VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) – The Minnesota Timberwolves are going to the playoffs for the fifth straight season.

Wally Szczerbiak scored 28 points as the T-Wolves routed the Vancouver Grizzlies 104-91 Tuesday night to clinch a playoff spot.

"I told our players it's a heck of an accomplishment," said Minnesota coach Flip Saunders. "What we went through with the tragedy with Malik (Sealy) and the situation with Joe (Smith) that put ourselves in the situation.

"A lot of people pretty much wrote us off in the preseason. It says a lot about the character of the players that we have and the leaders we have on the team."

Kevin Garnett finished with 17 points, 14 rebounds, eight assists and seven blocked shots, while Reggie Slater had 14 points and 10 rebounds.

"Our first unit was outstanding," said Saunders. "We played with great energy, we moved the ball extremely well. When we're playing that way, we're usually very good. Defensively, we were active. KG was great. He played 26 minutes and almost had a quadruple double, and that's pretty impressive."

There was a scare with 1:04 left in the game when Garnett went to the floor after being hit in the face. Some wondered why he was even on the court with the game decided.

"It was as much as anything to send a message," said Saunders. "No matter what the lead is, we've got to continue to execute down the stretch. But like everyone, my heart was in my stomach for a couple of seconds."

The attendance of 10,430 was the lowest in Vancouver franchise history, and the Grizzlies failed for the third straight time to get their franchise-best 23rd win of the season.

The Grizzlies were led by 19 points from Michael Dickerson. Damon Jones had 14 points and 13 assists, while Mike Bibby scored 12 points. Shareef Abdur-Rahim had all 11 of his points in the first half, nine of those coming in the first quarter.

The Timberwolves never trailed in this one. Minnesota started the third quarter on a 22-5 run, and a dunk by ex-Grizzlie Felipe Lopez gave Minnesota its biggest lead -- 84-48 with 4:16 left in the third quarter.

Szczerbiak credits team chemistry for the success of the Timberwolves this season.

"We're a real close-knit family," he said. "That's the difference between us and a lot of teams that aren't in the playoffs. We stick together no matter what ups and downs we have. And we have had a lot of ups and downs. That's the key to a good team. It's times like this that make you feel good about how hard you worked."

Garnett was pleased for his teammates, especially Szczerbiak, who only attempted four shots in Sunday's loss against the Lakers.

"I am happy for Wally and the game that he had," said Garnett. "I'm happy for the guys that haven't been to the playoffs, like LaPhonso (Ellis), Chauncey (Billups), Felipe (Lopez). This is sweet. It could have been sweeter if we'd won by 40, but I'll take it any kind of way we can get it. A win is a win."

Game notes
Mike Bibby suffered a minor strain of his right knee in the second half after scoring 12 points in 27 minutes. ... Minnesota leads the overall series 20-4 and has won eight of the last nine. Their previous two wins against the Grizzlies were by two and one points.

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