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MINNEAPOLIS -- Down 19 at home to the struggling Philadelphia 76ers, the Minnesota Timberwolves season had reached a bit of crossroads as the second quarter opened. With a brutal trip awaiting, the Wolves simply couldnt afford to drop this one. So they rolled up their sleeves and started chipping away, and the young Sixers let them right back in it. Kevin Love had 26 points, 15 rebounds and five assists and the Timberwolves got solid contributions from their beleaguered bench to beat the 76ers 106-99 on Wednesday night. "It took us a long time to get into it," coach Rick Adelman said. "But then into the second quarter, into the second half, we just kind of gradually got a rhythm going and took control and they stopped." Ricky Rubio had 21 points, seven assists and five rebounds, Nikola Pekovic added 20 points and 10 rebounds, and Robbie Hummel hit a couple of big shots for the Wolves in the fourth quarter. "It showed the second unit can step up and can score," said Love, who racked up his fifth game this season with at least 25 points, 15 boards and five assists. No other player has done it once. "So I guess this was a character builder for us." Spencer Hawes had 20 points and six rebounds for the Sixers, who led 39-20 after a tremendous first quarter and had a 13-point advantage at halftime. But they turned the ball over 26 times and shot 14 free throws to Minnesotas 29. Hummel scored all 10 of his points in the fourth, including a 3-pointer that started the deciding 13-3 run. The Wolves grabbed 17 offensive rebounds to offset 38.5 per cent shooting. "We just had stats that were too insurmountable," Sixers coach Brett Brown said. "Its hard to make those types of deficits up on the road against a good team." The Wolves still trailed 86-81 with less than 9:30 to go before Hummel buried a 3 to get them started. Pekovic scored six points during the run, including a soft baseline jumper from the burly Montenegrin that put them in front 89-86. Tony Wroten had 20 points in yet another start for Sixers star rookie Michael Carter-Williams, who missed his fourth straight game with a sore right knee. James Anderson added 16 points and eight rebounds. The Sixers were surprisingly competitive early in the season, winning their first three games and beating the Miami Heat in the opener. But the pains of rebuilding have gradually started to set in, and they slumped into Target Center having lost 11 of their previous 13 games and eight in a row on the road. Perhaps taking the game for granted, the Wolves put together a lifeless performance in the first half, and the young Sixers pounced. They shot a staggering 77 per cent in the first quarter, closing it on a 20-3 run. They scored 15 fast-break points and held Minnesota to 30 per cent shooting to build the cushion. Turner and Young attacked the rim for easy layup after easy layup and Hawes hit two 3s to spread the floor, catching the Wolves totally flat-footed. Kevin Martin missed his first eight shots and the Wolves still trailed by 13 at halftime in a game they absolutely needed. The Wolves leave Thursday for a tough trip to San Antonio, Memphis and Boston and also play Portland and at the Clippers and Lakers before Christmas. "When you have a team down 20 thats coming off a back-to-back and you have the opportunity to put a stamp on it, youve got to take advantage of it," Hawes said. "Credit to them. They fought their way back." They finally showed some signs of life to start the third quarter, opening with a 13-2 run and tying the game on a 3-pointer from Rubio late in the quarter. Rubio also had three steals. The Wolves scored 27 points off those Philly turnovers to hold off the Sixers. NOTES: Wolves coach Rick Adelman said before the game that F Ronny Turiafs fractured right elbow isnt healing as quickly as the team had hoped. He said Turiaf is still "a ways away" from playing, though there is no specific timetable. ... Sixers PG Lorenzo Brown, a second-round pick of the Wolves who did not make the team out of training camp, played well with four points and six assists. . The Brewers finalized a US$36 million, three-year contract with free agent third baseman Aramis Ramirez on Wednesday, adding a much-needed bat to their lineup. . Picard had a goal and two assists to help Canada improve to 2-0 at the tournament. Seven different players scored for the two-time defending champions. "Today all four lines played excellent," said head coach Laura Schuler. . Granato was an assistant for the Pittsburgh Penguins for the last five seasons, and he was also part of Team USAs staff at the 2014 Olympics. .Y. - Peyton Manning made his fifth MVP award a family affair. . Ibrahimovic put PSG ahead when he got in front of his marker to neatly flick in Lucass cross in the 59th minute. New signing Yohan Cabaye came on as a second-half substitute and headed Ezequiel Lavezzis cross against the post in the 87th. Moments later, Lucas set up another goal from the right when fellow countryman Alex turned in his corner with a strikers finish.Pullman, WA (SportsNetwork.com) - Anu Solomon threw five touchdown passes against a deplorable Washington State defense, leading 15th-ranked Arizona to a 59-37 rout on Saturday. Solomon did most of his damage in the first half, as the Wildcats (6-1, 3-1 Pac-12) jumped out to a 31-0 lead early in the second quarter. Washington States potent offense woke up after that, but the damage was done. Solomon threw for 294 yards on 26-of-38 passing efficiency, Terris Jones- Grigsby ran 13 times for 107 yards and five different players hauled in touchdown receptions in the dominant victory. Connor Halliday, who set the NCAA single-game passing record earlier this season, stuffed the stat sheet once again, but most of his crooked numbers came with the game already out of reach. Halliday completed 56-of-79 for 489 yards with four touchdowns and two interceptions. Vince Mayle led all receivers with 14 catches for 145 yards and a touchdown, and Isiah Myers scored twice among his six grabs for 95 yards. Washington State (2-6, 1-4) has dropped four straight home games to the Wildcats. The Cougars punted following a three-and-out on their opening possession, and Davonte Neal dashed through defenders and down the left sideline for an 81-yard return score to give Arizona an early lead. Casey Skowron kicked a 31-yard field goal on Arizonas next possession and later in the first, Solomon got in on the fun, throwing two touchdown passes. Solomon was 7-for-8 for 75 yards on the next series, which Neal capped with a 2-yard touchdown catch. Wazzou then gambled on fourth down on its own 34-yard line but was stuffed, setting up the Wildcats in prime field position.dddddddddddd On second down, Solomon stepped up in the pocket and hit Nate Phillips in stride around two defenders to make it 24-0. Cayleb Jones hauled in a short touchdown catch to extend the lead to 31-0 before Washington State started showing signs of life. Halliday and Myers hooked up for a pair of touchdown passes and Jared Baker fumbled a kick return with less than two minutes to go, setting up Quentin Breshears 40-yard field goal near the end of the half. Arizona owned a 31-16 edge at the break, and its offense got rolling again after halftime with a 6-play, 61-yard trek. Samajie Grants 41-yard reception highlighted the drive and Nick Wilson punched it in from two yards out. Solomon threw touchdown passes to Austin Hill and Trey Griffey to push the margin to 52-16 heading to the fourth. Gerard Wicks pounded it in from one yard out and Halliday hit Mayle for an 8- yard score. Erik Powell tried an onside kick following the touchdown, but Jones scooped it up and ran in for another Arizona touchdown. Tyler Bakers 8-yard touchdown reception from Halliday in the final seconds capped the scoring. Game Notes Jamal Morrow had 11 catches for 70 yards for Washington State, while star wide receiver River Cracraft left early in the game with an injury ... Arizona linebacker Scooby Wright III had three sacks. He has at least one sack in six of seven games this season. ' ' '
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