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Friday, Feb. 23 8:00pm ET
Warriors have dropped 12 of 13

RECAP | BOX SCORE | GAME FLOW

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – Terrell Brandon had one of the best games of his nine-year career Friday night, but that didn't mean he enjoyed talking about himself any more than he had to.

Brandon had 27 points, 10 rebounds and a career-high 16 assists as the Minnesota Timberwolves snapped a five-game skid with a flawless 122-83 win over the Golden State Warriors. He had his second career triple-double and shot 11-for-14 in 33 minutes.

Brandon also held the Warriors' Mookie Blaylock to four points. That, to Minnesota coach Flip Saunders, was the most important part.

"We wanted him to have that defensive mindset," Saunders said. "Then he feels like he's got a little pop in his step."

Brandon's teammates agreed.

"When Terrell plays very aggressive on both ends, that's when it starts for us," said Kevin Garnett.

"Terrell kind of broke the ice for us," said Wally Szczerbiak. "We just followed his lead."

Brandon, whose placid demeanor rarely changes win or lose, remained true to form after the game in the hallway outside the Timberwolves' locker room. He nearly slipped out without talking to reporters.

"It's a win," Brandon said. "Games like this come and go, you forget about it."

Larry Hughes had 18 points for Golden State, which lost its seventh straight.

"We started out pretty well," Golden State coach Dave Cowens said. "Then Brandon got hot."

Brandon returned the Timberwolves to pre-All-Star break form immediately with a 16-point, 6-for-6 first quarter. He scored more points in the first 10 minutes than he did in the Wolves' three previous matchups with the Warriors.

Brandon insisted he wasn't trying anything different to halt the Wolves' losing skid.

"I never do," Brandon said. "Sometimes the shots are there."

A jovial Garnett made up for his teammate's lack of enthusiasm.

"When you break it, you want to shatter it," Garnett said of the losing skid. "Tonight, it was ante up."

Garnett had 23 points, Szczerbiak added 14 and Chauncey Billups 12. Even Reggie Slater had a six-point, five-rebound first quarter in his first start of the season.

Dean Garrett was the only player who didn't score for Minnesota, which shot a season-best 58 percent and committed a season-low seven turnovers.

Minnesota, which had won 11 straight before the break, made a season-high nine 3-pointers against the league's worst defensive team. The Warriors are allowing more than 100 points per game.

"They hit a lot of shots, but we've made a lot of teams look good in that category," Cowens said. "We were really flat at the beginning of the second half. That upset me. Our guys came out with their strings in their pants."

The Wolves opened the third quarter with a 15-0 run and built a 99-52 lead after three quarters.

"Our defense was pretty poor," Bob Sura said. "We're the worst defensive team to start with. And then we gave them open looks.

Antawn Jamison scored 14 points and Adonal Foyle added 12 for the Warriors.

Game notes
Golden State has lost 12 of its last 13 games and eight straight on the road. ... Center Marc Jackson (groin strain), along with forwards Chris Mullin (back strain) and Chris Porter (ankle sprain), didn't dress. With center Erick Dampier and forwards Danny Fortson and Chris Mills already on the injured list, the six missing from the Warriors' frontcourt accounted for 63 points and 42 rebounds per game. Golden State's players have lost a collective 254 games to injuries. ... Brandon and Blaylock entered the game tied for third in the league in steals.

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RECAPS
Sacramento 119
Toronto 118

Indiana 92
Cleveland 90

Phoenix 88
New York 84

Philadelphia 99
Detroit 78

Minnesota 122
Golden State 83

Houston 105
Orlando 95

Milwaukee 93
Vancouver 81

San Antonio 100
Boston 82

Utah 96
Seattle 84

LA Lakers 113
Atlanta 106


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