04-19-2019, 02:12 AM
DENVER -- Minnesota built up a big advantage at the free throw line throughout the game, and it was just enough to hold off Denvers furious rally. Kevin Love scored 33 points and tied a season high with 19 rebounds for his NBA-best 50th double-double this season, and the Timberwolves withstood Denvers 45-point fourth quarter to beat the skidding Nuggets 132-128 on Monday night for their third win in a row. Kevin Martin added 22 points for the Timberwolves, including four clutch free throws in the final 11.7 seconds. Martin made 16 of 17 foul shots, helping Minnesota rack up NBA season highs in attempts (64) and makes (52) from the line. Denver, meanwhile, went 16 of 25 (64 per cent). "Sixty-four free throws is a lot of free throws," Love said. "It was unbelievable. There were a lot of things that went on in that game that were just nuts, particularly the free throw situation and the 3-pointers at the end. K-Mart made some great plays, hit some big free throws, and that ultimately gave us separation." Love did his part as well, topping 30 points for the 11th time in his last 14 starts, including 11 of 13 from the free throw line to help Minnesota wrap up a 4-1 trip out west. "Thats major," Martin said of Minnesotas successful road swing. "Tonight was a must-win for us. You dont have too many must-wins in the beginning of March, but we understand where were at right now and guys had the mindset that we had to do anything we had to do to get the win." The Nuggets got a huge boost from the return of Ty Lawson, who scored a season-high 31 points with 11 assists in his first game since breaking a rib Feb. 8 at Detroit. But it wasnt enough to reverse their sagging fortunes. Denver lost its sixth straight and has dropped 11 of 12 overall. "You give a team 52 points at the free throw line and another 54 points in the paint, it is going to be tough to beat them," Nuggets coach Brian Shaw said. Trailing by 22 after a layup by Nikola Pekovic midway through the third quarter, the Nuggets responded with a 13-2 run that Randy Foye finished with a 3-pointer to pull to 85-74 with 4:10 remaining in the period. Minnesota, though, got its transition game going, getting successive breakaway baskets by Corey Brewer and a driving dunk from Dante Cunningham to take a 98-83 lead into the fourth. Just 3 minutes later, the Timberwolves were in front by 20 on a 20-foot jumper by Shabazz Muhammad. Denver made another push, pulling to 117-107 on Aaron Brooks 3-pointer with 3:25 left and then cutting it to 128-125 on Wilson Chandlers 3 with 12.6 seconds left. After Martin was fouled and made a pair of free throws, Evan Fournier hit another 3 with 7.2 seconds remaining to bring Denver to 130-128. Martin was fouled and again made both free throws, securing the win for the Timberwolves after Chandlers 3-point try in the final seconds hit the rim and bounced away -- though Minnesota was outscored 45-34 in the final period. "They were making everything, banking stuff in," Brewer said. "But its all about getting the win. Nights like that, you have to hold on. "For us to go 4-1 on the road trip means a lot. Now we get to go home, four games at home, and we need all four games at home." The Timberwolves outscored the Nuggets 40-25 in the first quarter and led 66-49 at halftime. Chandler had a pair of baskets, cutting Minnesotas lead to 58-47, but the Timberwolves scored eight of 10 points in the last 2:18 of the second to rebuild their lead. "We gave up too many points in the first quarter," Lawson said. "When youre playing uphill like that, its tough to come back and actually get the win. We got it down to two, but they just hit their free throws at the end." NOTES: Timberwolves C Ronny Turiaf missed his fifth game because of a bone bruise on his right knee. ... Minnesota improved to 27-14 when scoring more than 100 points. ... Denver lost to Minnesota at the Pepsi Center for just the fourth time in 18 games since the start of the 2005-06 season. ... Love has scored 30 or more points a team-record 21 times this season. ... Minnesotas point total represented a season high. ... Lawsons previous season high was 29 points against Oklahoma City on Nov. 18. Travis Konecny Jersey . The team also announced Tuesday that the Braves will wear a commemorative patch on the right sleeve during the season. The patch, shaped like home plate, carries the number 715, Aarons autograph and a "40th Anniversary" banner. Cole Bardreau Jersey . The announcement was made by the hall on Friday, March 14. She joins Switzerlands Denise Biellmann as this years inductees to the Hall, based in Colorado Springs, CO. http://www.officialflyersfanstore.com/au...-jersey/.J. Mayo made seven three-pointers and scored 25 points, Ersan Ilyasova added 20, and the Milwaukee Bucks placed seven players in double figures in a 130-110 rout of the Philadelphia 76ers, who lost their 11th straight game on Monday night. Radko Gudas Jersey . The Marlies centre set up three goals, including the game-winner, as Toronto cruised to a 4-1 victory over the Oklahoma City Barons in American Hockey League action. Claude Giroux Jersey . Next week, hell try to add to the list. A Stanley Cup champion as a rookie, Seguin followed that up by becoming the youngest player to lead the Boston Bruins in scoring. VANCOUVER -- The man nicknamed after a cartoon character put in another superhero-like performance. Demetrious (Mighty Mouse) Johnson dominated Ali (Puncher) Bagautinov from start to finish Saturday to win a unanimous decision and retain his flyweight title at UFC 174. Johnson showed his pedigree against a challenger who took a beating and was never really a threat at Rogers Arena. "It was a great performance," said Johnson. "Ali Bagauntinov, hes a tough guy. I hit him with a lot of shots with my knees to his