Wolves record: 21-53
Facing one of the worst teams in the league that was missing its two best players, the Nets started flat on offense and appeared wholly uninterested on the defensive side of the ball in a loss that may have sunk them into too big a hole.
Playing more aggressively than he has in months, Mike Miller had 22 points, 10 rebounds and five assists to help the Minnesota Timberwolves snap a seven-game losing streak with a 108-99 victory over the fading Nets on Sunday.
Ryan Gomes scored 21 and Kevin Love added 16 points and 11 boards for the Timberwolves, who had lost 18 of their last 20 games…
Wolves F Mark Madsen got some rare early action in the first period, but picked up three fouls in less than 2 minutes and quickly returned to the bench.
This looked like a conpletely different Wolves team. In past games, when something like Vince Carter going off for nine straight points to open the third quarter would happen, Minnesota would crumble. Instead, today it seemed like the Wolves said ‘bring it on.’
Miller — cold from the field at times this season and reluctant to shoot at others — scored a team-high 22 points on 8-for-14 shooting and pulled down 10 rebounds. It was his fourth double-double of the month. His 14 attempts were the most since he put up 17 on Nov. 28 at Oklahoma City…
• Forward Craig Smith (calf) and Foye (hip) sat out Sunday’s game.
• Rookie forward Kevin Love, who appeared to be injured near the end of the game and walked slowly off the court, recorded his 24th double-double (16 points, 11 rebounds).
The Wolves went on an 11-0 run from the final 2:08 of the first quarter to the 10:13 mark of the second for a 35-24 lead.
They stretched it to 18 with 3:25 left in the half on three consecutive three-pointers, the last by Gomes for a 54-36 advantage.
The Nets got it down to 10 by halftime and closed to 65-60 with 7:56 to go in the third on a Devin Harris three-pointer.
Minnesota got back-to-back baskets from Miller and Jason Collins, however, to regain control and take an 84-71 lead into the final 12 minutes.