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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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 GAME FLOW
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- Naturally, the biggest basket on Kevin
Garnett's biggest night in the NBA had the highest degree of
difficulty.
Against a double team with 24 seconds left and with Marcus Camby
right in his face, Garnett spun in the paint, soared so high he
seemed to hang in the air several seconds and then dropped the ball
softly into the basket.
Garnett said he wanted to see the shot on highlight shows -- not
out of vanity but because he honestly couldn't remember it.
"I'm sorry, I can't walk you through it," Garnett said after
scoring a career-high 35 points, including 15 in the fourth
quarter. "I was just reacting to the defense."
The stunning, spinning basket was certainly etched in Camby's
memory.
"He just held on it for a long time and released it coming down
and it went in," Camby said, still shaking his head in disbelief
20 minutes later. "It was a tough shot, a good shot. I almost
threw my arm out. I had it up there."
Garnett, who set his previous career high on Friday night with
34 points against Sacramento, then sealed Minnesota's 93-90 victory
over the New York Knicks by swatting away Camby's shot in the paint
with five seconds left before Latrell Sprewell missed a desperation 3-pointer.
Garnett's remarkable clutch play brought to mind one Michael Jordan.
"I always get back to the Jordan thing. I don't think he ever
wanted it more than everybody else. I just think he was better than
most," Knicks coach Jeff Van Gundy said. "That guy's a terrific
player. That last shot he made, we doubled, he brought the ball on
a spin over the double and made a hell of a shot."
Aside from rookie Wally Szczerbiak (23 points), the T-Wolves, who began their season with a two-game series against Sacramento at
Japan, were lethargic from the start before Garnett turned it on in
the final quarter.
"I thought Wally was great tonight, when we were struggling he
kept us in the game," T-Wolves coach Flip Saunders said.
But it was Garnett who brought the Timberwolves out of their funk and
fired up the Target Center crowd, which reached a crescendo on his
stunning, spinning shot.
Garnett got three defenders in foul trouble without drawing a
single whistle himself all night.
"Once he got going pretty good, he got a couple of our key guys
out of the game in Kurt Thomas and Larry Johnson," Sprewell said.
"So, that just takes away from what we like to do offensively and
obviously defensively with Larry's size and rebounding ability."
Behind Allan Houston, who scored 29, and Sprewell, who had 20, the Knicks built a 70-56 lead with just under five minutes left in
the third quarter. Garnett kept motioning for the crowd to get into
it, but they had little reason to cheer until he put on a late
show.
"He's the reason they were able to come back and win," Sprewell said. "He had some huge shots."
After Charlie Ward's basket with 4:19 left broke an 82-82 tie,
Garnett's 3-pointer gave the T-Wolves their first lead since 6-5.
But the Knicks turned to Houston, who hit a 3 and one of two
foul shots to pull New York to 89-88 with just over a minute left.
Garnett's spinning jumper with 24 seconds remaining made it
91-88. Camby's follow-up basket with 10 seconds left made it 91-90,
and he fouled Malik Sealy with 8.8 seconds left. Sealy sank both shots for the final margin.
Before Garnett's heroics, it appeared this was Houston's night.
He scored 16 points in the first quarter alone.
"You know the old game of 'swish,' where you get more points
for a swish basket? Good thing we weren't playing that tonight,"
Saunders said. "I don't think he hit the rim all night."
And Garnett hit nothing but net on his final basket.
Game notes
Larry Johnson, who missed two games with back spasms, returned to the Knicks' starting lineup and had four points. ...
Minnesota center Dean Garrett sat out after his surgically repaired left knee swelled on the flight back from Tokyo. ... In pregame
ceremonies, the Wolves honored team vice president Kevin McHale,
who was recently inducted into the Hall of Fame.
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RECAPS
Indiana 116
Orlando 101
Seattle 109
Cleveland 103
Toronto 123
Detroit 106
Miami 128
Dallas 105
Minnesota 93
New York 90
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