SALT LAKE CITY -- After Kevin Love hit back-to-back 3-pointers again, Enes Kanter put his hands out to his side and said, "What can I do?" No one in the NBA seems to have an answer. Love continued his torrid pace with 37 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists for his first career triple-double to help the Minnesota Timberwolves cruise past the Utah Jazz 121-104 Saturday night. "I thought at some point it would happen. Ive been very close. Happy it was tonight and more happy we got the win," Love said of achieving the triple-double. "This is one Ill definitely remember." Minnesota was again playing without starters Nikola Pekovic (ankle) and Kevin Martin (finger), but Love filled the void, keeping one step ahead of the Jazz through the game. He compiled all his statistics in 32 minutes to earn a spot on the bench for the final nine minutes of the Wolves third runaway win against the Jazz this season. "Kevin Love was unbelievable. Hes incredible," Minnesota coach Rick Adelman said. "To get a triple-double in three quarters, thats pretty darn good." Ricky Rubio had 15 points, and Corey Brewer and Chase Budinger scored 13 apiece as the Wolves won their third straight for just their third streak of three-plus victories. "Its fun to play with him," Rubio said of Love. Kanter couldnt stop Love, but had success against him on the offensive end, scoring 25 points for the Jazz, who dropped their third in a row after a season-best three-game win streak. Kanter didnt get much help. Trey Burke had 16 points on 7-of-19 shooting and Alec Burks added 15 for the Jazz, who played without starting centre Derrick Favours. Utah dropped to 0-9 without the defensive-minded Favours in the lineup and the Jazz allowed the Wolves to shoot 51 per cent. A lot of that also had to do with Love, who often ignited fast breaks with long outlet passes and crafty feeds around the perimeter. When the Jazz didnt run another player at him, Love made a bevy of outside shots as well as his regular quota of post moves and put-backs. Love was 6 of 10 from beyond the arc and committed just one turnover. He is averaging more than 33 points and 15 rebounds over his last nine contests and this effort marked his fourth straight 30-plus point game, tying Kevin Garnetts franchise record. "He made some crazy shots. He plays with his heart, and he plays hard," Kanter said. Even without Pekovic, the Timberwolves outrebounded the Jazz 49-34 and had 24 fast-break points to Utahs 13. After leading Minnesota a 59-49 lead at halftime, Love hit consecutive 3-pointers and scored eight points in a 10-3 run for a 69-52 advantage that left Utah post defenders shaking their heads. Another pair of 3-pointers from Love later in the third quarter stretched the lead to 85-64. Love had 22 points in the third period alone. "The third quarter was incredible. A tremendous effort, especially with how short-handed we were," Adelman marveled. The Wolves still need to make up five games to reach the playoffs in the deep Western Conference, but they have started their charge without their second- and third-leading scorers. Martin (19.0 points) has been sidelined for five games with a non-displaced fracture in his left thumb and Pekovic (18.0 points) has sat out the last 11 due to right ankle bursitis. Love -- whose 46 double-doubles lead the league -- was the perfect passer for the Wolves fast-breaking strategy against the Jazz. Minnesota released whoever was defending a perimeter jump shooter for easy layups on the other end after Love found them with one-handed passes. "My parents never let me play football. It was my way of being a quarterback out there," Love said. Love registered his career-best 10th assist when he grabbed a defensive rebound and let fly a three-quarter-court pass to Brewer, who had outrun the defence and got a layup. "I was glad it was Brew for the 10th assist. It was fitting that it came in an outlet pass," Love said. NOTES: Pekovic practiced Friday and worked out hard Saturday and may be ready to return to the court in the next couple games. ... Utahs backcourt trio of Burke, Burks and Gordon Hayward shot a combined 9 of 40. ... The Jazz shot 16 per cent from beyond the arc. ... Minnesota beat Utah 98-72 on Jan. 18 and won 112-97 on Jan. 21. . First time Wolves have had three players with seven or more assists (Rubio and Barea had seven each) in the same game since Mar. 4, 2007 at Boston. . People familiar with the case told The Associated Press on Friday that arbitrator Fredric Horowitz could issue his decision this weekend. . The group of Slava Fetisov, Igor Larionov, Vladimir Konstantinov, Sergei Fedorov, & Slava Kozlov were a dominant force for The Wings at one point in the 90s.
