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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME FLOW
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- Minnesota coach Flip Saunders hopes Terrell
Brandon listens to him more often.
Brandon had 24 points, 12 assists and five rebounds Thursday
night as the Timberwolves beat Washington 105-88, handing the
Wizards their sixth straight loss.
"Terrell was great," Saunders said. "As I was telling him the
other day, 'You don't give yourself enough credit. You have the
opportunity to dominate games.' "
Saunders said he talked with his point guard at practice
Wednesday about being more aggressive with his shot. Brandon shot
9-for-14 against Washington, but said afterward that he will
continue to look to distribute the ball first.
"It's about feeding people and getting people involved,"
Brandon said.
"It's all about the team, not about me," he added. "Just play
hard and get the job done."
Brandon helped the Timberwolves put the game away in the third
quarter, scoring 14 points on 5-of-7 shooting to give Minnesota an
80-66 lead.
Washington never got closer than 14 the rest of the way.
"He was on fire," Washington coach Leonard Hamilton said of
Brandon. "We just didn't seem to have an answer for him tonight."
Kevin Garnett scored 24 points and Wally Szczerbiak added 18 for
Minnesota, which never trailed. Garnett also had seven rebounds and
five assists, and the Timberwolves shot a season-high 52.4 percent
from the field.
"We had that flow going throughout our offense," Garnett said.
Richard Hamilton scored 22 points off the bench for the Wizards.
Felipe Lopez added 12, but Juwan Howard, matched up for the most
part with Garnett, was held to just six points on 2-of-10 shooting.
"He was really active on Howard," Saunders said of Garnett.
"It was pretty much an N.C., no contest."
"K.G. is a great player," Howard said. "Tonight he had the
better game, but that's the special thing about this league that I
get to play him again in Washington.
"But, it's not me versus K.G.," he added. "It's Minnesota
versus the Wizards and tonight the better team won."
Minnesota made seven of its first nine shots, punctuated by
Garnett's alley-oop dunk off a Brandon pass, to take a 16-10 lead
midway through the first quarter. After Washington got within one,
the Timberwolves went on a 12-2 run to extend their lead to 34-23.
Hamilton and Lopez each scored eight points in the second
quarter as Washington pulled to 54-49 at halftime.
"I'm just trying to do everything possible to try and put us in
a position to win," said Hamilton, who led Washington in scoring
for the fifth time this season. "If we need a scorer, I think I
can go ahead and do that."
Garnett was playing with his right ring finger heavily taped. He
left practice early Wednesday to have the finger examined after
getting hit against the Bulls on Tuesday.
Minnesota shot 16-for-17 from the free throw line and Washington
was 12-of-13.
Game
notes
Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor and coach Flip Saunders did
not comment on the possibility that the team's settlement
discussions with the NBA, in the Joe Smith contract case, could
lead to the return of one of the five first-round draft picks that
were taken away in October by commissioner David Stern. ...
Entering the game, Washington had an 8-1 record against Minnesota
at the Target Center and had won eight of the last nine against the
Wolves overall. ... Center Dean Garrett made his first start of the
season for Minnesota in place of Rasho Nesterovic because of "a
combination of aggressiveness and productivity and Dean Garret's
productivity," according to Saunders. ... Howard took just two
shots in the second half and missed both. ... Washington was
outrebounded 42-29.
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ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard
Washington Clubhouse
Minnesota Clubhouse
RECAPS
Orlando 103
Denver 93
Phoenix 104
Milwaukee 96
Minnesota 105
Washington 88
New York 86
San Antonio 83
Utah 98
Vancouver 87
 FROM
ATHLETESDIRECT
Kevin Garnett Official Site
Juwan Howard Official Site
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