Timberwolves top Pacers

Garnett dominated on a night of incredibly sloppy basketball, as the Timberwolves were able to take advantage of an ice-cold second half by the Pacers to snap a four-game losing skid.

Randy Foye was the only other Timberwolves player to register double figures in any offensive category, with 10 points and five rebounds.

Jamaal Tinsley scored 22 points for Indiana, which failed to win a third straight game. Al Harrington scored 12 points, and Jermaine O’Neal scored 11 points and grabbed 11 rebounds for the Pacers.

Minnesota took a 68-64 lead midway through the final quarter on six straight points, with a Garnett jumper stretching the Timberwolves lead to four with 6:39 left. A Tinsley layup brought the Pacers back to within 68-66, but two more Garnett baskets put Minnesota up 72-66, which was all the Timberwolves would need.

Indiana’s offense hit rock bottom in the third quarter, as the Pacers missed their first nine shots from the field, and only shot 2-of-15 for the quarter. Indiana only managed eight points in the third quarter, but Minnesota only fared marginally better, scoring 17 points in the quarter to cut to within 58-57 entering the fourth.

The Pacers buried the Timberwolves early, starting the game on a 12-2 run. Minnesota struggled on the offensive end, only scoring four points in the game’s first 6:40. A Tinsley three put the Pacers up 20-4 with 5:41 left in the quarter. A driving layup by Foye in the final seconds of the first brought Minnesota to within 32-20 entering the second quarter.

After a Harrington dunk put the Pacers up 34-20 in the first minute of the second quarter, the Timberwolves rolled off nine straight, cutting to within 34-29 after back-to-back baskets by Marko Jaric midway through the quarter. The Pacers scored six straight in response, though, and took a 50-40 lead into halftime.

Game Notes

Indiana’s 21-point second half tied a franchise-low for points in a half, set on 3/29/1998 against the Spurs, and the eight-point third quarter is tied for second in team history for lowest output in a quarter, behind the Pacers’ seven-point second quarter against the Clippers on 11/10/2004...Neither team topped 40 percent shooting from the field, with Minnesota shooting 39.2 percent, and Indiana shooting 38.6 percent...Indiana scored 11 more points (32) in the first quarter than it did in the second half (21).