The team announced Tuesday it will face the Chicago Bulls on Oct. 13, followed by an exhibition against a professional club from Israel on Oct. 16.

This is the first time in the franchise’s 24-year history the Wolves will host an international team. They traveled to Turkey for a game in 2007, but this is the first matchup in Minnesota against a foreign club. Maccabi Bazan Haifa, which plays in the Israeli Basketball Super League, will also visit the Golden State Warriors on Oct. 11. The team, formed in 1954, is owned by American businessman Jeffrey Rosen.

The remainder of the Wolves’ preseason slate and the 2012-13 regular season schedule will be unveiled in the coming months.

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Leading the league in double-doubles with 48, Love finished second in minutes (39 per game) and was fourth in free-throws made with 379. Love, in his fourth year in the league, is the third player in NBA history to average more than 25 points and 10 rebounds, while also making more than 50 three-pointers.

Love received 365 points from a panel of sports writers and broadcasters. That was the third best score among forwards. Only LeBron James and Kevin Durant, who were the forwards on the first team, received more points.

Love received the highest score among true power forwards in the league. Voters are not asked to distinguish between small forwards and power forwards on their ballots.

LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Dwight Howard, Kobe Bryant and Chris Paul made the All-NBA First Team, while Kevin Love (16 first-team votes) was joined by Blake Griffin, Andrew Bynum, Tony Parker and Russell Westbrook on the second team.

The Minnesota Timberwolves guard was chosen from votes placed by the NBA’s 30 head coaches, who were asked to select five players for the first team.

They were also asked to choose five players for the second team. The Timberwolves’ forward Derrick Williams was selected for that line-up.

Rubio, who was named Western Conference Rookie of the Month for the month of January, follows Pooh Richardson, Christian Laettner, Isaiah Rider, Stephon Marbury, Wally Szczerbiak, and Randy Foye to earn first team honors from a rookie season in Minnesota.

Pekovic’s sore ankle kept him out of eight games towards the end of the season. Dr. Martin O’Malley performed the surgery and Pekovic is expected to make a full recovery and be ready in time for training camp.

The big man from Montenegro enjoyed a breakout season before the ankle injuries started popping up in March. He averaged 13.9 points and 7.4 rebounds and his 56.4 shooting percentage was the second best in the league. He quickly supplanted Darko Milicic as the team’s starting center.

Pekovic finished third in the voting for the Most Improved Player award.

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INDEPENDENCE, Ohio (AP) — Cavaliers guard Kyrie Irving is the NBA’s Rookie of the Year, winning the award with the same ease as he dribbled past defenders this season.

Irving received 117 of 120 possible first-place votes from a nationwide media panel of 120 writers and broadcasters. Irving finished with 592 points, way ahead of Minnesota’sRicky Rubio (170) and Denver’s Kenneth Faried (129), who was third.

Faried, San Antonio’s Kawhi Leonard and New York’s Iman Shumpert received the other first-place votes, denying Irving’s bid to become the fourth player to win the award unanimously.

The 20-year-old is the second Cleveland player to win the award, joining LeBron James in 2004.

Irving’s award was expected. It wasn’t a matter of if, but when, he would get it.

The No. 1 overall pick in last year’s draft, he was clearly the league’s top first-year player, leading all rookies — and the Cavs — in scoring with 18.5 points per game. He also led all rookies in field-goal percentage (46.8), was second in assists (5.4) and became one of just six rookies in league history to average at least 18 points and five assists.

However, it was the other elements of his game — a nasty crossover dribble, a fearless desire to get to the basket, and a clutch, cold-blooded instinct in the fourth quarter that separated him from the others.

Irving, who played only 11 games at Duke before turning pro, regularly took over games down the stretch for the Cavaliers. He kept them competitive and in the playoff race until mid-March when the team’s front office decided to build for the future by trading his backup, guard Ramon Sessions, to the Los Angeles Lakers for a first-round draft pick.

Once Minnesota’s Ricky Rubio went down with a season-ending knee injury, Irving became the runaway favorite to win rookie of the year honors.

And beyond his impressive statistics, Irving brought hope to the Cavaliers and Cleveland fans, who have spent the past two seasons trying to move past James leaving as a free agent before he could bring them their first league title.

Irving appears to be the major piece the Cavs can build around, and they plan to get him some help next month with three of the top 34 picks in the NBA draft. The Cavs got lucky and won the draft lottery a year ago, paving the way for them to select Irving.

He was clearly the perfect choice.

Despite having a limited training camp because of the labor lockout, Irving started the opener for coach Byron Scott, who has formed a strong bond with his young star. He believes Irving has just scratched the surface of his potential.

“The progression of Kyrie from Game 1 to Game 50 probably exceeded everyone’s expectations,” Scott said. “I don’t think anyone expected him to do what he did this season.”

Although it was assumed Irving would start the season opener, Scott didn’t inform him until the day of the game so as not to pamper the playmaker. But Irving had earned the job and it didn’t take him long to show the Cavs and the rest of the NBA that stardom would be in his future.

In just his third game, he had a chance to hit a game-winning layup at Indiana but rolled his shot off the rim. Still, Irving’s desire to take the last shot in a pressure-packed moment made a huge impression on his teammates and coaches, who joked they were sure he wasn’t just 19.

A month later in Boston, with his father, Drederick, sitting in a courtside seat, Irving had perhaps the defining moment of his season. With the Cavs down by two, Irving, ignoring his failure in a previous situation, drove to the basket, split two defenders and flipped in a left-handed layup to beat the Celtics.

The next day he handled his heroics with humility that was on display all season.

“Just a shot,” he said.

Irving arrived with none of the superstar trappings. There was no entourage or multimillion dollar shoe contract, no cameras chronicling his every move. He was a team player in the truest sense, often tossing the praise on others and minimizing his role in victories.

Irving chose to blend in. He stepped away from the spotlight.

At the Rising Stars game during All-Star weekend in Orlando, Irving made all eight 3-pointers to win MVP honors. Posing for a photograph afterward, Irving lowered the crystal he was presented and told the photographer, “Make sure you get the Cleveland” on the front of his jersey.

“That wasn’t a publicity stunt at all,” Irving said when the season ended. “I just wanted to make sure they got the Cleveland uniform in it. We’re not as publicized as everybody else.”

Irving’s modesty rubbed off on everyone around him.

“He is just a fantastic kid,” Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert said. “He’s got a great heart. He is genuine. He loves basketball. He loves people. People love being around him. He’s humble. He’s a great guy.”

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Taylor told The Associated Press on Friday that he is looking to add a minority partner who could buy a part of the team that includes an option to buy Taylor out after observing the day-to-day operations of running a professional sports team.

Taylor said he has yet to speak to any specific candidates, but made it clear that one of the biggest priorities for him will be a commitment to keeping the Timberwolves in Minnesota.

“I could find somebody to buy the team. That’s not my problem,” Taylor said at his office at Taylor Corp., a privately held printing and marketing giant. “I have to find someone that’s committed to here. It’s always best if it would be a Minnesotan. I’m telling you I don’t know that’s the way it’s going to work out. I haven’t had a lot of Minnesotans step up.”

There has long been speculation about who would take over for Taylor, who saved the Wolves from moving to New Orleans when he purchased the team in 1994. Now, Taylor thinks the timing is right to open up the search.

As chairman of the NBA’s Board of Governors, Taylor played a prominent role in negotiating the new collective bargaining agreement that, if neither side chooses to opt out early, would bring labor peace to the league for the next 10 years. The Timberwolves are also hoping state lawmakers next week approve a plan for a massive renovation of Target Center that would make it more attractive for fans and more profitable for a new potential owner.

“Now’s the time to do it,” Taylor said. “We’ve negotiated the CBA for 10 years so people can see what the finances are. I think if I could get the building thing taken care of, that would enhance it for somebody coming in. So I can see if I got myself through a bunch of the problem stuff, I think I can bring in a partner.”

Bringing someone in would help solidify the franchise. The 71-year-old Taylor has had a few health issues in the past. He said he’s feeling strong and healthy these days, but thinks “it’s in the best interest of Minnesota” to have a plan in place.

“If something would happen to me in the sense of illness or if I die, then something’s in place,” Taylor said. “I have let that be known and I’m going to talk to some people about that.”

But his passion and loyalty to his team remains, and he’s shown no signs of slowing down as he tries to get the team back to being competitive in the Western Conference. The Wolves haven’t made the playoffs since their stirring run to the conference finals in 2004. They traded franchise player Kevin Garnett to Boston in 2007 and entered a dark period for the franchise over the next several years.

Taylor has reason to think that things are turning around. He brought in coach Rick Adelman last offseason, Kevin Love emerged as one of the league’s top young players and Ricky Rubio energized the franchise before tearing ligaments in his left knee in March. Taylor has instructed team President David Kahn to be aggressive this summer to surround a promising young core with talent that would get them back to the playoffs.

Taylor doesn’t want to go through anymore rebuilding seasons. He says it’s time to win. Now.

“It has a factor of age,” Taylor said. “I want to get on with it and win, also. I think that’s a legitimate question. That’s where you are in your career and you want to get there. I think that’s just another element that reinforces that I’m serious when I say I want a good team put together. And the reason is part of it is personal.”

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The No. 2 overall draft pick played less than 12 minutes that night for the Minnesota Timberwolves, but he still looked so tired. The games kept coming and coming in this lockout-shortened season, offering Williams little time to catch his breath and even less practice time to work on his game.

There were plenty of flashes of the talent that made him a star at Arizona, the knack for scoring around the basket, the versatility to play on the perimeter. But there were also too many nights when Williams just didn’t have it, where you could see the wheels turning in his head as he tried to remember his defensive assignments or pick his spots to assert himself on offense.

So Williams plunges into his first summer as a professional determined to follow in Kevin Love’s footsteps as a high lottery pick who improved by leaps and bounds thanks to exhaustive offseason workouts.

“I think a lot of people have the confidence in me to get a lot better,” Williams said. “My potential is I could be a pretty good player. This offseason is pretty big for me.”

Like every other rookie in the league, Williams’ development suffered right from the start because of a bitter labor dispute that prevented teams from working with their players all offseason. Once the union and ownership agreed on a new collective bargaining agreement, there was a mad rush to get the season started, resulting in an abbreviated training camp and preseason that made it difficult for the youngsters to prepare for making the jump from college to the pros.

Coaches initially planned to play Williams at small forward alongside Love. But it was ultimately decided that asking him to learn a new position and a new system would be too much, so he started the season as the backup power forward.

