MINNEAPOLIS (AP) ― Andre Iguodala had 18 points and nine rebounds to spoil Kevin Love’s surprise season debut in the Denver Nuggets’ 101-94 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday night.
Danilo Gallinari scored 19 points for the Nuggets, who withstood a furious start by a Timberwolves team buoyed by the return of their All-Star power forward.
Love scored 34 points and grabbed 14 rebounds, helping the Wolves take a 17-point lead in the first half. But he didn’t get a whole lot of help in his first game in nearly five weeks. Nikola Pekovic had 10 points and seven rebounds in his return from a three-game absence.
Houston Rockets guard Jeremy Lin drives against the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday. (Xinhua-Yonhap News)
After a sluggish start to the season, the Nuggets (6-6) have picked up two straight quality road wins against Memphis and Minnesota.
Ty Lawson had 18 points and nine assists and Kenneth Faried had 14 rebounds for the Nuggets, who overcame 20 turnovers.
Love broke his right hand on Oct. 18, about two weeks before the start of the regular season, and the team estimated a recovery time of six to eight weeks. But he quietly rejoined the team at practice during a four-day break between games, and the Wolves did their best to keep a lid on his return for as long as possible.
Coach Rick Adelman even dodged a question about Love’s progress about 75 minutes before the game, but word leaked out a few minutes later that Love was back in the starting lineup less than five weeks from his injury.
The stunned Timberwolves fans roared like they haven’t all season when he was announced in the starting lineup, and the surprises just kept coming.
During his halftime interview with FoxSports North, Love said he called his father on Wednesday to tell him he was playing, then asked if he had any advice.
“Let it fly,” Stan Love told his son.
Thunder roll past Clippers
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) ― Kevin Durant scored 35 points, Russell Westbrook added 23 and Oklahoma City’s All-Star tandem scored all of the Thunder’s points in overtime in a 117-111 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday night.
The Clippers, who came in tied for the best record in the Western Conference, had a six-game winning streak snapped.
Westbrook connected on a 3-pointer from the left wing to open the scoring in overtime, and Durant rattled one in from about the same spot two possessions later for a 108-104 advantage.
Westbrook then answered DeAndre Jordan’s three-point play with a baseline jumper, and Oklahoma City was able to close it out from the foul line.
Blake Griffin led Los Angeles with 23 points and Jamal Crawford scored 20 in the meeting of Western Conference division leaders. Clippers starting forward Caron Butler missed the game with a strained right shoulder.
After trailing for the previous 44 minutes, the Clippers finally pulled even at 102 when Matt Barnes drove for a layup with 36 seconds left in regulation. Griffin denied Durant the ball on the Thunder’s ensuing possession, and Westbrook came up empty on a drive to the basket.
Charlotte 98, Toronto 97
Orlando 90, Detroit 74
Cleveland 92, Philadelphia 83
Indiana 115, New Orleans 107
San Antonio 112, Boston 100
Atlanta 101, Washington 100
Miami 113, Milwaukee 106
Houston 93, Chicago 89
Dallas 114, New York 111
Phoenix 114, Portland 87
Sacramento 113, LA Lakers 97
Golden St. 102, Brooklyn 93
koreaherald@heraldcorp.com
