the Spurs had their best shooting effort of the season.

San Antonio shot 84% from the floor in the first half to take a 69-45 lead, and finished the night at 66%.

Cleveland’s Drew Gooden scored a season-high 28.

New Jersey 95, Atlanta 90 -- Richard Jefferson scored 19 of his 21 points in the second half, and Travis Best, starting in place of Jason Kidd, had a season-high 21 at Atlanta.

Kidd, who played 17 minutes as he continues to recover from a knee injury, made five of six free throws in the last 33.4 seconds and finished with nine points, but he did not have an assist for the first time in his 11-year NBA career.

Dallas 102, Houston 78 -- Michael Finley scored a season-high 26 points and led a huge third-quarter charge at Houston as the Mavericks handed the Rockets their most lopsided loss of the season.

Finley, recovering from a sprained right ankle, made five of his eight three-point attempts. He made four consecutive three-pointers in a 23-8 run in the third quarter.

Boston 98, Seattle 84 -- Paul Pierce scored 22 points and Gary Payton had 21 against his former team at Seattle to help the Celtics end a three-game losing streak.

The Sonics had won eight of nine after losing in Boston on Nov. 21, but now the Celtics have dealt Seattle two of its four losses this season.