Love quickly emerged as a top-flight player who logged nearly 40 minutes a night, leaving the playing time for Williams a little harder to come by. He averaged 8.8 points and 4.7 rebounds per game, routinely finding himself on the bench for long stretches because coach Rick Adelman was displeased with his performance on the defensive end.

The sporadic playing time proved to be a difficult adjustment for Williams, who was the focal point at Arizona. He tweeted at one point that he felt like “a caged lion,” but also was the lone Timberwolves player to play in all 66 games.

“He’s had his moments but I think the biggest thing is we’d like to see him be much more consistent,” Adelman said. “He’s like a lot of rookies, he just has to improve there. Not having the summer to see him when the season started probably had something to do with it. This summer is going to be a big one for him.”

There were plenty of games, though, where Williams showed his true potential. He scored 27 points and hit all four 3-pointers in a victory over the Clippers in Los Angeles on Feb. 28. He had 22 points and 10 rebounds in a loss to the Lakers on March 9 and 27 points and eight boards to help rally the Timberwolves from a huge deficit in a narrow loss at Denver on April 11.

Fortunately for the Wolves, Love is providing a blueprint for Williams to follow. Love played just 25 minutes a game as a rookie while stuck behind veteran big man Al Jefferson, averaging 11.1 points and 9.1 rebounds.

Love hired a chef and went through excruciating summer workouts to reshape his doughy physique. He reported for his fourth training camp 25 pounds lighter than he was last season, and it helped him have the best season of his career.

Now it’s up to Williams to follow suit. He probably needs to drop at least 15 pounds if he wants to be quick enough to guard small forwards and earn starting minutes next to Love, who isn’t going anywhere.

“I think K-Love was probably in my spot when he first got here as a rookie, being a high draft pick and Al Jefferson was here,” Williams said. “He’s really made big strides. Hopefully I can follow in his footsteps and help him out.”

Williams has shown a strong work ethic this season, often being one of the first players on the floor for pregame workouts and one of the last off the floor after practices. He’ll need that if he hopes to survive a grueling routine similar to what Love goes through.

“I just hope he can last through a week of what I do,” Love said. “It’s a complete command. You really have to stay in one place for the entire summer. If he’s willing to do that, I think he’ll make a big bump in his career.”

Williams will be in his hometown of Los Angeles, working out with his trainer, fellow Wolves rookie Malcolm Lee and Wolves assistant coach Bill Bayno.

He wants to come back in October lighter, quicker and ready to play small forward — on both ends of the court.

“Hopefully I get a chance to do that next season because I definitely want to challenge myself out there on the court,” Williams said. “That’s the only way you can do it, by challenging yourself and getting better.”

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But after two up-and-down seasons with the Wolves, there’s no guarantee Beasley will return for another. His contract requires the team to extend him a qualifying offer of slightly more than $8 million to retain his rights. If the Wolves decline, as expected, he will become a 23-year-old unrestricted free agent.

Beasley spoke optimistically about his future here, in his typically soft, easygoing manner.

“I’m not really putting too much thought into it, not really putting too much energy into it, because it’s one of those things that I can’t control,” Beasley said as the team wrapped up practices last week. “I’m going to approach my summer as if I’m coming back next season, and I’m going to try to come back in the best shape I can, come back the best player I can be.”

His plan is to continue his summer work in Los Angeles with former Lakers standout Norm Nixon, who has become a mentor of sorts to Beasley, the second overall pick in the 2008 draft by Miami.

Work is the operative word, according to the grueling, ambitious plan he laid out.

“Shoot a zillion jump shots a day. Dribble a million minutes a day. Just work on being an all-around player, from rebounding to defending to blocking shots to stealing basketballs to scoring to playmaking,” Beasley said, then repeating for emphasis: “Just working on being an all-around great player. Not just a scorer, not just a defender, not just a rebounder. Just being an all-around great player.”

He added: “If anybody questions my conditioning I challenge them to come and work out with me for a day. It’s tough. I go four times a day. I go at 6 a.m. on the track. After that we do boxing, jujitsu, all that. Then ballet. Then basketball. Three or four days out of the week we run five, six miles on the beach. Barefoot. From Santa Monica to Venice. Back up to Santa Monica.”

After being hindered by a sprained left ankle the year before, Beasley was bothered this past season by a sprained right foot and a strained left big toe. He played in only 47 of 66 games, and — with better players on the roster than during his first year with the Wolves — averaged just 23.1 minutes per game, a drop of more than nine. He shot a bit better from the field and cut down on his turnovers, but he finished with only 45 assists and never notched consecutive 20-point games.

After scoring 20 points or more in 32 of his 73 games the previous season, Beasley reached that mark only seven times in 2011-12.

Timberwolves general manager David Kahn declined to address the team’s interest in bringing him back but acknowledged sympathetically the “snake-bitten” nature of Beasley’s stint in Minnesota. Kahn also said he appreciated Beasley’s positive attitude about coming off the bench as sort of a designated scorer, though his obvious preference was to remain in the starting lineup.

“Both years, and I told Michael this a couple times recently, it is a shame that he got hurt,” Kahn said, adding: “His offensive game wasn’t there at the start, but I at least thought he was trying defensively and just applying himself with more rigor than he had the year before with the previous staff, and I was at least hopeful that maybe there is something here. And he got hurt again, and again.”

Beasley’s off-the-court behavior hasn’t helped his cause for contract security. Around 3 a.m. one night last June, he was ticketed for possessing marijuana and speeding in the Minneapolis suburb of Minnetonka. While playing for the Heat, Beasley has acknowledged, he twice violated the NBA’s drug policy and entered a treatment facility for a time in 2009.

It is worth considering, though, that the Wolves chose not to trade him before the deadline in March. They were in line for a playoff spot then, before Ricky Rubio went down, but they took the risk of losing Beasley for nothing rather than dealing him for a less-than-desired return.

Beasley, for his part, said he enjoyed playing for coach Rick Adelman.

“The style is lovely. Rick’s not one of those guys who just has one guy he’s going to go to all the time,” Beasley said. “Whoever is feeling it that night, whoever has his nose in it, whoever is playing the best on defense and rebounding the ball, that’s who’s going to get the ball. That’s who’s going to get touches. And it’s really up to you to keep that consistent.”

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MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – The Vikings second first round pick, Harrison Smith out of Notre Dame, has quite a connection to his childhood team in Tennessee. Former Viking Tim Irwin was Smith’s childhood coach, and currently coaches Smith’s younger brother.

Even though attendance increased and they had multiple sell outs, the Timberwolves will still not make money this season. And don’t expect Michael Beasley back for next season.

Former Hopkins stand out Trent Lockett, who is transferring from Arizona State, will probably end up at Iowa State or Marquette University.

It will be interesting to see if Norwood Teague’s contract extension offer to Tubby Smith comes with strings attached.

Teague met with and impressed some former football players who have been critical of the athletic department.

But the truth is they were willing to double Joel Maturi’s salary if they got a bigger school athletic director. Some suggest they were disappointed there was not greater interest in the job.

Duluth East seven-footer Dakota Monyang, who is impressing college coaches playing for the Howard Pulley Panthers, is still uncertain about his eligibility for next season and plans to meet with the high school league.

Spring Lake Park star Sean Scott has committed to Nebraska’s high-profile Northeast Community College.

Twins’ Ben Revere is trying to gain arm strength by throwing a football.

Former state champion and Augsburg wrestler Marcus Lavesseur looks like he will be in a television match for the UFC.

Former Wild forward and current Florida Panther John Madden has started a business and plans on living here in Minnesota when hockey is over.

Wild forward and free agent Kurtis Foster is doing some broadcast work for the NHL Network during the playoffs.

And Minnesotans Dana Kicker, Dick Stigman and George Thomas were all part of the Red Sox alumni on hand for the 100 year celebration of the Fenway Park.

And just when it appeared the Timberwolves had finally turned the corner from one of the league’s most woeful franchises to an exciting, up-and-coming group, Rubio’s left knee buckled, and so did one of the most exciting seasons in the franchise’s mostly nondescript history.

A 21-19 start gave way to a 5-21 finish, and now the Timberwolves plunge headlong into a crucial summer with Love and coach Rick Adelman telling anybody who will listen that big changes have to be made.

Team president David Kahn said Friday he plans to be aggressive this summer in trades and free agency to supplement a promising young core with veterans, and he made it clear that only Rubio and Love are untouchable as he tries to bring an end to a seven-year postseason hiatus.

“They’re cornerstones of what we’re doing here, and my fervent hope is that each of them retires here,” Kahn said of Rubio and Love. “But after those two, and not that anybody else needs to be on watch, and there are a lot of other players on the team that all of us, coaches, management, front office, everybody likes. We just have to be very aggressive this year to make this team all that it can be and satisfy ourselves that we’ve done everything possible to do that.”

That Kahn did not include center Nikola Pekovic or No. 2 overall pick Derrick Williams in that group of untouchables speaks to his openness to consider all options. Pekovic had a breakout season, averaging 13.9 points and 7.3 rebounds to emerge as one of the top offensive centers in the league. Williams showed some promise as a scorer, but wore down as the season dragged on and both players are on the books for an affordable $9.6 million combined next season.

“I think we have to be very aggressive in what we’re doing,” Adelman said earlier this week. “You can’t wait. You hope your young people get better. But that’s not a given. Other people in free agency and trades are givens. We’ve got to be aggressive in all those areas.”

Rubio had surgery to repair torn ligaments in his left knee in March, and the team is hopeful that their precocious rookie point guard will be ready to go by the start of next season. In his first season after coming over from Spain, Rubio was everything the Timberwolves hoped for and more, setting the tone on both ends of the court, becoming a major box office draw and injecting the team with some much-needed charisma and energy.

“I think that’s the one thing that I underestimated when he got hurt,” Adelman said. “You knew you were going to be missing something, but he had a huge impact on the way our team was and their personality and the way they played. Just the way he was, I did not realize how much we’d miss him and what a gap there was all of a sudden.”

Love missed the final seven games with a concussion, Pekovic missed 19 games primarily because of an ankle injury, Luke Ridnour missed the final 11 games with a sprained right ankle and JJ Barea only played in 41 games because of various leg injuries.

All the injuries opened up more opportunities for Michael Beasley, Anthony Randolph, Martell Webster and Wes Johnson, but none of them were able to respond. Beasley missed time with a toe injury and the other three players were far too inconsistent for Adelman’s liking.

“We have some young players that I think right now … that need to demonstrate how serious they are about this endeavor,” Kahn said.

The Wolves will have some decisions to make and likely will decline making qualifying offers to Beasley ($8 million) and Randolph ($4 million). The Wolves could also decline the team option on Webster’s $5.7 million deal and look to buyout or amnesty Darko Milicic to create even more cap room this summer.

