Timberwolves overcome lost Love to clip Hawks

Reuters/New York

Timberwolves coach Adelman missed the game for personal reasons, while Love is out indefinitely after reinjuring his right hand last week, but the home team still had enough beat the Hawks for the first time since April 2006.

Nikola Pekovic scored 25 points and had 18 rebounds, Andrei Kirilenko added 21 for Minnesota (16-15), who had lost 11 straight to the Hawks before Tuesday’s game.

“We were really motivated,” Pekovic told reporters. “I think everyone wants to step up and show more.”

Minnesota led 100-89 with four minutes remaining but Atlanta managed to cut the deficit to one in the final minute.  Minnesota’s Dante Cunningham made a crucial jump shot with 15 seconds left and the Timberwolves added free throws to put the game away.

Minnesota’s Ricky Rubio returned from a four-game absence with back spasms and had eight assists in just 19 minutes of action. Josh Smith and Louis Williams each scored 21 for the Hawks (20-13), who have lost three straight. “If this doesn’t change there’s going to have to be some changes, that’s plain and simple,” said Hawks coach Larry Drew. “(To) come out and not be energised to play, that’s totally unacceptable.”

Atlanta fell behind early, trailing by as much as 17 in the second, but they sprang to life late in the fourth, with Kyle Korver making two straight three-pointers. Al Horford had 19 and 11 rebounds in the defeat.

Meanwhile Paul George finished with 29 points and 11 rebounds, as the Indiana Pacers defeated the Miami Heat 87-77 in a rematch of last season’s Eastern Conference playoff semi-finals.

It marked the first game between the two teams since Miami beat Indiana in six games in last season’s series. David West had 14 points and 11 rebounds for the Pacers, who have won two in a row. Lance Stephenson finished with 13 points.

Dwyane Wade scored 30 points for the Heat, who started a six-game road trip on Tuesday. LeBron James finished with 22 points and 10 rebounds for the Heat who have won three of their last five games.

Miami have played just 14 games on the road this season, one of the lowest totals in the league. They are 7-7 away from South Beach. It was in the second round of last season’s playoffs that the Pacers took the Heat to six games before Miami eventually prevailed, then went on to win the NBA Championship.

Not only did George lead his team in scoring, but he had the assignment of covering James.

On Saturday, the Pacers trounced the Milwaukee Bucks 95-80. In the regular season, the Heat have beaten the Pacers in nine of their last 12.

Rockets spoil Nash’s night

Steve Nash joined an elite group of NBA players night but the Los Angeles star guard was in no mood to celebrate.

James Harden had 31 points with nine assists, Chandler Parsons scored 20 and the host Houston Rockets ran past the struggling Lakers minus injured big men Dwight Howard and Pau Gasol for their season-high fifth consecutive win, 125-112.

“They are short-handed tonight but they are still tough,” said Harden, who has tallied at least 25 points in 13 straight games matching the 30-year-old franchise-mark of Moses Malone. “They have one of the best players (Kobe Bryant) to have ever played the game and obviously a great point guard (Nash) and shooter. We knew we couldn’t take them lightly.”

Nash recorded his 10,000th career assist to join John Stockton (15,806), Jason Kidd (11,969), Mark Jackson (10,334) and Magic Johnson (10,141) as just the fifth player to achieve the milestone.

“If I step back this is another example of a fairy-tale career but it’s hard to enjoy it now,” said Nash, who finished with 16 points and 10 assists.

“I don’t want to discredit it or not appreciate the company that I share. It’s a milestone but right now, it’s the farthest thing from my mind. I just want to win a game.”

Jeremy Lin and Argentine Carlos Delfino scored 19 points apiece for Houston (21-14), which outscored its guests 66-50 after intermission.

Metta World Peace had a season-high 24 points and league top scorer Bryant added 20 for the Lakers (15-19), who without Howard (torn labrum in right shoulder), Gasol (concussion) and Jordan Hill (hip contusion) lost their season-high tying fourth straight game.

“We played well in the first half and then Houston got to the rim,” Lakers coach Mike D’Antoni explained. “We couldn’t keep them in front of us and obviously we were lacking a little size inside.”

Without their big men, the Lakers played small ball and built an early 14-point cushion before having it sliced to 62-59 at halftime.

The Rockets, however, took over in the third quarter. Trailing by five, the league’s highest scoring team went on a 21-4 tear, highlighted by a two of Delfino’s five triples on the night, while Harden’s three-point play capped the surge for a 94-82 cushion.

Houston carried a 97-88 cushion into the final frame and had it trimmed to eight on a triple by Jodie Meeks midway through the period. But Lin’s three-point play capped a 7-2 run, making it 112-98 with five minutes remaining and the Rockets pulled away.

“Tonight, you can offer up a number of excuses,” Nash said. “They came harder and harder and fatigue and the lack of numbers really hurt us.

The bottom line is we kind of ran out of gas a little bit. We couldn’t protect the paint and we needed more bodies.”

Deron Williams scored 22 points, Reggie Evans pulled down a career-high 23 rebounds and the visiting Nets knocked off the Sixers to improve to 6-1 under interim head coach PJ Carlesimo. Andray Blatche scored 20 points for the Nets (20-15), led by one at halftime but broke the game open with a 35-14 third quarter and coasted home.

Jrue Holiday scored 19 points for the Sixers, who have dropped four straight.

Brandon Jennings had 29 points with nine assists and the Bucks gave Jim Boylan his first win as interim head coach, after sending the struggling Suns to their 10th consecutive road loss.

 Boylan was named late Monday to replace Scott Skiles, who parted ways with the Bucks after four plus seasons in a mutual agreement.