MINNEAPOLIS -- The Minnesota Timberwolves cant afford any more lazy starts like the one that got them beat two nights ago. They cant afford any more losses to teams with inferior records. Their one last, desperate playoff push begins right now. The Detroit Pistons are in the same boat. But they sure arent playing like it. Kevin Love had 28 points, 14 rebounds and five assists, and the Timberwolves led by 31 points in the third quarter en route to a 114-101 victory over the Pistons on Friday night. Kevin Martin scored 24 points and Ricky Rubio added 11 points, nine assists and eight rebounds for the Timberwolves, who trail the Dallas Mavericks by five games for the eighth and final playoff spot in the West with 21 games to go. "We have to have more discipline in what we do," said coach Rick Adelman, referring to the Wolves letting the Pistons back into the game in the fourth. "I dont care what the score is. We have to learn. Its hurt us in the past and it will hurt us again if we dont know the time and score." Greg Monroe had 20 points and 15 rebounds, and Will Bynum scored all 17 of his points in the fourth quarter for the Pistons. But Detroit shot 40 per cent and lost for the ninth time in 11 games, yet another demoralizing performance for a team that started the night just three games back of eighth-place Atlanta in the East. "Tonight our lack of defence, especially in that first half, dictated our offence," Pistons coach John Loyer said. "Its pretty hard to really have great pace and play with offensive pace if youre so lackadaisical on the defensive end, which we were." Nikola Pekovic had 17 points and nine rebounds for Minnesota (31-30), which matched its win total of last season and led by 28 when the final quarter opened. But Bynum got going in the fourth, and his driving layup cut the lead to 112-101 with a minute to play. But the deficit proved too big for the Pistons to overcome. "Sometimes coach has to make a hockey substitution and put all five (starters) back in," Martin said with a smile. "Were just happy we got a win." The Timberwolves came home from an 11-day West Coast road trip that included four wins in five games to move them one game above .500 and 4 1/2 out of the eighth and final playoff spot in the demanding Western Conference. A four-game homestand against struggling opponents had them cautiously optimistic that they could sneak back into the mix. But they opened the crucial stretch with a clunker, falling behind 15-2 en route to losing on to the woeful New York Knicks on Wednesday night. The loss stung even more when Phoenix, Dallas and Memphis, the three teams right ahead of them in the playoff chase, all lost before the Wolves hit the floor. "We learned our lesson, we played aggressive tonight and everyone did a good job," Rubio said. With almost no margin for error the rest of the way, the Wolves jumped on the Pistons from the get-go. After struggling mightily from the field and playing tentatively in his previous two games, Martin came out very aggressive in the first quarter. He hit three of his first four shots and attacked the basket with a layup that gave the Wolves a 29-11 lead. The battle under the boards between two of the most physical, tenacious rebounding front lines in the league never materialized. Monroe picked up two quick fouls and a technical in the first quarter that limited his effectiveness early and Andre Drummond, who was averaging 13.0 rebounds per game and leads the league in offensive rebounds, had just two points and one rebound while playing 15 minutes over the first three quarters due to foul trouble. Drummond finished with six points and seven rebounds before fouling out. "There are a lot of young guys and a lot of players on this team that havent been able to experience the post-season," said Pistons forward Josh Smith, who had 13 points on 4-for-14 shooting. "They wont understand it until they get in and they get that feeling. Thats when that addiction starts to creep in." NOTES: Brandon Jennings had 17 points, five assists and five rebounds for the Pistons, but did not play in the fourth quarter. ... Wolves backup PG J.J. Barea, the subject of boos from the home crowd against the Knicks, had another rough game, with four points on 2-for-8 shooting. ... The rock band Arcade Fire, including basketball aficionado Win Butler, was in attendance. .C. -- Carter Ashton had a pair of goals and added an assist as the Toronto Marlies downed the Charlotte Checkers 5-2 on Saturday in the American Hockey League. . After a 99-97 loss to the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday night, his Celtics coaches and teammates have only positive things to say about the Toronto-born rookie.