“If we want to have room, we can have room,” Kahn said. “There’s no question about it.”

That would be welcome for Love, the 23-year-old who finished the season fourth in the league in scoring and second in rebounding. He signed a contract extension in January that allows him to opt out in three years, so the heat is on to surround him with talent that is capable of winning now.

“I do hope that we are aggressive,” Love said. “I do hope when the time comes that we do pull the trigger on some moves. That’s going to be up to David Kahn and our owner. That’s really on them. If I could make decisions, I would, but I can’t.”

The biggest needs are playmaking ball-handlers on the perimeter and a shot-blocking presence in the paint.

“I’m going to lobby for some key veteran guys. I know there’s going to be a lot of good free agents that we can go for so hopefully we’ll go out there and try to get them. Anything that is going to help this team, I think most of these guys want. We just want to continue to get better.”

Kahn said he expects this team to make the playoffs next season if everyone stays healthy, and Love didn’t see any reason to disagree with him.

“I feel like people know we have the making of something special,” Love said. “We have the money to spend. We have valuable assets so this can happen.”

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MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — JaVale McGee scored 19 points to help the Denver Nuggets lock down the sixth seed in the Western Conference playoffs with a 131-102 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Thursday night.

Arron Afflalo scored 18 points and Danilo Gallinari had 17 points for the Nuggets, who won their fourth straight game and eighth in their last 10 as they surge into the postseason.

The Nuggets will face the third-seeded Los Angeles Lakers in the first round.

Nikola Pekovic had 18 points and 10 rebounds and J.J. Barea had 20 points and five assists for the Timberwolves, who will miss the playoffs for the seventh consecutive season. The Wolves lost 13 of their last 14 games of the season.

The Nuggets entered the game needing a win or a loss by Dallas in Atlanta to lock down the No. 6 seed in the West. Had they lost and Dallas won in Atlanta, the Nuggets would have faced No. 2 seed Oklahoma City in the first round.

It’s not immediately clear if getting the sixth seed was a good thing for Denver. The Nuggets lost three of their four meetings with the Lakers this season and have never beaten them in six previous playoff series, the last one being a loss in the 2009 Western Conference finals.

Denver does seem to be playing some of its best basketball after a rough couple of weeks integrating McGee in the trade that sent longtime center Nene to Washington. The super-athletic McGee has scored in double figures in the last four games and his 19 points on Thursday night were his most in a Nuggets uniform.

The outcome on Thursday night wasn’t in doubt for very long. Coach George Karl rested forward Al Harrington, who has a strained right knee. But he played all the other regulars in their final tuneup, and the Nuggets were off and running from the start.

They outscored the Timberwolves 16-4 to start the second quarter, opening up a 45-29 lead that was never really threatened. Denver shot 63 percent and out-rebounded the Wolves 48-29.

Wolves coach Rick Adelman has been very unhappy with how his young team has responded to a rash of injuries to starters Ricky Rubio (knee), Kevin Love (concussion) and Luke Ridnour (ankle). Adelman went through a similar situation in Houston when stars Tracy McGrady and Yao Ming were lost.

“We never had a downer like we had here,” Adelman said. “That’s something we have to look at.”

Most of the Wolves wore headbands in warmups and in the game, a tribute to veteran center Brad Miller, who is retiring after 14 seasons in the league. But that was about all the interest they showed in being on the floor on Thursday night.

Miller air-balled two shots in the first quarter and had an ugly turnover, but he did hit a 3-pointer in the fourth and got a hearty cheer from the sparse home crowd. He finished with four points, four rebounds and four assists.

Miller left the game with five minutes to go, getting a standing ovation from the crowd and breaking into tears on the bench when he was swarmed by teammates.

NOTES: Love sat courtside for some guest color commentary with Fox Sports North in the second quarter. … The Wolves finished with a record of 26-40, their most victories since 2006-07 and best winning percentage since 2005-06. … Kenneth Faried had 15 points and seven rebounds and Kosta Koufos had 11 boards for the Nuggets.

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MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — The Timberwolves have moved on to evaluation time, as in what will this team look like next year?

One question that needs to be answered is what can they expect from Derrick Williams in his second year? That might be decided in the next five months, before the Timberwolves hit the floor for the 2012-13 season.

He may be the key to the Timberwolves future if you assume Love and Rubio are good for the long haul. Then Derrick Williams is the X-factor. so far, the jury is still out.

“He’s had his moments, but I think the biggest thing is we would like to see him be much more consistent game in and game out,” said Timberwolves coach Rick Adelman.

That is what he’s learned, that his effort had to be a constant.

“Basically it’s just playing every game as hard as you can,” Williams said. “I think a lot of rookies learn that, and especially myself.”

The biggest season for Williams might not be what’s happened the last few months, but rather what’s about to happen in his first offseason in the NBA.

So now he knows. He knows the NBA after one season and knows what he needs to work on.

“He’s like a lot of rookies. He just hasn’t had it and I think not being able to do anything over the summer, not even seeing him until we started, that probably had something to do with it. This summer is going to be a big one for him,” Adelman said.

That’s the goal: To take a leap because of what he does in the summer heat.

“I think a lot of people have confidence in me to get a lot better. I think my potential is I could be a pretty good player, so this offseason is really big for me,” Williams said.

Thanks to Utah, the Wolves will have a first-round pick in the NBA draft this summer. The Jazz clinched a playoff spot by beating the Phoenix Tuesday. They owe the Wolves a first-rounder for the Al Jefferson trade in 2010. The pick was lottery-protected, meaning the Jazz would have kept it if they missed the playoffs.

Wolves All-Star Kevin Love said after practice on Wednesday he ought to send a gift Jefferson’s way.

The Wolves must give up their own first-rounder this year to finally close the deal that acquired Marko Jaric from the Los Angeles Clippers in 2005. The Clippers have since traded the pick to New Orleans.

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If the coach is successful in making that happen, he may look to veteran guard J.J. Barea’s stinging criticism of some teammates as the first step in the right direction.

Adelman said Tuesday that he did not have a problem with Barea’s comments that some Timberwolves didn’t care enough after a recent loss. In fact, the coach said he supported players making their feelings known when they see something they don’t like.

“You have to really feel the hurt when you lose games after the game is over,” said Adelman, whose team has lost 12 of 13 as it limps to the finish. “When you lose a game like we did on Sunday, I think the frustration just took over with him. It certainly did with me, too.”

The Timberwolves were in playoff position in early March before being deluged by injuries to point guard Ricky Rubio (torn ACL), center Nikola Pekovic (ankle), guard Luke Ridnour (ankle), forward Kevin Love (concussion) and Barea (various leg injuries). The young and rebuilding franchise hasn’t been able to weather the adversity, but Adelman said he expected more from a team that may have grown too accustomed to losing.

“People should get mad. People should not accept that,” Adelman said. “I think young players sometimes have to learn that. The game ends, you don’t get dressed in 10 minutes and leave. At least you think about it.

“I think that’s what he was saying. I think that’s a lesson for all of our team, especially. You don’t condone it. You don’t accept losing. You just don’t do it.”

Barea, who helped the Dallas Mavericks to the NBA title last season, declined to comment Tuesday. But he said plenty Sunday night after the Timberwolves gave up a 21-point lead at home in a loss to the Golden State Warriors.

Without naming names, Barea blistered some teammates, saying there weren’t enough players in the locker room who cared about the outcomes of games.

“We’ve got problems here,” Barea said after playing all 48 minutes. “We’ve got a lot of guys that don’t care. … We’re just going to keep getting L’s until we get players here that care.”

Several teammates said they didn’t agree with Barea’s assessment and that they thought it was a collective loss.

Love did not play in the game, but did say Tuesday that he thought most of the players cared about the product they were putting on the floor.

“Obviously there was some air taken out from underneath us, but I think guys do care,” Love said. “I just think J.J. was upset. A guy coming from a championship team, he kind of saw it a little different the past few years at the end of the season.”

The Timberwolves are nearing the end of another miserable finish. They wrap up the season Thursday night against Denver and will enter the game with just one victory in April in the last three seasons.

“Whether we were hurt or not, there’s just no way (that can happen),” Adelman said. “We tried as a staff to figure out every way we could to keep the thing turned. I think there’s a lot of hope, but I think we have to be realistic about where we are.

“We’ve had three years in a row of the same thing in April. I think we have to take a pretty hard look to see what’s going on and change the culture.”

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MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – You expect to see tall people at a Timberwolves game. But you don’t necessarily expect to see someone so tall they make even the NBA players look short.

At 7 feet, 8 inches, Igor Vovkivinskiy is the tallest man in America.

The Timberwolves saw Holly Wagner’s story on his search for new shoes and invited him to be the guest of honor at their game against Golden State Sunday night.

Vovkivinskiy says he’s a huge fan of Kevin Love.

Last month, Wagner reported that Vovkivinskiy has had 15 foot surgeries in the last three years. The residual pain from those surgeries makes it difficult for him to stay on his feet at times, so he moves around the house in a motorized wheelchair.

Vovkivinskiy, who came to the U.S. from the Ukraine when he was a child, told Wagner he needs size 26 shoes. When he contacted Reebok, they told him it would cost $15,000 to have shoes specially made for him, money not in the budget for this college student.

With the encouragement of his friends, he started a web page to collecting donations. At last check, he had received nearly $40,500 in donations.

He posted on his Facebook page that he’s in talks with Reebok and is getting his shoes in the next few weeks.

Brandon Rush scored 10 of his 19 points in the fourth quarter and also grabbed nine rebounds. Klay Thompson scored 17 points for the Warriors, who snapped an eight-game losing streak.

Nikola Pekovic had 19 points and 16 rebounds, and JJ Barea had 14 points and 12 assists in all 48 minutes for the Timberwolves, who announced earlier that All-Star power forward Kevin Love would not play the final two games of the season because of a concussion.

Jenkins also had six rebounds and the Warriors turned the ball over just nine times while holding the Wolves to 36 percent shooting.

Martell Webster scored 18 points and Anthony Randolph had 14 points, seven boards and five blocks for Minnesota.

The Warriors started rookies Thompson, Jenkins, Jeremy Tyler and Mickell Gladness alongside veteran Richard Jefferson for the fourth straight game, the first time the franchise has done that since it started keeping track of games in 1970-71. The last time any team in the NBA has done that was the 2003 Denver Nuggets.

Playing their third road game in three nights, it took a while for those young legs to wake up on Sunday evening.

