Kevin Garnett gets big welcome and a win in return to Minnesota

Kevin Garnett made an emotional return to Minnesota with an ear-splitting reception and his Timberwolves overcame a jittery start to beat the Washington Wizards, 97-77, on Wednesday night.

Garnett, the face of the franchise who was reacquired in a trade from Brooklyn last week, had five points on two-for-seven shooting with eight rebounds and two blocks in 19 minutes in his first game for the Timberwolves since 2007. Kevin Martin scored 28 points for the Timberwolves, who trailed by 15 early after Garnett’s stirring reintroduction.

John Wall had five points on two-for-10 shooting for the Wizards, who have lost five in a row.

at Atlanta 104, Dallas 87: The Hawks took the lead with a 13-0 run in the third quarter and went on to beat the Mavericks, who were without the suspended Rajon Rondo.

at Portland 111, San Antonio 95: Wesley Matthews scored 31 points, LaMarcus Aldridge had 11 points and 13 rebounds, and the Trail Blazers handed the Spurs their fourth loss in a row.

at Boston 115, New York 94: Evan Turner had his first career triple-double with 10 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists and the Celtics pulled away with 20 unanswered points in the second half to extend the Knicks’ losing streak to eight.

Charlotte 98, at Chicago 86: Michael Kidd-Gilchrist had 18 points and 12 rebounds, Mo Williams scored 17 and the Hornets ended a five-game losing streak against a Bulls team still reeling from another serious Derrick Rose injury.

at Milwaukee 104, Philadelphia 88: John Henson scored 21 points, Michael Carter-Williams had seven points and eight assists in his Milwaukee debut, and the Bucks built a big early lead against the point guard’s former team.

at New Orleans 102, Brooklyn 96: Quincy Pondexter scored a career-high 25 points and the Pelicans won their third in a row.

Miami 93, at Orlando 90 (OT): Luol Deng had 21 points and the Heat improved to 3-1 since losing Chris Bosh for the season.

Phoenix 110, at Denver 96: Brandon Knight made two late three-pointers and had 19 points to help the Suns end a five-game losing streak and hand the Nuggets their eighth loss in a row at home.

at Sacramento 102, Memphis 90: Rudy Gay scored 28 points, DeMarcus Cousins finished with 16 points and nine rebounds and the Kings improved to 2-1 since George Karl took over.