Kevin Garnett and Wally Szczerbiak each drop in 26 points to lead Minnesota past Miami.
MINNEAPOLIS – Kevin Garnett and Wally Szczerbiak scored 26 points apiece Tuesday night as the Minnesota Timberwolves moved 20 games over .500 with a 108-91 victory over the Miami Heat.
Szczerbiak made 10 of 13 shots and Garnett went 10-for-15 for the Timberwolves (46-26), who hadn’t been this far over .500 since they were 40-20 on March 5 last season.
Garnett added eight rebounds and eight assists, ending his franchise-best streak of 19 straight double-doubles. He leads the NBA with 60 double-doubles this season.
Marc Jackson had 10 points and 10 rebounds for Minnesota, fighting Portland for the fourth spot and home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs.
The Wolves have won four straight after beginning March with a 3-5 record.
Caron Butler scored 21 points and Anthony Carter had a career-high 15 assists for Miami, which has lost 10 of 12.
The Wolves started slow but took control by the middle of the first quarter and never relinquished it.
Minnesota missed its first six shots, and the Heat scored seven of the game’s first eight points. But Szczerbiak scored 10 points and the Wolves went 7-for-10 in a 20-4 run that gave them a 21-14 lead.
Lakers 108, Hawks 91
ATLANTA – Kobe Bryant scored 15 of his 28 points in the fourth quarter as the Los Angeles Lakers pulled away from the Atlanta Hawks for a 108-91 victory Tuesday night.
Shaquille O’Neal scored 31 points in 32 minutes and was able to rest the entire fourth quarter. The Lakers won for the third time in their last eight games away from Los Angeles.
Bryant turned the sellout crowd of 19,280 in his favor, prompting fans to chant “MVP! MVP!” as he hit four consecutive 3-pointers to turn an 11-point lead into a 99-80 margin with 4:59 remaining.
After missing his last 3-point attempt at the 4:20 mark, Bryant left with a team-high 10 rebounds and six assists.
Glenn Robinson scored 22 points to lead the Hawks, who had won two in a row and five of eight.
Jason Terry handed out 16 assists, but three of his five turnovers came in the third quarter as Atlanta fell behind for good. The Hawks never led after Robert Horry hit a pair of free throws to make it 67
Cavaliers 124, Warriors 103
CLEVELAND – Ricky Davis scored 28 points and Zydrunas Ilgauskas added 23 as the Cleveland Cavaliers won consecutive games for the first time this season, beating the Golden State Warriors 124-103 Tuesday night.
The Cavaliers led most of the way and took over in the third quarter when Ilgauskas started an 11-3 run with a no-look flip pass over his head to Davis, who slammed it home.
That sparked Davis, who hit his next four jumpers – including two 3-pointers – for an 88-77 lead late in the third.
The lethargic Warriors missed their first six shots in the fourth quarter as the Cavaliers expanded their lead.
Golden State began a five-game road trip that includes games against playoff-bound teams Boston, Philadelphia and New Jersey.
Cleveland outrebounded the Warriors 54-40. Carlos Boozer led with 14 rebounds and scored 19 points.
Ilgauskas had 10 rebounds. Davis added 11 assists.
Spurs 107, Bucks 94
SAN ANTONIO – Tim Duncan scored 31 points and Speedy Claxton had 12 points, 11 assists and nine rebounds to lead the San Antonio Spurs over the Milwaukee Bucks 107-94 Tuesday night.
Spurs center David Robinson, who plans to retire after this season, was honored at halftime and after the game for his 13 years with the team. He scored 10 points.
Claxton came off the bench to replace starting point guard Tony Parker, who left with a sprained right wrist at the end of the first quarter.
The third-year guard finished with career highs in assists and rebounds.
Malik Rose added 18 points for the Spurs.
Sam Cassell led the Bucks with 19 points. Desmond Mason had 17, Tim Thomas 15, Michael Redd 15 and Gary Payton 12.
The Spurs swept the season series from the Bucks for the first time since the 1997-98 season.
The Spurs swept the season series from the Bucks for the first time since the 1997-98 season.
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