With Barea pushing the tempo in the open floor and Pekovic controlling the paint, the Timberwolves surged out to a 53-32 lead late in the second quarter. Webster hit five of his first seven shots for the Wolves and Thompson missed nine of his first 12 shots to help the Warriors dig another big hole.

Just like in their previous meeting in this building, when the Warriors came back from 20 down to beat the Wolves on April 4, Jenkins got rolling in the second half to bring Golden State back. The super-quick point guard scored three straight buckets during a 10-0 run that cut the deficit to 68-63 late in the third quarter.

The Warriors then ripped off a 12-2 surge midway through the fourth quarter, culminating in a jumper from Jenkins to give them their first lead, 83-81, with 5:45 to play.

Pekovic’s putback gave Minnesota an 88-87 lead with 1:28 to go, but Rush came back with a 3, and Dominic McGuire converted a three-point play when he was fouled on a dunk to seal the win.

NOTES: The Wolves made all 21 of their foul shots. … McGuire finished with 12 points and seven boards. … The Timberwolves hosted Rochester resident Igor Voykovinsky, who at 7-foot-8 is the tallest man in America.

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The Wolves shut their All-Star power forward down on Sunday, not wanting to risk further injury in the final two games of the season.

Love has been out since being knocked woozy in a game at Denver on April 11. He suffered what the team called a mild concussion and a strained neck, but the possibility remained that he would return before the season came to a close. But coach Rick Adelman said before Sunday’s game against Golden State that the combination of missed time and the sensitive nature of head injuries made it not worth the risk.

Love returned to practice on Saturday and said he felt good back on the court, but said he would do what was in the best interests of his long-term health.

Guard Luke Ridnour also has been shut down with a sprained right ankle that has kept him out since April 2.

“It’s just best for both of them not to push it,” Adelman said.

Love is fourth in the league with 26 points per game and second in rebounding with 13.3 per game.

The Timberwolves do not have a first-round pick in next year’s draft — their 2012 pick is in the New Orleans Hornets’ hands as part of a long-ago trade that brought Marko Jaric to Minnesota and sent Sam Cassell to the Los Angeles Clippers. The only way the Wolves can have a first-round pick in the June draft is if Utah makes the playoffs and has to give up its lottery-protected pick, which was part of the Al Jefferson trade two years ago.

So this is not part of some elaborate tanking strategy aimed at giving the Wolves a better chance at moving up in the draft lottery.

Adelman said Wolves coaches and doctors met to make the decision jointly. The Wolves finish the season with a game against Denver on Thursday.

“We’ll just go with the guys we have and hope we can get a couple of wins,” he said.

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Love has missed the last five games since his head injury in a game at Denver on April 11. He said Saturday after taking part in a light practice with the team he’s passed all of the required post-concussion tests. The Wolves host Golden State Sunday night.

Love is also sporting a new look, having shaved the scraggly beard he’s been growing all season. Coach Rick Adelman jokes that the All-Star power forward looks “about 12 years old.” Love says his estimate is closer to 18.

The Timberwolves have one more game this season after Golden State. They host Denver on Thursday.

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Nikola Pekovic scored 23 points and J.J. Barea flirted with a triple-double to help the Timberwolves to a 91-80 victory over the Detroit Pistons on Thursday night. The win was the franchise’s first in the final month of the regular season since 2009 — breaking a 27-game losing streak.

“We finally got a win,” said Berea, who finished with 13 points, 12 assists and six rebounds to help Minnesota snap an 11-game overall losing skid. “We had a lot of energy and we moved the ball well.”

The Timberwolves never trailed and took a 49-31 halftime lead after shooting 57 percent (21 of 37) from the field. An 8-0 run pushed the lead to over 20 points midway through the third quarter but the Pistons rallied in the fourth to make it close.

Tayshaun Prince had 18 points and Will Bynum scored all of his 17 in the fourth quarter for the Pistons, who lost for the second time in as many nights.

“Except for parts of the fourth quarter it was pretty good,” Minnesota coach Rick Adelman said. “We just want to see if we can turn this around in the last two games and end the season on a positive note.”

Pekovic made five of his first six shots to start the game and had 13 points in the first half to pace the Wolves, who hadn’t won since March 28, at Charlotte. He finished with nine rebounds.

The Pistons ended the first quarter by missing 10 straight field goals and shot just 29 percent in the first half. The 31 first-half points were one off their worst halftime output this season.

Detroit trailed 78-55 with less than 8 minutes to play but outscored the Wolves 19-3 over the next 6 minutes to cut the lead to seven points. Pekovic had a putback and dunk in the last 90 seconds to end the rally and force the Pistons to foul.

Pistons coach Lawrence Frank, who called Wednesday’s lackluster 116-84 loss at Atlanta “unacceptable,” wasn’t much happier with most of the next night’s effort.

“We looked a little punch drunk at times out there,” he said after his team’s starters shot a combined 16 of 50 from the field.

Ben Gordon scored 14 points for the Pistons and fellow reserve Charlie Villanueva grabbed 12 rebounds.

Anthony Randolph had 15 points and 10 rebounds and Michael Beasley added 13 points for the Wolves, who finish the season with two home games.

Notes: Adelman said All-Star C Kevin Love (concussion/neck strain) might return for the team’s final two games if he is cleared by doctors. Love, who left an April 11 game at Denver after a hard fall, was scheduled to undergo tests Thursday. . Pistons F Ben Wallace did not play Thursday to attend a funeral. . Minnesota’s last April win was April 8, 2009, at Golden State.

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In his first extended interview since suffering a concussion earlier this month, Love told WCCO’s Chad Hartman that he is improving.

“I feel great. I feel a lot better,” Love said. “The last two or three days I’ve been able to go symptom free.”

He said he’s cleared two of four phases of concussion recovery.

Love took an elbow to the temple from Denver Nuggets forward JaVale McGee during the first quarter of the Wolves 113-107 loss in Denver April 11.

Love says he didn’t feel right for several days after the game.

“My stomach was a little woozy,” Love said. “I was waking up, and my head just did not feel right for almost an entire week, so you really have to take these things seriously.”

The Timberwolves have only three games left in the season.

Kevin Love talks with WCCO’s Chad Hartman

An ugly win in a physical April game sure feels a lot better when it’s meaningful. Just ask the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Rudy Gay had 28 points and nine rebounds to help the Grizzlies withstand a weak start to the fourth quarter and hand the Timberwolves their 11th straight loss, 91-84 on Tuesday night.

“We’ve been through the bottom, being in Minnesota’s position, knowing you’re not going to be in the playoffs,” Gay said. “We don’t expect anything to happen. We don’t expect to shoot our way out of it just because we’re missing. We don’t expect to lose. We’re fighters.”

The Grizzlies, who have eight straight wins over the Wolves, were 1 for 15 from the field in the final quarter until Gay’s short jumper gave them the lead back at 82-81. That was 13 seconds after a questioned charging foul was called on Anthony Tolliver that wiped out a layup and a potential three-point play. Tolliver and the Timberwolves were livid.

“That one play changed everything, and you guys know what play I’m talking about,” said J.J. Barea, who scored a season-high 28 points on 5-for-9 shooting from 3-point range to go with eight assists and five rebounds.

The Wolves have lost 27 straight April games, dating to 2009. They have three more tries this season to stop that streak.

“I’m disappointed for the guys. They played their tails off,” said coach Rick Adelman, whose praise has been rare lately.

Zach Randolph added 16 points and 11 rebounds for the Grizzlies, who moved within two games of the Los Angeles Clippers for fourth place in the Western Conference and crept closer toward clinching a playoff spot. Mike Conley added 16 points, eight assists and five rebounds.

“They’re competitors. They’re trying to get somewhere,” coach Lionel Hollins said.

Gay added a putback and a dagger of a 3-pointer to make it 87-82, and out of a timeout Barea hoisted an off-target, off-balance 3-pointer that missed the rim. Wayne Ellington’s reverse layup brought the Wolves back within three with 1:19 left, but that was as close as they came.

“We needed this win. We knew these teams that we’re playing against have nothing to lose,” Conley said. “They’re giving everything they’ve got, and we’ve got to make sure we match their energy every night.”

Marc Gasol played after suffering a bone bruise in his left knee the last game but had only four points on 2-for-8 shooting for the Grizzlies, who have won 11 of their last 15 games.

“It’s going to be a long playoffs and for us to clinch early would be a lot better for us,” Gay said. “We can start sitting guys, maybe, depending on what Coach wants to do, but it would be good to have the option.”

The Wolves have no choice.

Barea, the Puerto Rican point guard whose first season in Minnesota has been marred by a slew of injuries after helping the Dallas Mavericks win the NBA championship last summer, is about their only true scorer left on court with Kevin Love, Ricky Rubio and Luke Ridnour all out. Including the fateful game against the Los Angeles Lakers on March 9 when Rubio’s left knee buckled in the closing seconds, the Wolves are 4-19 in their last 23 games.

Barea flipped a Rubio-like running bank shot high off the glass to close the first half and put the Wolves up 56-55. He has started the last eight games and is averaging 17.2 points and 9.8 assists in his last 10 games. He’s 24 for 50 from 3-point range in that span.

“I’m used to playing 20 or 25 minutes max, but I’m enjoying it,” Barea said.

The Grizzlies came within two points of their season high for the first quarter, taking a 32-22 lead on O.J. Mayo’s off-balance 3-pointer from the corner. This, though, was progress for the Wolves, who fell behind 32-7 at Indiana on Monday during a 111-88 defeat by the Pacers.

Nikola Pekovic had 16 points and 11 rebounds for the Wolves, who went 25 for 30 from the foul line to stay in it. But the Grizzlies played their usual suffocating defense, getting 11 steals and turning 18 Wolves turnovers into 24 points.

“We just gutted it out. That’s the best thing you can say,” Hollins said.

NOTES: Marreese Speights had 10 of his 12 points in the first quarter for the Grizzlies, who are 33-17 since acquiring him. … The Wolves are 1-26 in their last 27 April home games, dating to 2006…. Pekovic continues to be bothered by bone spurs in his right ankle, and the team has considered shutting him down for the final week of the season. “He kept telling me he was fine. Hopefully he can hold up in the last three,” Adelman said after the game.

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Love attended the game on Tuesday against Memphis, but watched from the locker room. He said he planned to take the league’s required concussion tests on Wednesday in hopes that he can be cleared to help a team that had lost 10 straight games heading into the night.

“I’ve never really had a head injury before,” said Love, who has missed four straight games after being knocked woozy in a game at Denver on April 11. “It’s just different. But I feel good. I feel like I’m good to go.”

