Kevin Garnett

Garnett has 18 points as Timberwolves halt Bulls' win streak at seven games

Kevin Garnett thought about the possibility, grinned and made it clear again: He would love to play alongside Allen Iverson.

Meanwhile, the Minnesota Timberwolves continued to build their case against a shakeup.

Garnett scored 18 points to help Minnesota beat Chicago 91-81 Saturday night, snapping the Bulls' seven-game winning streak.

``We're making strides,'' Garnett said. ``As a team, collectively, we're forming some chemistry. It's no definite that we'd continue to perform like this.''

Which is why he smiles at the possibility of adding another superstar.

The Timberwolves looked just fine against Chicago, building a 21-point lead in the third quarter and withstanding a push by the Bulls on the way to their fourth straight victory.

Garnett struggled from the field, hitting 6-of-19 shots after scoring a season-high 31 points in Friday's 110-103 victory over Utah. However, he had 11 rebounds and eight assists.

Ricky Davis and Mike James scored 15 points apiece, and Marko Jaric added 12 points and seven rebounds as Minnesota climbed above .500 (10-9).

Ben Gordon led Chicago with 21 points, and Andres Nocioni scored 17. Kirk Hinrich finished with 15 points _ shooting 6-for-18 _ and eight assists. Luol Deng had 10 points and 10 rebounds after scoring 25 the previous night against Toronto.

The Bulls ended the third quarter on a 9-0 run to pull within 72-62, and Gordon's three-pointer and Deng's put-back with just under nine minutes left in the game made it 76-69. But it was not enough.

``(The Timberwolves) have made a commitment to defence,'' Bulls coach Scott Skiles said. ``We have not yet made that commitment on a consistent basis. Tonight was a perfect example and it cost us. They got the ball into Garnett, and they were cutting off him and getting layups. We were not active enough.''

The Timberwolves established the lead in the first half, built it in the third quarter, and the result was another impressive victory.

The Iverson rumour continued to swirl even though Minnesota owner Glen Taylor did his best to douse it, telling the St. Paul Pioneer Press in Saturday's editions: ``It isn't that I don't like him. Just money-wise, it wouldn't work out.''

Still, Garnett continued to make it clear that he would welcome the 76ers' banished star.

He said so after Friday's game against Northwest division leader Utah and repeated it on Saturday.

``Who would be opposed to that?'' said Garnett, whose name has also come up in trade rumours.

Garnett said he and Iverson have only played softball together, and Iverson is the better player ``by far.''

Garnett realizes major trades during the season sometimes hurt teams, destroy chemistry. And the Timberwolves appear to have that at the moment.

``All I know is that when we step on the court we've got a job to do,'' James said. ``Until things change, we've got to be big boys and we can't complain. We can't sulk.''

Deng made two free throws in the opening seconds of the third quarter to make it 53-42, but the Timberwolves scored 10 straight to stretch their lead to 21.

The Bulls, simply, were out of sync.

After back-to-back jumpers by Trenton Hassell (11 points) and Davis made it 59-42, Deng passed to Wallace, who was trying to set a pick for him and wasn't looking. The result was a turnover.

A steal by Craig Smith and fastbreak layup by Davis made it 63-42 about five minutes into the third, but the Bulls weren't finished. They scored the final nine points of the quarter to pull to 72-62.

``The guys showed a lot of heart tonight,'' Chicago's Ben Wallace said. ``But it's too bad, because sometimes heart isn't enough in this game.''

The Timberwolves set the tone early, outscoring the Bulls 24-17 in the first quarter. And Garnett led the way with seven points, three rebounds and three assists. Meanwhile, the rumour swirled.

``You can get caught up into it,'' James said. ``What good is it going to do if you have no control over it?''

Notes: Minnesota coach Dwane Casey had not addressed the trade rumours with his team and had no intention to do so. ``Everything is speculation, and I can't (deal) in speculation and I don't expect my players to,'' Casey said. ``I'm going to be disciplined to not even go there.'' ... F Mark Madsen did not accompany the Timberwolves and remains day to day with a partial dislocation of his right shoulder. He was injured Wednesday against Houston and missed Friday's game against Utah. ... The Bulls had won seven straight at the United Center after dropping their home-opener against Sacramento.

Garnett has season high 31 points as Timberwolves beat Jazz 110 103

Kevin Garnett and Allen Iverson _the possibility of that combination lifted Garnett's spirits just minutes after leading the Minnesota Timberwolves to a big victory over the Utah Jazz.

``Bring it on, I love `The Answer,' '' Garnett said Friday night. ``We welcome A.I. with open arms.

``Where's Kevin McHale?''

Garnett had a season-high 31 points and 14 rebounds to lead Minnesota over the league-leading Jazz 110-103.

McHale, vice-president of basketball operations, would not comment on speculation Iverson would end up in Minnesota. But his star player went so far as to look into a local television camera and make a plea to Iverson.

``Come on, boy,'' Garnett said. ``I can't think of anyone who wouldn't want to play with him.''

In a pre-game interview, coach Dwane Casey deflected questions about Iverson, who sounds as if he is on his way out of Philadelphia. Afterward, Casey stayed the course.

``That's none of my business,'' he said. ``All I'm concerned with is this roster I have right now.''

That roster typically begins and ends with Garnett, who scored 16 points in the decisive third quarter. But, on Friday he got some help from Mike James with a season-high 28 points and Ricky Davis, who added 21 points. Minnesota has won three straight.

Deron Williams had 21 points and 11 assists for the Jazz, who weren't able to get Jerry Sloan his 1,000th career coaching victory. Mehmet Okur had 18 points, but Carlos Boozer only scored eight on 4-for-17 shooting. Boozer had 13 rebounds.