face ... my knees are hurting pretty bad. "Usually when I hit people with those shots in the gym they go down." The bout marked the first time the flyweight division has headlined a UFC pay-per view card and was scored 50-45 by all three judges. "(Bagauntinov) likes to back up a lot and draw his opponents in and then go underneath them for a shot," said Johnson. "We knew that he was going to try to wrestle me to slow me down." In the co-main event, Canadian welterweight Rory (Ares) MacDonald defeated Tyron (The Chosen One) Woodley in an impressive unanimous decision in the most exciting bout of the night. Johnson almost connected with a spinning kick with under a minute to go in the fifth and final round, but Bagautinov was able to avoid the blow to send the bout to the scorecards. The five-foot-three Johnson (20-2-1, 8-1-1) won the UFCs inaugural flyweight title back in 2012 and has now successfully defended the 125-pound belt four times. The 27-year-old who fights out of Parkland, Wash., said this week that the five-foot-four Bagautinov (13-3, 3-1) would pose a unique challenge because the 29-year-old Russian specializes in Sambo fighting, a form of mixed martial arts that he has never faced. But in the end, Baugatinov was overmatched and at times just seemed happy to be in the ring with Johnson, even hugging his opponent before the start of the fifth round. MacDonald, who came into his fight as the No. 2 contender in the 170-division, controlled Woodley from the middle of the first round on, using his superior reach to keep the two-time All-American wrestler at bay, while also connecting with both kicks and punches. All three judges scored the fight 30-27 for MacDonald. The 24-year-old MacDonald (17-2, 8-2) took Woodley down two minutes into the third and final round and relentlessly pounded the No. 3-ranked welterweight until the bell sounded. MacDonalds team rushed into the octagon to congratulate their fighter as the crowd of 13,506 roared in approval. "I trained very hard," he said. "I wanted this fight to be the best performance of my career." Born in Quesnel, B.C., but now fighting out of Montreals Tristar Gym, MacDonald was mentored by Georges St-Pierre before the former champion stepped away from the sport late last year. The soft-spoken MacDonald lost to Robbie Lawler in a split decision at Novembers UFC 167, but rebounded to take a unanimous decision against Demian Maia at UFC 170 in February. "I feel like Im falling into a groove," said MacDonald. "Somethings clicking." The 32-year-old Woodley (13-3, 3-2), who scored a technical knockout of Carlos Condit at UFC 171 in March, said bbefore the fight he expected the crowd to be split, but he was sorely mistaken as the Canadian support found its way firmly behind MacDonald from the start, including chants of "Lets go Rory" throughout the tilt.dddddddddddd MacDonald lost to Condit at UFC 115 in Vancouver back in June 2010 and he admitted this week that the moment got to him four years ago -- something that didnt happen Saturday. "Ive grown a lot since then," he said. "It was nice being in Vancouver. The response was great." Saturday marked the UFCs first foray into Vancouver since UFC 131 back in June 2011. There were large pockets of empty seats in the arenas upper level on this night and the crowd didnt really get into the action until MacDonald and Woodley entered the octagon. Earlier Saturday night, light heavyweight Ryan (Darth) Bader defeated Rafael (Feijao) Cavalcante by unanimous decision in a fight that had fans getting a little restless due to a lack of action. Bader (18-4, 10-4) was the more ambitious fighter in the first two rounds, and perhaps sensing a need to score a knockout to win the bout, Cavalcante (12-5, 2-2) came out swinging in the third, but the Brazilian was unable to land any decisive blows. In the heavyweight division, former champion Andrei (The Pit Bull) Arlovski defeated Brendan (The Hybrid) Schaub by a split decision in his return to UFC after more than six years away from the company. Arlovski (22-10 with one no contest) looked tentative early and spent the majority of the last round on his back, but did enough to earn the victory on two of the judges three scorecards to improve his UFC record to 11-4. A bloodied Schaub (11-4, 6-4) fight thinking that he had done enough to win, and seemed surprised by the decision. Meanwhile, light heavyweight Ovince Saint Preux won by submission after breaking the left arm of Ryan (The Big Deal) Jimmo at 2:10 of the second round. Jimmo (19-4, 3-3) -- who is from Saint John, N.B., but now fights out of Edmonton -- was bloodied in the first round and nearly had his arm ripped out of its socket before the referee stopped the fight to keep Saint Preux (16-6, 4-0) perfect in the UFC. In the preliminary fights: welterweight Kiichi (Strasser) Kunimoto defeated Daniel Sarafian by submission at 2:52 of the first round; womens bantamweight Valerie (Trouble) Letourneau of Montreal defeated Elizabeth Phillips in a brutal slugfest by a split decision; bantamweight Yves (Tiger) Jabouin scored a unanimous decision over Mike (The Hulk) Easton; lightweight Tae Hyun (Supernatural) Bang knocked out (Ragin) Kajan Johnson of Burns Lake, B.C., at 2:01 of the third round; bantamweight Roland Delorme of Winnipeg dropped a unanimous decision to Michinori Tanaka; and lightweight Jason Saggo of Toronto defeated Josh Shockley by technical knockout at 4:57 of the first round. Notes: The gate brought in US$1.14 million. ... Bang got fight of the night honours, as well as performance of the night. Kunimoto was also awarded for performance of the night. ... Former Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow was in attendance. The crowd booed the former NFLer when he was shown on the big screens perched around Rogers Arena. ' ' '