Love wasn’t ready to say he would definitely play again this season. The injury plagued Timberwolves have been out of the playoff discussion for weeks, so there is no competitive incentive for him to return. With an injury as sensitive as a concussion, he wants to make sure that he is completely healthy before he comes back to reduce the risk of another one.

“If it’s worth it, and I feel good, then I’ll do it,” Love said.

The Timberwolves have said for the last week that they would play it cautious with the new face of their franchise. Love has had a breakthrough season, averaging 26 points and 13.3 rebounds a game, and even garnering some consideration for the MVP award when the Wolves were in the playoff hunt in early March.

But the team has been beset by injuries since then. Point guard Ricky Rubio is out with torn ligaments in his left knee and center Nikola Pekovic (ankle), guard Luke Ridnour (ankle), guard JJ Barea (groin) and forward Michael Beasley (toe) have all missed significant time as the team’s season has come apart.

Adelman said before the game he’d like Love and Ridnour to play again before the season is over, but only if they’re healthy. The coach said Ridnour might play Sunday against Golden State but acknowledged he’s “pretty pessimistic.” The team was also considering shutting down Pekovic for the rest of the season to get him ready for offseason surgery to remove bone spurs in his right ankle.

Love didn’t anticipate any issues with the concussion exam. He does not expect to make the trip to Detroit for their game against the Pistons on Thursday, but holds out hope he could be back for the Warriors on Sunday. If not, he will try to return for the season finale on April 26 against Denver.

“I’ll pass. It’s four steps. You have to do some cardio tests and some brain work. I’m assuming the cardio will go a lot better than the latter part,” Love deadpanned. “That’s always been the case.”

Love said he’s mostly been sleeping and resting since he was injured and that Tuesday was the first day felt symptom-free. The 23-year-old hasn’t touched his phone or watched television since he was hurt, except when he turned it on at halftime of the team’s game on Monday night. The Wolves trailed the Pacers 64-30 en route to their 25th straight loss in April, dating back to 2009.

“I haven’t been on my phone, I haven’t been on my computer, I haven’t been on TV,” Love said. “Although I did turn on the TV last night at halftime and immediately turned it back off.”

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The Pacers rolled to a 25-point lead in the first 9 minutes and beat the Timberwolves 111-88 for their fifth consecutive win.

This young team is starting to get it.

“We came out with the killer instinct tonight,” Pacers coach Frank Vogel said. “That set the tone for us. That’s what we want to go into the playoffs with.”

David West had 22 points and 10 rebounds, Danny Granger scored 19 points, Paul George had 18 and Roy Hibbert added 12 points and 11 rebounds for the Pacers, who solidified their grip on the No. 3 position in the Eastern Conference standings.

Indiana has won eight of nine games, but none of the other wins started this well. The Pacers generally have been stronger in the second half than in the first, but this time, they did the right things from the opening tip.

“I think the biggest thing is that we continue to build good habits,” West said. “We’re coming out and trying to make the right play every single time. I think that’s imperative for us. We continue the momentum we’re starting to build and hopefully, we’ll be playing some of our best ball a week-and-a-half from now.”

Indiana scored at least 100 points for the 10th time in 11 games.

“We’ve been trusting the pass,” George said. “Everybody’s been willing to share the ball, and we’ve been moving.”

Jose Barea had 14 points and nine assists and reserves Michael Beasley and Derrick Williams added 13 points each for Minnesota, which lost its 10th in a row. Kevin Love, one of the league’s top scorers and rebounders, sat out for the third consecutive game with a mild concussion and a neck strain.

Minnesota coach Rick Adelman said Love’s injury was no excuse.

“You have to come out and compete, and we didn’t compete,” he said. “It’s a glaring problem. We know we have injuries, but we’re better than that.”

The Pacers rolled to a 22-4 lead as Minnesota missed 10 of its first 11 shots.

“They came out with a lot of energy,” Minnesota forward Anthony Randolph said. “They are getting ready for playoff basketball. It was just a tough loss.”

Indiana made three consecutive 3-pointers to take a 55-23 lead in the second quarter. Later in the period, Indiana got six offensive rebounds on one possession before an emphatic right-handed putback dunk by George Hill put the Pacers up 59-27.

The Pacers led 64-30 at halftime as Indiana made 8 of 14 3-pointers and outrebounded Minnesota 33-23. Minnesota shot just 27.5 percent in posting its lowest-scoring half of the season.

“It’s inexcusable to play the way we did in the first half,” Adelman said. “They were tougher than we were. It’s as simple as that. They’re going to be physical and come at us, and we have to be ready to play.”

Indiana maintained its lead in the third quarter behind 12 points from West. The Pacers shot 50 percent in the third quarter in taking a 93-63 lead.

A flurry by Minnesota cut Indiana’s lead to 95-77 with 6:54 remaining, causing Vogel to call a timeout. The Pacers made just one of their first nine shots in the fourth quarter. The Timberwolves cut Indiana’s lead to 14 points before a 3-pointer by A.J. Price pushed the Pacers’ lead to 98-81 and helped the increasingly restless crowd relax.

Even with the shaky fourth quarter, West liked what he saw.

“This is the time of year where you’ve got to be coming together,” he said. “We’re fine-tuning some things we want to do offensively. Obviously, trying to be a collective unit defensively. And then, just play with a certain level of aggression, especially when you’re dealing with teams that don’t have anything to play for this time of year, like the Timberwolves.”

The Pacers are 2½ games ahead of Orlando and Atlanta for third place with five games remaining. A top three seed would give Indiana homecourt advantage in the first round of the playoffs.

“Everything we do is geared toward winning in the playoffs,” Vogel said. “And the first step is getting homecourt advantage.”

Notes: Former Pacers C Brad Miller entered the game in the first quarter for the Timberwolves and got a loud cheer. … Indiana Mr. Basketball Gary Harris attended the game. He will play at Michigan State. … Indiana PG Darren Collison played after missing the past four games with a sore groin. He went scoreless and committed three fouls in 19 minutes as a reserve. … Minnesota shot 22.7 percent in the first quarter. … Granger scored at least 18 points for the 12th straight game. … It was West’s second game this season with at least 20 points and 10 rebounds. … Minnesota has allowed at least 111 points in six of the 10 losses.
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Love, who missed his third straight game, ranks fourth in the NBA with 26 points per game and second with 13.3 rebounds per contest.

The Timberwolves have lost both games without their top player. Minnesota lost 95-82 at home against the Los Angeles Clippers on April 12 and 115-110 at home against Oklahoma City on April 14. The Timberwolves are in the midst of a nine-game losing streak.

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The candidates were announced by the league on Monday, one for each of the six divisions.

The winner will be revealed after the regular season. The award is named after former Detroit Pistons star Joe Dumars and based on ethical behavior, fair play and integrity.

Ridnour, in his second year with the team, is currently out with a sprained right ankle. He’s averaging a career-high 12.1 points plus 2.7 rebounds and 4.8 assists and has started all 53 games he’s played in. He’s sixth in the league in free-throw percentage at 89.1.

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That, like practically everything else the Timberwolves and the rest of the NBA have tried this season, didn’t work, either.

Durant scored 43 points and Westbrook had 35 and eight assists to keep the Thunder atop the Western Conference with a 115-110 victory over the Timberwolves on Saturday night.

“I don’t think we ever thought we’d be putting Randolph on Westbrook in the fourth quarter and whoever on Durant,” Adelman said. “We were trying anything to find answers.”

Try again.

Durant scored 16 in the final seven minutes for the Thunder (44-16), who started the day one game ahead of the Spurs — but tied in the loss column — for the top seed in the West. After a three-game losing streak earlier this month, the Thunder have won four of their last five games.

“We want to win as much games as we can going down to the stretch of the season,” Durant said. “Hopefully we get (the No. 1 seed). If not, we’ve just got to keep playing. We can’t worry about that. We’ve just got to worry about how we can get better every single game.”

Anthony Randolph had 22 points and 11 rebounds and Michael Beasley scored 26 for the Timberwolves, who lost their ninth straight game and 25th in a row in April dating to 2009.

The Wolves were without All-Star Kevin Love, who missed his second straight game with a concussion. J.J. Barea had 24 points and 10 assists, but Minnesota missed 12 free throws.

Barea’s 3-pointer cut the deficit to 112-110 with 13.8 seconds to play, but Westbrook iced the game at the line, where the Thunder hit 28 of 32 shots.

Serge Ibaka had eight points, 12 rebounds and five blocks and James Harden returned from a one-game absence because of a sore right knee. He scored six on 1-for-11 shooting.

The Wolves gave the Thunder all they could handle in their first two meetings, losing 104-100 in the season opener and 149-140 in an epic double overtime game in Oklahoma City on March 23. But they had Love in both of those games and weren’t expected to give the mighty Thunder much trouble on Saturday night playing without Love, Ricky Rubio (knee) and Luke Ridnour (ankle).

The Thunder appeared to be taking control with a 10-0 run to start the third quarter, but Beasley and Randolph kept the plucky Wolves in the game and Barea looked more like the annoying pest who helped the Mavericks win the title last season.

Randolph converted a three-point play and knocked down a jumper, Malcolm Lee had a three-point play and Beasley hit a 15-footer to cut the lead to 91-90 with 10 minutes to play.

“We’re just out there trying to be scrappy,” Beasley said. “Kevin might not be here for the rest of the season. That’s 26 points, sometimes 40 points and 20 boards. Everybody has to step up and we’re trying to finish this season with a bang.”

Durant simply had an answer for every Wolves push. He blew by Anthony Tolliver for a dunk, knocked down a silky jump shot from the wing, scored on a back-down in the post and drove past Randolph for another bucket and a 105-97 lead with just under 4 minutes to go.

He even came up big on defense, forcing a traveling violation by Randolph and poking the ball away to create a fast-break bucket for Westbrook to hold the Wolves off.

“Sometimes I don’t have to score, I can make a pass, but my teammates did a great job man,” Durant said. “Russell had it going in the third and he sacrificed for me to get some easy baskets.”

Westbrook was 12 of 25 from the floor, and he’s received some criticism for the amount of shots he takes and not being more of a playmaking point guard that keeps his teammates, particularly Durant, more involved. Adelman scoffed at that notion before the game, saying “everybody doesn’t have to be John Stockton.”

“If they’re really down on him, he can come over here,” Adelman deadpanned. “I’ll let him play.”

NOTES: It was Durant’s fourth 40-point game of the season. … The Wolves announced a crowd of 19,552, their 11th sellout of the season. That’s the most since they went to the Western Conference finals in 2003-04. … Timberwolves G Wayne Ellington was active after missing the previous two games with back spasms. He did not play.

