RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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 GAME FLOW
CHICAGO (AP) -- Kevin Garnett played high school basketball in Chicago and knows how the city once buzzed over its Bulls when they dominated the NBA.
Not anymore.
"It's seems like a long time since Scottie and Mike. A long
time since they used to play 'Another One Bites The Dust,"'
Garnett said. "They'd been drilling teams for so long, it seems
like payback."
Garnett and the Timberwolves delivered some more of that payback
Tuesday night, beating the hapless Bulls 96-76 and sending
Chicago's floundering young team to its ninth straight loss.
The Bulls are now 1-13. They started last season 1-15 when they
finished 17-65, a mark they will be hardpressed to match.
Garnett, who had 15 points, 12 rebounds, a couple of
crowd-pleasing dunks and five assists, said he understands what
Chicago's young leader, Elton Brand, is going through.
"This situation Elton's in is one everybody has to go through," Garnett said. "It makes you appreciate things much more, makes you hungrier. You don't know how hard it is to carry a team."
Wally Szczerbiak scored 18 and Terrell Brandon 16 -- 10 in the
third quarter -- as Minnesota snapped a two-game losing streak,
easily pulling away in the final period with one of the highlights
a slick no-look, highlight-film pass from Garnett to Rasho
Nesterovic for a dunk.
"We get down 14 or 15 in the fourth quarter and we look up and,
'Oh no here we got again.' Sometimes I do that," said Brand, who
had 16 points, only six in the final three quarters, and 13
rebounds.
"Sometimes we're not running our offensive sets."
Ron Mercer scored 20 for the Bulls, who were coming off a
seven-game road trip.
"What is happening is we kinda hit a wall in terms of
competitiveness," Bulls coach Tim Floyd said of the fourth
quarter. "We get down ... And we're not fighting all the way
through it."
Garnett's slam follow with two seconds left gave the
Timberwolves a seven-point halftime advantage. Minutes earlier he'd
swooped down the right side of the lane and delivered a spectacular
one-handed dunk. He finished the half with 11 points after a slow
start.
Then to start the second half, Garnett went high to tip an
alley-oop pass off the board with his left hand where he was able
to immediately tip it back in as the Bulls stood and watched.
From there the Wolves took off as Brandon scored eight points
and Szczerbiak took a pass for a fastbreak layup that made it
64-51.
The Bulls got back-to-back three-point plays from Michael Ruffin
and were within six. But Todd Day took a pass from Garnett for a
layup and Brandon hit another jumper over Chicago's loose defense
to push it back to 10.
Game notes
The Bulls were playing their first home game in 17 days.
... Minnesota has won four of the last five meetings against the
Bulls, but Chicago still leads the series 17-4. ... Garnett has
scored in double figures 224 straight times. ... Bulls starting
center Dragan Tarlac played 23 minutes and did not get a rebound.
Starting forward Ron Artest shot 0-for-8.
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NBA Scoreboard
Minnesota Clubhouse
Chicago Clubhouse
RECAPS
Atlanta 102
Washington 75
Boston 87
Cleveland 72
Milwaukee 102
Miami 101
Utah 98
New Jersey 92
Dallas 107
Toronto 93
Minnesota 96
Chicago 76
Sacramento 88
Houston 81
Seattle 105
Portland 93
LA Lakers 124
Indiana 107
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