``Maybe I should retire real quick,'' joked Sloan, who said he doesn't particularly care about the 1,000-win mark. ``Whatever happens, happens.''

Minnesota extended a seven-point halftime lead to 94-84 with 5:46 left after James hit a long three-pointer as the shot clock expired and Garnett hit a jumper from the corner.

``You're never going to stop Kevin Garnett,'' Sloan said. ``That is something people have been trying to do as long as he's been around.''

Utah got to within 98-93, but James hit another big three-pointer and Utah could not get closer than five points the rest of the way.

It was perhaps James' best performance in Minnesota; however, afterwards he also couldn't avoid the Iverson discussion.

``Philly is going to get a lot of players if A.I. comes here,'' James said. ``If I end up in Philly, I know it's business and not personal.''

Garnett sparked a Minnesota run midway through the third quarter with a three-pointer, a blocked shot and an assist on Davis' reverse layup for a 63-57 lead with 5:41 left. It was the Wolves' biggest lead to that point and Garnett helped them push it to 77-70 at the end of the third with his second three-pointer.

The teams played close throughout the first half, with 13 lead changes and five ties. Neither team led by more than four points and Utah's biggest lead came at halftime, 46-43, when Boozer scored for just the second time.

Garnett led all scorers with eight points in the opening quarter, as Minnesota got out to a 22-21 lead.

``He's long, he's fast and once he gets hot he's hot,'' Okur said of Garnett.

Notes: The Wolves were 6-for-13 from three-point range. Garnett was 2-for-2. ... Sloan talked about the 1,000 wins before the game. ``All it is, is a number,'' he said. ``It's not been one of my ambitions. I haven't won a championship yet.'' Sloan is looking to join Lenny Wilkens, Don Nelson, Pat Riley and Larry Brown in the 1,000-win club. ``Just being involved with basketball and the game I love is enough,'' he added. ... Boozer had led the Jazz in scoring the previous five games.

Kevin Garnett scores 24 points as Minnesota Timberwolves beats the Houston Rockets 90 84

The Minnesota Timberwolves showed the league's stingiest defence that they can play a little bit of it, too.

Pushing Yao Ming out of the post as much as possible and denying Tracy McGrady as many shots as they could, the Timberwolves harassed the Houston Rockets all night and emerged with 90-84 win on Wednesday.

Kevin Garnett turned in the usual, with 24 points and 12 rebounds, but his long arms against Yao were more influential.

``Defence wins, though. That's what the fans want,'' Garnett said. ``It might not be the prettiest game. Not the alley-oops or the flashy plays, but we're winning the game and that's what's important.''

Yao had 14 points _ more than 11 under his average _ and eight rebounds, shooting 5-for-19 from the field. McGrady, though he had 10 rebounds and seven assists, finished with 14 points on 5-for-21 shooting.

Garnett's analysis? ``Like a bunch of hyenas on two lions.''

McGrady was certainly complimentary.

``It was one of those nights, man,'' he said. ``We definitely don't have very many like that.''

Making up for last week's 82-75 loss at Houston, the Wolves won a remarkably even game by refusing to let Yao dominate underneath as he has so many times this season _ with Garnett, Mark Blount and Craig Smith all chipping in after Mark Madsen left with an early injury.

They constantly had two defenders on Yao, protecting the paint, nudging him out of his preferred spot, hindering the pick-and-roll and forcing the Rockets to shoot from the perimeter _ where Trenton Hassell and others made it tough for McGrady to find any room.

``A good offence in this league gets shots where they want them,'' said Shane Battier, who had 13 points.

Houston is the only team allowing a per-game average of less than 92 points, at just 87.8 coming into the night. Minnesota, though, was third in the NBA at midweek with an average of 92.9 points given up.

``We finally transferred our practice habits into the game,'' coach Dwane Casey said.

It was most obvious this wasn't Yao's night in the fourth quarter, when he was inexplicably called for a technical foul _ apparently for hanging too long on the rim _ following a dunk in Eddie Griffin's face.

Later, he swatted Troy Hudson's layup and was whistled for goaltending to give the Timberwolves the biggest lead by either team all game, 85-77 with 5:21 left.

About a minute after that, Garnett stuffed a short shot by Yao, who grabbed the rebound but simply missed the putback and returned to the defensive end wearing a frustrated expression. Garnett jumped for joy at midcourt on the way back, pumping his fist in the air.

``What I can say is I will make those next time,'' Yao said.

Rafer Alston's three-pointer cut the Minnesota lead to 87-84, and after a miss by Marko Jaric, the Rockets had a chance to tie with less than 30 seconds remaining. But Alston's three-pointer fell short, Garnett got the rebound and made two foul shots to seal it.

Houston, one of six clubs with a winning percentage greater than .700, a group that includes all three Texas teams in the Southwest Division, had won six of its last seven games. The Rockets, who started a stretch in which they play eight of nine on the road, got 16 points apiece from Alston and Luther Head.

The Wolves were especially well-rounded, getting 19 points from Mike James, 12 from Blount and 10 from Smith. Jaric provided a spark down the stretch, stealing the ball from Yao, blocking McGrady's shot from behind and chasing down a loose ball for a key offensive rebound.

Climbing with one game of the break-even mark at 8-9, Minnesota was rightfully proud of the defensive effort against two of the league's top talents _ hopeful that this could turn into some momentum after a so-so start that has included several sloppy performances.

Utah, owner of the NBA's best record, is up next on Friday.

``We're on a roll right now, and we're feeling good,'' Smith said. ``Everyone's got confidence, so we're ready to roll.''