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The Minnesota Timberwolves are so banged up that this year can’t end soon enough.

Blake Griffin had 19 points and 13 rebounds and Caron Butler scored 17 points to lead the playoff-bound Clippers to a 95-82 victory over the Timberwolves on Thursday night.

Mo Williams had 14 points and five assists in his return for the Clippers, who entered the night 1½ games behind the Lakers for the third seed in the West and just a 1/2 game ahead of Memphis for the fourth seed.

“It’s great to get a win no matter what, especially at this time of year when we’re fighting for spots,” said Griffin, whose Clippers improved to 15-14 on the road and haven’t finished with a winning road record since relocating to L.A. in 1984. “It’s a great win for us.”

Michael Beasley had 14 points and 10 rebounds and J.J. Barea had 10 points and 11 assists for the Timberwolves, who have lost eight straight games. They’ve lost 24 in a row in the month of April dating back to 2009.

The Wolves were playing without All-Star Kevin Love, who missed the game with a mild concussion, the latest in a long line of injuries that derailed a once promising season.

“It can’t get any worse, man,” Barea said with eight stitches in his lip courtesy of a collision late in the first half. “It can’t get any worse.”

The Clippers made 12 3-pointers and turned 17 Minnesota turnovers into 24 points. Butler hit 5 of 8 from deep and the Clippers outscored Minnesota 20-6 in the first nine minutes of the final period to blow the game open.

Williams was 6 for 11 in his first game since March 22. He missed 11 straight with a sprained big toe on his left foot, but he’s returning just in time to get back into a groove before the playoffs.

There was a little panic in Lob City when the Clippers lost eight of 11 games in March and appeared to be sliding down the Western Conference ladder. But they appear to be picking up steam at just the right time, with 10 wins in their last 12 games as the playoffs approach.

“It felt great. The team was in a great rhythm so I just didn’t want to mess up the rhythm the team was playing with,” Williams said. “I just wanted to step right in and do whatever I can to help the team.”

The loss officially eliminated the Wolves from playoff contention, but they’ve been out of the conversation for quite some time.

The Timberwolves took the first three games of the season series, including two at Staples Center, but it was an entirely different team that took the court on Thursday night. Ricky Rubio has been out since March 9 with torn ligaments in his left knee and Love missed the game with a concussion suffered in Denver on Wednesday.

The Wolves were also missing Luke Ridnour (ankle) and Wayne Ellington (back spasms), and it appeared like the Clippers took the short-handed Wolves a little too lightly in the early going.

The signs were there from the beginning, with Griffin missing a wide open, uncontested dunk and starting the game 2 for 7. The Wolves were shooting 53 percent to take a lead into halftime.

Griffin finally started taking advantage of Love’s absence in the fourth, throwing down three dunks and scoring on a back-down in the post during the deciding 20-2 run.

Barea left in the final three minutes of the second quarter after being cut on the chin. He had 10 points and 10 assists in the first half, but picked up his fourth foul midway through the third quarter and was held to just one assist in the second half.

Anthony Randolph had 16 points, nine rebounds and three blocks and Nikola Pekovic scored 17 for the Wolves.

“Five down going into the fourth quarter and just could not make a shot,” Wolves coach Rick Adelman said. “Just ran out of gas.”

NOTES: The Clippers entered the night third in the NBA in fewest turnovers and committed just 11. … Barea became just the fourth Wolves player in the last 15 years to register a point-assist double-double in the first half. … Adelman and Clippers coach Vinny Del Negro each picked up a technical foul in the third quarter for bickering with the officials. … After scoring 27 points against the Nuggets, Wolves rookie Derrick Williams had just four points on 1-for-7 shooting.

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Love was injured Wednesday night in Denver when he took an elbow to the head from JaVale McGee. Love remained in a Denver hospital overnight for observation and was cleared to return home Thursday.

Love was ruled out of the game Thursday night against the Clippers. The team says he will continue to be evaluated in the coming days to monitor his progress.

He is fourth in the NBA in scoring at 26 points per game, second in rebounding and second in minutes played.

After facing the Clippers, the Wolves next play at home against Oklahoma City on Saturday night.

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The Minnesota Timberwolves All-Star forward sustained a mild concussion and neck strain after a hit to the head against the Denver Nuggets on Wednesday. He was kept overnight at an area hospital for precautionary reasons.

Love was helped off the floor by medical personnel following an inadvertent blow from JaVale McGee when the Nuggets center went up for a jumper in the lane. Love had missed all five of his shots in the first quarter before being knocked out of the game.

“It was pretty bad, but hopefully he’ll be all right,” said guard J.J. Barea, who had a career-high 15 assists in a 113-107 loss to the Nuggets. “As soon as he got hit, I knew he was out. He was talking, but he wasn’t all there, though.”

Love is the NBA’s top scorer since the All-Star break, averaging nearly 29 points. Not only that, but he’s among the league leaders in rebounding, free throws made and minutes.

Even more, Love’s the leader of the team on the court and his injury shook the Timberwolves, who fell behind by as many as 24 points before storming back and nearly pulling off a remarkable comeback.

“Kevin is our go-to guy,” said Derrick Williams, who stepped up to score 27 points off the bench. “He’s the heart of our team.”

Earlier in the contest, Love gave Kenneth Faried a hard shoulder to the chest as the Nuggets rookie flew down the lane after a rebound. Faried tumbled to the floor and had to be helped off, only to quickly return.

The injury-riddled Timberwolves were already missing Luke Ridnour, who is sidelined with a sprained right ankle. In addition, coach Rick Adelman said before the contest that Wayne Ellington was dealing with back spasms. He didn’t play against the Nuggets.

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Arron Afflalo added 21 points for the surging Nuggets, who have won two straight to remain in the thick of the Western Conference playoff race.

Love sustained a head injury early in the game after taking an inadvertent elbow to the head from JaVale McGee when the Nuggets center went up for a shot. Love had missed all five of his shots before being knocked out of the game.

He was going to be kept overnight at an area hospital for precautionary reasons.

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Yes, the prodigious Minnesota Timberwolves point guard sighed a few times during his first public comments about the torn anterior cruciate and lateral collateral ligaments in his left knee that cut short his promising rookie year. He acknowledged feeling “sad, mad” immediately after the injury. The crutches he used to reach the podium will be at his side for another month. He said he’s unsure if he’ll be recovered in time to take part in training camp or the start of next season.

But Rubio, who had reconstructive surgery on March 21, remained his usual optimistic self, displaying again the upbeat attitude that fits well with the boyish looks that only enhanced the soaring popularity founded by his basketball skills.

“I was happy to see all the people helping me and just giving shout-outs,” Rubio said on Tuesday at Target Center, referring to well-wishes he’s received from fellow NBA stars like Kevin Durant and Dwyane Wade as well as encouragement from “people on the street.”

The Wolves were in eighth place in the Western Conference and in line for a playoff spot right before Rubio was hurt in the closing seconds of a loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on March 9. They are 4-13 since his injury, falling to 25-33. After rehabilitating for more than two weeks in Vail, Colo., where Dr. Richard Steadman performed the operation, Rubio returned to Minnesota and attended his team’s game on Monday for the first time since he was hurt.

“You want to play so bad. You just have to enjoy watching basketball, because it’s the only way you can do it,” Rubio said.

Rubio has a follow-up exam in a month with Steadman. Until then, it’s useless to place a timetable on his return. The Timberwolves have said they expect him to be ready for the beginning of the 2012-13 regular season, which would be about 7 1/2 months from the injury, but recovery can take as long as nine months.

“I don’t know when I’m going to come back. The first thing that I want to make sure is when I come back I’m 100 percent,” said Rubio, wearing a gray, zip-up hooded sweatshirt and his familiar beard and floppy black hair. “I don’t want to put a date on it, because it depends on how my knee feels.”

Rubio said he didn’t believe the injury was bad when it happened — maybe he’d miss “one or two games, not the whole season” — but he soon found out how serious it was. His protected left leg — which he can’t bend very far yet — takes up too much space for him to drive. So his family has been serving as a chauffeur system as well as emotional support.

“Obviously spirits are always high with him. He’s not a guy who gets down. Happy to see him. Hopefully he’ll have a speedy, quick recovery,” teammate Kevin Love said after Monday’s loss to the Phoenix Suns, the sixth straight for the Wolves.

Said head coach Rick Adelman: “When I’ve had contact with him he seems really upbeat. That’s going to be the whole key, making sure his rehab goes good throughout the summer. Knowing him, he’s going to do everything he can.”

In his first season after arriving from Spain, the 21-year-old — the fifth overall draft pick by the Wolves in 2009 — was averaging 10.6 points and 8.2 assists per game. His impact was much greater than that, helping revitalize a franchise and a fan base that’s been stuck in a lottery rut for the last seven years.

“You just have to be strong and do your best to try to come back even harder. I love basketball. I love playing basketball and I’m going to do my best to play again,” Rubio said.

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The Suns are much more than just Steve Nash these days, and the free-falling Minnesota Timberwolves discovered that the hard way on Monday night.

Markieff Morris had 21 points and six rebounds to help the Suns’ reserves outscore Minnesota’s 66-27 in a 114-90 victory over the Timberwolves.

Shannon Brown had 17 points and seven rebounds and Nash had 14 points and five assists for the Suns, who have won five of their last six games and 11 of 16 to surge back into the playoff picture. They started the day one game behind Denver for eighth in the West.

“These last four or five games, I mean, they’ve carried us,” Suns forward Jared Dudley said of the second unit. “They’ve carried the starters, they’ve done well.”

Kevin Love had 25 points and 13 rebounds for the Timberwolves, who have lost six in a row. They have lost 22 straight games in April dating back to 2009.

“We just need to go down swinging, have fun with the game, live in the present,” said Love, who went 7 for 19 from the floor. “We can’t go out like this.”

J.J. Barea had 16 points, but the Wolves’ massive defensive problems continued with the Suns shooting 57 percent.

Sebastian Telfair had 14 points and seven assists and Michael Redd scored 13 points for the Suns, the sixth straight game he’s scored in double figures. That’s an encouraging sign for Phoenix (30-27), which improved to a season-high three games over .500.

“It’s great,” Morris said. “Especially if our first unit doesn’t start the game off great, we come in and we just try to play as hard as possible and set the tone for them when they come back.”

The Suns’ best days appeared to be behind them at the start of the season when they were 12-19 in their first 31 games. They’ve been an entirely different team since the All-Star break, with Nash’s supporting cast knocking down the open shots that he has been creating for years. They are 16-7 since the break, second only to San Antonio in the West.