http://www.authenticbasketballshophawks ... ks-jersey/. The New York State Supreme Court only partially dismissed the lawsuit, meaning the case could be headed for trial. The tour announced a year ago that Singh would be suspended for saying in a Sports Illustrated story that he took deer antler spray, which was believed to contain the banned substance IGF-1. . Rookie Marek Mazanec made 39 saves for his first NHL victory and the Predators beat the Chicago Blackhawks 7-2 Saturday night. . Los Angeles announced its new deal for Kupchak late in the fourth quarter of a 145-130 loss to the Houston Rockets. Kupchak had one year left on his current contract.BETHESDA, Md. -- Patrick Reed is not interested in talking about being top five in the world. He only cares about PGA Tour victory No. 4. Reed, who turned off some of his peers when he won at Doral and said he was among the top five players in the world, held it together Saturday at steamy Congressional for an even-par 71 to build a two-shot lead in the Quicken Loans National. As if Congressional wasnt difficult, the rest of the field now has to chase a guy who has won all three previous PGA Tour events when he had at least a share of the lead going into the final round. On a day when making pars often meant moving forward, Reed overcame three bogeys in a seven-hole stretch by playing the last five holes at 1 under for a two-shot margin over Seung-yul Noh, Freddie Jacobson and Marc Leishman. "You cant get ahead of yourself," Reed said. "If you think about having the lead or if you think about what youre going to do coming down 18, youre going to lose focus on the rest of the holes." Reed was at 6-under 207. The final round will have a player in the last group with a red shirt, only it wont be tournament host Tiger Woods, who missed the cut. Reed has been wearing a red shirt and black pants on Sunday to pattern himself after Woods. He also cited Woods when asked which player was his idol in being confident. Reed took that to a new level when he won at Doral and said he felt he was among the top five in the world. He currently is No. 29. "You cant play this game with lack of confidence," Reed said. "So just one of those things that, you know, were all trying to strive for the same thing, and some guys get there and thats all were trying to do." Dating to his first PGA Tour win at the Wyndham Championship last August, the only top 10s Reed has had have been victories. He attributes his sporadic play to his wife having their first child last month. Now, Reed says his life is becoming settled and his game is rounding into shape. Noh finished off his 5-under 66 -- the best score of the third round -- about the time the leaders went off. He was at 4-under 209, which looked better by the hour. Jacobson made four birdies in his opening eight holes to reach 8 under, only to take double bogey on the 11th hole and a sloppy bogey on the par-5 16th hole. He wound up with a 71. Leishman was still only one shot behind until he failed to get up-and-down for par on the 17th and fell to a 73.dddddddddddd "At the start of the day, we probably knew that anything under par was going to be a really good score," Leishman said. "I actually said to my caddie, It feels a bit like a U.S. Open because there were a few pins that you really didnt have a chance to get at. But I think thats good. Its a tough golf course. Its long. If youre not in the fairway, you have no chance." Reed was not in the fairway on two holes where he made birdie, and he managed to pull it off. In deep rough to the right of the fourth fairway, he was 169 yards away and decided to smash a 9-iron to clear the bunker instead of trying a soft 8-iron. It worked out perfectly. The ball bounded past the hole and up a slope, and slowly rolled back to within inches of the cup. "I thought there was about a 3 per cent chance I could cover that bunker, and I ended up being perfect," Reed said. "It was nice whenever I saw it roll up the hill and I saw it come back down because I thought, All right, we have about 5, 7 feet for birdie. Didnt know it was a couple inches, which was nice." Oliver Goss of Australia, the U.S. Amateur runner-up last year making his second pro start, was part of a four-way tie for the lead going into the third round. He was still in the mix until a three-putt from 10 feet for double bogey on No. 11. He had a 76, though he was still only five shots behind. Justin Rose was within two shots of the lead after a hot start, only to make bogey on the par-5 ninth and a double bogey on the 11th hole. He battled back with a pair of late birdies, only to drop another shot on the 18th for a 71. Even so, he was only three shots behind. This could be a perfect fit for a U.S. Open champion. None of the last 26 players who teed off broke 70. Rose took note of the rapidly changing colour of the greens, and his only fear was officials watering the greens overnight, which would make it easier for the early starters. "Id be a fan of them letting them go a little bit and making this a tough tournament and sort of having another U.S. Open," Rose said. "That would be my wish right now. But obviously, the course is firm. Wedges were releasing 10 yards by the end of the day. Its definitely a test. It was fun. I enjoy that type of golf." ' ' '
