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Jumpstarted by Wally Szczerbiak's 16 first-half points, Minnesota led by double digits at the half and never looked back in Sunday's 94-86 home win over Houston. Kevin Garnett filled the stat sheet, posting 30 points, 17 rebounds, six assists and three blocks. Szczerbiak finished with 20 points for the Timberwolves, who host the Hornets on Wednesday.

Garnett Leads the Pack
Kevin Garnett continues to outperform the competition in two statistical categories measuring overall productivity: double-doubles and efficiency rating. Through March 20, Garnett has 59 point/rebound double-doubles, while Tim Duncan and Shaquille O’Neal have managed just 44 and 38, respectively. Garnett’s efficiency rating* is a league-leading 32.52, while Duncan is a distant second with a rating of 27.75. Garnett is averaging 22.5 points, 13.9 rebounds and 5.6 assists this season. [*Efficiency Rating = ((Pts+Reb+Ast+Stl+Blk)-((FGA-FGM)+(FTA-FTM)+TO))/G]

	October/November As the Wolves opened the season, only four holdovers from the 2002-03 season were on the roster. 10 new players joined the team during the offseason, including two trades and six free-agent signings.

	December December began in the middle of a five-game road trip, highlighted by an overtime win in Sacramento and a buzzer-beater two nights later against the Clippers. Minnesota finished the month with an 11-2 record.

	January The Wolves kept rolling during January, winning 12 of 15 games played during the month, including a pair of five-game winning streaks. The 12 wins in January tied a franchise record for wins in a calendar month.

	February Minnesota won 11 games in February, the third consecutive month with at least 11 wins. Kevin Garnett became the first player in NBA history to earn three consecutive Player of the Month awards.

	2004 All-Stars For the first time in franchise history, the Timberwolves had three representatives at the 2004 NBA All-Star Game, held Feb. 15 in Los Angeles: forward Kevin Garnett, guard Sam Cassell and coach Flip Saunders.

	March March was an up-and-down month for the Wolves, but at the end Minnesota moved 28 games over .500 for the first time in franchise history and stood 1.5 games ahead of the Spurs in the Midwest.

	April The Wolves finished the regular season on a nine-game winning streak. Minnesota earned its first Midwest Division Championship and finished as the best team in the Western Conference.

	Playoffs Round 1 Top-seeded Minnesota wrapped up its first-ever playoff series win in 2004, defeating the eighth-seeded Denver Nuggets 4-1.

	Playoffs Round 2 Despite Sacramento grabbing homecourt advantage with a win at Target Center in Game 1, the Timberwolves prevailed in seven games in their Western Conference Semifinals showdown.

	Western Conference Finals The Wolves met the second-seeded Los Angeles Lakers for the second consecutive postseason. The Lakers prevailed in six games, ending Minnesota's season.

Posted on Mon, Mar. 28, 2005

NBA: Garnett catches fire just in time

ASSOCIATED PRESS

MINNEAPOLIS - Kevin Garnett endured another rough start, but he was there for his team at the end.

Garnett had 13 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter, leading the Minnesota Timberwolves to a 89-85 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday.

Garnett struggled for the second straight game, making just 8-of-24 field goals. Sam Cassell scored 16 points off the bench to help Minnesota win its fourth straight game.

"He's not going to make every shot," Cassell said of Garnett. "But he had a big block, a big rebound. He'll do what he has to do to make the team successful."

Garnett's job is easier when Cassell is healthy and playing as he did in his All-Star season last year.

The Timberwolves point guard, hounded by injuries all season, made a 3-pointer off a Garnett pass with 2:03 left to put the Wolves up for good, 83-80, then returned the favor by feeding Garnett inside for a layup with 1:30 to play.

"I've never considered myself a superb shooter," Garnett said. "I can score the basketball, but there's going to be times where I have a game like this. But I have the ability to do different things to influence the game."

Minnesota moved within 2 games of Denver for eighth place in the Western Conference.

Elton Brand had 25 points to lead Los Angeles, which twice rallied from double-digit deficits.

Name the timberwolves starting lineup.

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