Nash deserves plenty of the credit, as usual. He’s orchestrating an offense that did not receive any help at the trade deadline and has been without veteran Grant Hill since March 30 because of a knee injury.

“I just marvel at him,” Wolves coach Rick Adelman said. “He’s actually kept this team going. He’s actually willed them to stay in this race and you’ve got to give him credit.”

He’s had some help, though.

Brown has filled in beautifully since stepping into the starting lineup. He entered the night averaging 17.6 points in his eight games as a starter, including 24 points in a win over the Lakers on Saturday night in which the Suns’ reserves outscored the Lakers’ 58-10.

“Hopefully it never, ever, ever ends,” Brown said of his hot hand.

He got out quickly on Monday night, scoring 11 points and grabbing seven rebounds in the first quarter. Channing Frye and Marcin Gortat both were in foul trouble early in the first half, but Morris and Redd came off the bench to fill it up in their place. Morris scored 12 points in the first half and Redd had eight to keep the Suns humming on offense.

Minnesota trimmed a 15-point lead to five points early in the third quarter, but the Suns responded in a heartbeat.

Frye, Nash and Brown all hit 3s in a 21-4 run for a 77-55 lead that was far too much for the short-handed Wolves to overcome.

Minnesota was in the playoff hunt in early March until a rash of injuries derailed everything. Ricky Rubio went down with a torn ACL, Nikola Pekovic missed significant time with an ankle injury, Michael Beasley was out with a bad toe, Luke Ridnour with a sprained right ankle and Barea struggled with a pulled groin.

Rubio returned to Target Center on Monday night for the first time since he had surgery on March 9. He planned to speak to reporters Tuesday afternoon.

“It’s hard to be out there and see that there’s no energy,” Love said. “It’s saddening to me and tough most of all for the fans.”

NOTES: The Suns set a franchise record for fewest turnovers with just three against the Lakers. They doubled that in the first six minutes on Monday night. … Suns coach Alvin Gentry got technical foul from Eddie F. Rush in the second quarter while pleading for a 3-second call on Pekovic. Rush did call the 3 seconds, but not before he saw Gentry hopping up and down on the sideline. … Beasley received a technical foul in the fourth quarter for kicking the ball.

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Smith, who had his third career double-double, made his first eight shots and finished 12 for 16. Chris Kaman added 21 points on 9-for-10 shooting and Greivis Vasquez had 10 assists for New Orleans, which bounced back from its most lopsided loss of the year, 128-104 at San Antonio on Friday.

Kevin Love had 29 points and 12 rebounds for Minnesota, which lost its fifth in a row and 13th in its last 17. Michael Beasley, who was questionable with a toe injury, added 20 points.

New Orleans went ahead for good with a 12-0 run late in the third quarter and led by as many as 12. Minnesota pulled within two twice in the fourth.

The Timberwolves quickly erased almost all of a 12-point deficit to start the fourth quarter. Beasley scored seven points during a 12-2 run in the first 4 minutes, capping it off with a 3 from the top that closed the gap to 81-79 and forced New Orleans to take a timeout with 8:04 left.

New Orleans stretched its lead to 90-83 when Kaman hit two free throws and converted a three-point play off a putback before Beasley sank another 3 to make the score 90-86.

Vasquez scored on a driving layup through and a floater in the lane as the Hornets went up 94-86 with 2:53 left. The Timberwolves’ only points in the last 3:40 came on Love’s bank shot.

The Hornets outshot Minnesota 49 percent to 41 percent and outrebounded the Timberwolves 48-33.

Minnesota, which was 2 for 9 on 3-point attempts in the first half, made four in a little more than 2 minutes during the third quarter. The last one, a wide-open shot from Love in the corner that gave the Timberwolves a 59-57 lead, forced Hornets coach Monty Williams to burn a timeout.

New Orleans responded with a 14-0 run that gave it a 79-67 lead entering the fourth. Al-Farouq Aminu and Vasquez hit 3s as the Hornets went back ahead, and Eric Gordon hit another trey that barely rippled the net to give them a 71-62 advantage.

Carl Landry’s free throws with 24 seconds left gave them their largest lead, 79-67.

The Hornets led 46-41 at the half thanka to flawless shooting from their frontcourt. Smith connected on all eight of his attempts and Kaman was 5 for 5.

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The Minnesota Timberwolves’ All-Star leads the NBA in minutes played this season. After another 43 of them in a loss to Golden State on Wednesday night, Love admitted that he’s starting feel the toll.

Love still scored 29 points and grabbed 12 rebounds in the game. But he went 0 for 7 from 3-point range, including one at the buzzer that could have sent it into overtime.

The Timberwolves have lost four straight and have seen four of their top five players miss time with injuries in the last month. That puts most of the scoring responsibility on Love. He says “it’s tough to play Superman every night.”

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Charles Jenkins had 19 points and seven assists and Richard Jefferson scored 13 of 5-of-7 shooting for the Warriors, who snapped a six-game losing streak. They trailed by 20 with less than two minutes to play in the first half, but outscored Minnesota 40-19 over the next eight minutes of game time.

The Warriors led by 10 with seven minutes to play, but the Wolves tied it with 90 seconds to go. Then Jenkins, a virtually unknown rookie second-round draft pick from Hofstra, scored on a driving layup with 20 seconds to go put the Warriors up for good.

Jenkins has started five of the last six games with star guard Stephen Curry out because of another ankle injury, and he’s responded in a major way. He had 27 points and six assists against Portland on March 25, then 18 points and 12 assists against the Nets on March 30.

He went 8 of 13 from the field on Wednesday, getting to the rim at will against the Wolves.

“I continue to be pleased. I’m not surprised because he’s a gamer,” Warriors coach Mark Jackson said. “He’s a guy that works his tail off, competes, defends, not afraid to get into the paint area, made plays and was one of the best players on the floor tonight.”

Kevin Love had 29 points and 12 rebounds and Wayne Ellington scored 10 of his 17 points in the fourth quarter for the Timberwolves, who have lost four in a row and five of their last six to fall out of contention in the Western Conference playoff race.

J.J. Barea had 15 points and eight assists in his return from a six-game absence due to a bruised thigh. But he also committed seven of Minnesota’s 19 turnovers.

Barea’s 3-pointer from the elbow tied it at 94 with 1:24 to play, but playing with the bravado his coach did during a brilliant NBA career, Jenkins drove to the basket and somehow scooped a shot under Love’s arm for a 96-94 Golden State lead with 20.4 seconds remaining.

“We hesitated to get there, but he takes a tough shot and he makes it,” Wolves coach Rick Adelman said. “Those are game-winning plays and that’s what you have to have. We were doing that before and we’re not doing that now.”

The Wolves had a chance to tie it with 0.7 seconds left, but Love’s 3 at the buzzer was just short.

Even after losing Ricky Rubio to a torn ACL on March 9, the Timberwolves still had legitimate playoff hopes as the month started to wind down. But even more injuries followed, with Nikola Pekovic, Barea and Michael Beasley all missing significant time, and the Wolves were 4½ back of Houston for the eighth spot in the West heading into the day.

Point guard Luke Ridnour missed the first of what is expected to be at least a week of games with a sprained right ankle, dimming their hopes even more.

The Warriors waved goodbye to the postseason long ago, and turned their eyes to next season when they traded fan favorite Monta Ellis to Milwaukee for the injured Andrew Bogut and the disgruntled Stephen Jackson to San Antonio for Richard Jefferson.

They showed little interest in the early going of the second night of a back-to-back, settling for jumper after jumper and not capitalizing on a Minnesota defense that has been porous for the last three weeks.

Golden State scored six points in the first eight minutes of the second quarter and was down 49-29 after Ellington’s 3-pointer with 1:53 to play in the half.

Then, seemingly out of nowhere, the Warriors came alive. They scored 10 straight points in less than a minute to cut the halftime deficit to 12, then poured it on with a 38-point third period. Klay Thompson started knocking down those jumpers that were missed early in the game, and Lee’s work on the boards helped offset Love’s usual dominance.

NOTES: Pekovic started the game 4 for 4, giving him 11 straight made field goals, a streak that was snapped with his first shot of the second half. … Wolves rookie Derrick Williams had just three points and four boards in 13 minutes. … The Warriors entered the night second in the NBA in 3-point shooting at .387, but hit just 25 percent on Wednesday night.

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J.J. Barea was in the starting lineup Wednesday night against the Golden State Warriors after missing the previous six games because of a bruised right quadriceps muscle. His return couldn’t have come at a better time for the banged-up Wolves, who lost point guard Luke Ridnour to a badly sprained right ankle Monday night.

Coach Rick Adelman says he thinks Ridnour could miss at least a week with the injury. The Timberwolves are already down starting point guard Ricky Rubio, who tore his ACL on March 9.

The Timberwolves also played without forward Michael Beasley for the fifth straight game because of a strained big toe on his left foot.

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But Evans certainly looked comfortable Monday night. He had 24 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists for the Kings, who topped the slumping Minnesota Timberwolves 116-108.

Evans was the NBA’s Rookie of the Year two seasons ago and had an injury-plagued season a year ago when his stats dropped.

He has been tentative at times this season after coach Keith Smart inserted rookie Isaiah Thomas at point guard and Evans became the starting small forward.

Yet Evans was anything but tentative against the injury-plagued Timberwolves.

He played with the abandon of his rookie season, driving fearlessly to the basket on the fast break and often times scoring before the Timberwolves had a chance to slow him down.

“I’m trying to get used to it,” Evans said about playing small forward. “It’s up to me to be aggressive and to keep attacking. When I rebound I just get a head start and just kind of open up things because they close the paint.”

While Evans continues to search for a consistent perimeter shot, his ability to penetrate defenses remains a strength. He did it repeatedly against the Timberwolves, who lacked a defensive presence inside. Evans made 8 of 14 shots, hit 8 of 11 free throws, and had two steals and only one turnover in 38 minutes.

Despite his ball-handling duties being diminished in the normal flow of the offense, Smart still wants the creative Evans to be an offensive facilitator.

“I still put him in a position to be a playmaker,” Smart said. “Tonight was a game where he could push it up and make plays. He’s a small forward with point guard skills.”

The Kings opened the fourth quarter with an 11-0 run, aided by a pair of baskets from Evans, and never trailed the rest of the way. Sacramento entered the game having lost five of six.

The Kings made their free throws in the closing minute to secure the victory and move to 14-12 at home this season.

“They started out fast in the fourth quarter, and then we cut it to a reasonable deficit,” Kevin Love said. “But it was too late at the end. Everyone seems to be hurt right now and that’s been tough for us.”

Love had 23 points and seven rebounds for the Timberwolves, who lost their third straight and fourth in five games.