http://www.officialgoldenknightsfanstor ... rsey-c-29/. Jovanovski, the 2012 champ seeded fifth, will meet surprise Japanese qualifier Misa Eguchi on Friday. Eguchi, ranked 183rd, qualified for her first WTA main draw this week, then beat No. . HEROES Alex Ovechkin – Scored a pair of goals in Washington’s 4-0 win over Pittsburgh. With 13 goals in the past 13 games, Ovechkin now has 29 goals on the season to lead the league. . Each day, TSN.ca provides the latest rumours, reports and speculation from around the NHL beat. Duck Calling With several marquee centres available via trade and expected to be available via free agency, the Anaheim Ducks could be primed to be big players in the coming days.HOUSTON -- The Houston Rockets were on the verge of their third straight home loss after blowing a double-digit, second-half lead for the second consecutive game. This time, guard James Harden said, the Rockets found the will to win. Jeremy Lin scored 31 points off the bench, Dwight Howard had 18 points and 24 rebounds, and the Rockets beat the Toronto Raptors 110-104 in double-overtime to snap a two-game losing streak. "(This game) was something," Houston coach Kevin McHale said. "We still are a little bit in the mud, but the guys came out defensively and did a really good job. We were grinding. We just found a way to win. Thats just kind of what we had to do." Lin shot 10 of 17 from the field and hit 8 of 9 from the free throw line. Harden finished with 26 points and 10 assists. Howard was just 4 of 12 at the foul line. Chandler Parsons had 18 points, five rebounds and five assists for the Rockets. Lin was the first player to score 30-plus points off the bench for Houston since Chase Budinger had 30 points against Cleveland on Feb. 23, 2011. "Midway through the third I was feeling pretty good," Lin said. "I got in my rhythm. I got a few shots to go down. Everything just kind of slowed down." Rudy Gay led the Raptors with 29 points and 10 rebounds but shot 11 of 37 from the field. DeMar DeRozan added 22 points, but he struggled as well, finishing 6 of 25. Jonas Valanciunas chipped in 10 points and 13 rebounds, Amir Johnson had 10 points and 10 boards, and Kyle Lowry netted 16 for Toronto, who shot 33 per cent from the field. "I love the way we fought," Raptors coach Dwane Casey said. "Anybody that didnt appreciate that, we had 30 more attempts. How many times have you seen that? We just have to make shots. We only shot 25 per cent in the first half, and we got back in the game with our defence." After Harden missed a jumper, Howard grabbed a rebound and gave it to Terrence Jones for a layup to give the Rockets a 106-104 lead with 1:13 to go in the second overtime. Gay missed a jumper, and Johnson missed the tip on the other end before Lin hit a floater with 33 seconds left to give the Rockets a four-point lead. Gay missed another jumper, and after review, Houston was awarded the ball with 26 seconds lleft.dddddddddddd. Patrick Beverley made one of two free throws with 20 seconds left, and Gay missed a 3-pointer with 15 seconds remaining. Harden made one of two free throws to push the lead to six and ice the win. "We lost two at home," Harden said. "We cant lose three in a row at home. We are too much of a good team to lose three games. We did whatever it took to pull it out tonight." Harden scored seven of the Rockets first nine points in the second overtime, but Gay tied it at 104 with a 3-point play with 1:50 to go. Gay tied the score at 95 in the first overtime, hitting a tough 3-pointer from the top of the top of the arc with 0.9 seconds remaining, and Lin missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer to send the game to a second extra period. "We fought with them obviously through two overtimes, and shots that we usually hit werent falling," Gay said. "You could say fatigue or a lot of different things, but they are a great team, and they played well. I just wish I wouldve hit the easy ones and maybe things wouldve worked out differently." Trailing 80-66 after Lins layup with 8:32 remaining in the fourth, Toronto knotted the score at 84 six minutes later on Terrence Rosss follow shot, capping an 18-4 run. Harden made one of two free throws to tie it at 87 with 34 seconds remaining before Gay missed a jumper with 12 seconds left, but the referees called a 24-second violation, saying the ball never hit the rim. After review, the ball hit the rim, and the officials jumped it up at midcourt, with the Rockets winning it, but Hardens jumper at the buzzer was short, sending the game to overtime. "It was a long, intense game," Harden said. "I think in the first half we did a great job defending. They only had 33 points at the half, but in the second half, we let up. Gave them confidence early in the second half when they started making shots. We have to battle it out and fight it out." NOTES: Toronto forward Steve Novak missed Mondays game with back spasms. . Houston guard/forward Francisco Garcia did not play in Mondays game as well with flu-like symptoms. . Harden was fined $5,000 Monday for violating the NBAs anti-flopping rules for a second time. Harden was cited for a fourth-quarter flop against the Los Angeles Clippers Saturday. ' ' '
