| |
RECAP
|
BOX SCORE
|
 GAME FLOW
TORONTO (AP) -- The Toronto Raptors' ticket office gave Kevin
Garnett and the Minnesota Timberwolves some added motivation.
|  | | Joe Smith, left, and Wally Szczerbiak form a defensive wall in front of Vince Carter. |
Garnett had 28 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists as
Minnesota beat Toronto 107-85 on Friday night.
Before the game, the Timberwolves were reminded that they've
never won in Toronto. Each game ticket read: "In the team's 4-year
history the Raptors are undefeated at home against Kevin Garnett and the Minnesota Timberwolves."
"The whole thing with the tickets, the fact that we've never
won up here, the fact that we didn't get much rest, we used that to
focus tonight," Garnett said.
Garnett narrowly missed the third triple-double of his career.
"We ticket thing motivated us. The guys were fired up," Garnett said. "I had to get my teammates involved and they responded."
The 6-foot-11 forward dominated from start to finish. Drawing
double coverage, Garnett had five assists in the first 5:30 as the
Timberwolves took an 18-15 lead.
He made five of his first six shots, finished with 18 points in
the first half, and helped Malik Sealy score 14 and Joe Smith add
10 as Minnesota led 59-46 at the half.
The Timberwolves, who average a league-leading 26 assists, had
22 assists the first half.
"Whenever we have a high amount of assists we win the game,"
Garnett said.
The Timberwolves began the second half on a 12-4 run. Wally
Szczerbiak made a layup, Garnett hit two free throws and two
12-foot jumpers, Radoslav Nestorovic made a hook shot, and Terrell
Brandon made an 18-footer during the run.
Sealy added a 17-footer, and Garnett made it an 18-10 run with a
jumper and a layup that made it 77-56 with 4:07 remaining in the
third. He finished the quarter with 13 points.
Anthony Peeler's off-balance 3-pointer made it 93-72 with 6:12
remaining in the game.
Vince Carter led Toronto with 23 points, but he went to the line
just four times. Tracy McGrady, now a starter, had 20 points and
nine rebounds.
"Garnett's a good player. He plays hard, he likes to win and he
showed it tonight," Carter said.
Sealy and Brandon each finished with 18 points.
"Everybody looked at the tickets and said we've got to bust out
butts and change this," said Minnesota's Smith, who had
16 points.
Game notes
Timberwolves coach Flip Saunders didn't need any reminding
that his team hasn't won in Toronto. Saunders wanted to change his
luck by flying to Toronto on Friday morning instead of making the
trip after Thursday night's game, as they usually do after
back-to-backs. ... Before the game, Toronto coach Butch Carter said
starting McGrady was the "biggest risk I've ever taken since I've
been here. If he doesn't play well he definitely won't be back
here." McGrady is a free agent this summer. ... Garnett has
reached double figures in scoring in 182 games, the longest current
streak in the NBA. ... Minnesota forward Sam Mitchell did not make
the trip to Toronto because of an ankle injury. ... Garnett made
all six of his free throws, and was 11-for-17 from the field.
| |
ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard
Minnesota Clubhouse
Toronto Clubhouse
RECAPS
Minnesota 107
Toronto 85
Miami 87
Cleveland 82
Detroit 131
Golden State 99
Philadelphia 97
Milwaukee 83
New York 84
Phoenix 79
San Antonio 91
Chicago 78
Utah 96
Orlando 88
Atlanta 95
Seattle 87
LA Lakers 109
Boston 96
|