Rotating defenders, the Kings played tough defense on Love through three quarters. But the All-Star forward got going in the fourth when he scored 11 points.

“They have injuries, but Minnesota still had some talented players, and Kevin Love is one of them,” Smart said. “We tried to make sure he didn’t have a big game to beat us.”

Nikola Pekovic had 17 points, Luke Ridnour had 13 and Brad Miller had 11 points and six assists for Minnesota, which has seen its playoffs hopes dwindle since losing starting point guard Ricky Rubio last month to a season-ending knee injury.

The Timberwolves are 4-10 in Rubio’s absence. Minnesota trails Houston, which holds the eighth spot in the Western Conference.

“I’m not worried about the playoffs. We do have to turn this thing around,” Minnesota coach Rick Adelman said. “We are not going to give up on this season. We have to turn this season around with the people we have right now.”

DeMarcus Cousins had 20 points and nine rebounds for the Kings. Jimmer Fredette had 19 points, one below his season high. Isaiah Thomas had 17 points and five assists. Terrence Williams had 12 points and 12 rebounds.

Williams has been a consistent contributor since being signed to a 10-day contract on March 21. The versatile guard/forward has earned consistent minutes and last week the Kings signed him for the remainder of the season.

“He’s a player that you don’t have to depend on him scoring or doing one thing, he does them all — rebounds, passes, scores and defends,” Thomas said. “He’s one of the most complete players in this league and you need somebody like that on your team to help you win games.”

Fouled on a 3-point attempt with 1:50 left, Love made all three free throws to bring the Timberwolves within 109-104.

But Minnesota could not get closer in losing to the Kings for the second time on the road after defeating them twice at home.

Leading by one heading into the fourth quarter, the Kings ran off 11 straight points and took a 98-86 lead when Fredette connected on a 3-pointer at the 8:01 mark.

The Timberwolves missed their first six shots in the fourth and also committed several turnovers.

It didn’t help the Timberwolves that Love picked up his fourth foul with just under nine minutes left in the third quarter. Love went to the bench, but not before arguing the call and earning a technical foul.

The Minnesota bench got thinner when Ridnour was in pain near his basket after suffering a sprained right ankle. He had to be helped off the court with under a minute to play in the third and never returned.

Miller started at center for the Timberwolves and scored all 11 of his points in the first quarter. It was the first start this season for the veteran center, who played six years with the Kings.

Before the game, Miller shook hands with Kings owner Gavin Maloof who was at a courtside seat. He was greeted warmly by Sacramento fans in the pregame introductions as well.

“It was nice to come back, I have a lot of great memories here,” Miller said. “This is my home. As soon as the season is over, this is where I’ll live. I wanted to get the win, but we weren’t able to tonight. But it does feel good to at least come back here and play one last time and contribute.”

Notes: Injured Minnesota reserves Jose Barea, Michael Beasley and Darko Milicic didn’t travel with the team. … Miller is in his 13th season and has said this will be his final one. He missed the first 19 games this season following microfracture surgery on his left knee. … Marcus Thornton suffered a bruised left thigh in the first quarter and didn’t return. … The Timberwolves were 11 of 21 on 3-pointers.

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Nicolas Batum added 24 points for Portland, which is 5-5 since interim coach Kaleb Canales replaced the fired Nate McMillan.

Oregon native Kevin Love had 26 points and nine rebounds for the Timberwolves, who have lost eight of their last 10 games. Minnesota used just nine players.

Both teams have been struggling to remain in the playoff picture. The Timberwolves have had injuries, including the loss of rookie Ricky Rubio for the season, while the Blazers have been adjusting to the dismissal of McMillan and the trade of starters Marcus Camby and Gerald Wallace at the deadline.

Minnesota guard J.J. Barea was out for the fifth straight game with a bruised right quadriceps and forward Michael Beasley missed his third game with a sprained big toe on his left foot.

Center Nikola Pekovic, who has missed six games with bone spurs in his right ankle, was with the team on it short two-game road trip to Portland and Sacramento, but coach Rick Adelman said before the game that he would not play

“You don’t want to rush him back and then he gets so sore you lose him again,” Adelman said.

The game was tied at 27 at the end of the first quarter, but when Love rested early in the second, Portland took a 37-31 lead on Jamal Crawford’s pull-up jumper. Portland stretched the lead to 49-42 on another Crawford jumper and the Blazers led 57-50 at the half.

Love had 18 points at the break.

Batum’s 3-pointer and free throw gave the Blazers a 79-68 lead with 4:13 left. Batum blocked Luke Ridnour on the other end to pave the way for Aldridge’s fast-break dunk, giving Portland its biggest lead of the game.

Ridnour made a 3 to narrow it to 86-82 for the Timberwolves late in the third quarter, but Luke Babbitt made a layup at the buzzer.

Crawford’s long jumper put the Blazers up 105-89 midway through the final quarter.

In the Timberwolves’ previous visit to the Rose Garden on March 3, Love finished with 42 points, one shy of his career high, and Minnesota won 122-110.

Love grew up just south of the Rose Garden in Lake Oswego. At Lake Oswego High, he was half of a spectacular prep class in the state of Oregon with Kyle Singler of Medford. Love went on to play at UCLA while Singler played at Duke.

Love’s performance in March was helping preserve the Timberwolves’ playoff aspirations. He averaged a league-best 30.7 points, 13.9 rebounds and shot 48 percent from 3-point range.

NOTES: Before the game the Blazers honored longtime broadcaster and Portland native Steve “Snapper” Jones. “I’m just here feeling the love,” said Jones, 70. … Both teams were also coming off losses. The Timberwolves fell 100-79 at home to the Celtics on Friday, while Portland lost 98-97 to the Clippers in Los Angeles the same night.

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The 35-year-old Garnett has heard some suggest that 23-year-old Kevin Love has already usurped him as the best Timberwolves player ever.

Love may one day get there. But not today. The Old Wolf showed the Young Pup who still runs things in Minnesota.

Garnett had 24 points, 10 rebounds and four assists in his return to Target Center and the Boston Celtics outmuscled Love and the Timberwolves in a 100-79 victory Friday night.

“We’ve been watching, keeping track of all his accolades and what he’s been doing of late,” Garnett said of Love. “If y’all know anything about me, you know that I was more than ready and prepared tonight.”

Paul Pierce had 21 points and nine rebounds, and Rajon Rondo had 17 assists for the Celtics, who have won four in a row and six of their last seven. They’re all alone in first place in the Atlantic Division for the first time all season, and that’s with Ray Allen missing the last five games with a sore right ankle.

Love had 22 points and 11 rebounds, but succumbed to Garnett’s physical defense in a battle between the face of the Timberwolves past and present.

“Kevin is the best player to ever play here and Kevin Love has a chance to be that as well or one of them,” Celtics coach Doc Rivers said. “I thought both were probably up for it. I know I would have been if it was me.”

Luke Ridnour had 15 points and eight assists, but the Wolves turned the ball over 21 times to see their playoff hopes take a hit. They entered 2 1/2 games out of the eighth spot in the West.

Garnett improved to 6-0 against the Wolves, including 4-0 at Target Center since he was traded in 2007.

He has been playing with a little extra spring in his step since Rivers moved him to center at the All-Star break, and so have the Celtics, who are 14-5 since the break.

It was the third straight game Garnett has topped 20 points, his longest streak of the season.

He bodied up Love — his heir apparent in Minnesota — on defense and knocked down open jumper after open jumper on the other end to set the tone.

The old man even threw down an alley-oop in transition in the third quarter and put the game on ice with his patented turnaround jumper over Love that made it 92-78 with four minutes to play.

“I think KG took it personal tonight,” Wolves forward Anthony Tolliver said. “I’m sure he’s been hearing a lot of stuff about Kevin Love being the best power forward in the league.”

Without Montenegrin heavy Nikola Pekovic (ankle) by his side in the paint, Love had a hard time going toe-to-toe with the physical Celtics.

Garnett spent 12 seasons in Minnesota, nearly single-handedly turning the woebegone franchise into a perennial playoff team that made a run to the Western Conference finals in 2004. The deeply loyal Garnett didn’t want to leave when the Timberwolves traded him. But when the deal was made, things turned sour.

Timberwolves executives were unhappy with Garnett’s demeanor behind the scenes and Garnett seethed over a perceived lack of loyalty from the organization, particularly when owner Glen Taylor alleged that KG “tanked it” at the end of the 2006-07 season by sitting on the bench with injuries.

Earlier this week, he was quoted as saying he loves Minnesota and the fans who cheered for him so passionately, but had “nothing positive to say” about the organization.

During the second quarter, Garnett was taking the ball out of bounds and a fan hollered: “Hey Kevin, please come back next year!”

Garnett simply muttered: “No way.”

The Wolves have a new face of the franchise in Love, who has put together a monster March — averaging 31.3 points, 14.1 rebounds and shooting 46 percent from 3-point range coming into the game — to keep the short-handed Wolves hanging around the playoff conversation.

But he couldn’t live up to Garnett’s legacy Friday night.

“Two totally different players. The only thing that’s really the same about us two is our first names,” Love said. “It’s a really unfair comparison. He’s a once-in-a-generation, once-in-a-lifetime type player.

“If I could do some of the things that he did for this franchise, it would be nice. More than anything, I just want to win and he brought a lot of winning years to this franchise. Hopefully more than anything I can try to emulate that.”

Notes: Rondo has at least 10 assists in 12 straight games, the longest active streak in the league. … Avery Bradley scored 17 points for Boston. … The Wolves were also missing JJ Barea (thigh) and Michael Beasley (toe). Barea said he will not make the upcoming road trip to Portland and Sacramento. … Vanilla Ice performed at halftime.

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MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — A Champlin Park High School senior has high hopes for prom.

Eighteen-year-old Georgetta Wuo is trying to get Timberwolves point guard Ricky Rubio to be her date. She posted a YouTube video asking the 21-year-old Spanish basketball star to prom last Friday. The video has more than 18,000 views, and Rubio’s teammates have seen it, too.

J.J. Barea, Rubio’s fellow point guard, said Rubio should go.

“I don’t think he’s ever been to prom, so I think it’d be fun for him,” Barea said.

Kevin Love also said Rubio should go, since he can probably make the date.

“There’s no game that night,” Love said. “If Ricky’s in town, I think he should go.”

Anthony Tolliver noted that since Rubio is recovering from ACL surgery, he’s got some time on his hands.

“Heck yeah, he should do it,” Tolliver said. “Why not? He’s not going to be doing anything!”

See what else Rubio’s teammates had to say in the video above.