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MINNEAPOLIS -- An unexpectedly strong performance in the middle gave the Minnesota Timberwolves a big lift Sunday night. Jack Tatum Jersey . Kevin Love had his usual solid performance with 26 points, 10 rebounds and five assists to lead the Timberwolves to a 104-102 victory over the Sacramento Kings. But it was the other double-double that was unexpected. In his first career start, rookie Gorgui Dieng had his first career double-double with season highs in points (12) and rebounds (11) for Minnesota. He also had five blocks. "Were a man short right now and Gorgui, he just came in and did what we needed him to do and thats just rebound and alter shots at the basket," said Kevin Martin, who had 31 points Dieng, the 21st pick in last summers draft, made his first career start in place of Nikola Pekovic, who sat out with soreness in his right ankle. "I was prepared if I get minutes or not I was just going to keep working," Dieng said. "I think you should work more when you dont play a lot. I didnt get minutes. I never got frustrated. Just keep working and I know my time will come one day." A former Timberwolves player saw Diengs potential firsthand. "I told him since the first day he got here that its your job to block shots. You got drafted to rebound and block shots. His post games getting better as well. If he sticks with that hes going to be a good player in this league," said Derrick Williams, who scored 26 points and had 11 rebounds off the bench for Sacramento. Williams knows about being a young player in Minnesota. The second-overall pick in the 2011 Draft, Williams had two disappointing seasons with the Timberwolves before being traded to Sacramento on Nov. 26 for Luc Mbah a Moute, who has been a non-factor for Minnesota. "I think anybody who gets traded wants to play good against the team that traded them," he said. "I just wanted to be aggressive because (DeMarcus) Cousins was out and I was the next man up. Coach wants me to be aggressive and thats what I did tonight." Cousins, the Kings starting centre, missed the game with right knee tendinitis. He was replaced by Aaron Gray, who hadnt seen action since Feb. 25. Gray finished with four points in 20 minutes. "Its a testament to Aarons work ethic and his positive attitude for him to be ready to play tonight after not playing in so many games," coach Michael Malone said. "It was good to see him out there." Love hit 3 of 6 3-pointers, including one with 1:07 to play to give Minnesota a 97-95 lead and the Timberwolves hung on to win for the 33rd time, their most wins since 2005-06. Sacramentos Isaiah Thomas had 27 points, including two 3-pointers in the final 15 seconds to keep it close. Thomas scored from beyond the arc with 13.2 seconds left to get the Kings within two. After Martin made two free throws to make it 102-98 with 12.1 seconds left, Thomas answered with another 3-pointer before Martin made two more free throws with 5.7 seconds left. It was the second straight night the Kings couldnt close out a game, leaving them with a 2-5 record on a season-long seven-game road trip. They were outscored by six points in the fourth quarter and lost 94-87 in Chicago Saturday. "We were in there; we had a chance to win, but we just couldnt capitalize," Thomas said. Down 29-19 late in the first quarter, Williams provided a spark by scoring 10 straight points off the bench to get the Kings within three by quarters end. Williams had six more in the second quarter as the Kings took a 54-53 halftime lead. NOTES: Sacramento has officially been eliminated from playoff contention. ... Listed as day to day, Pekovic missed 13 games earlier this season -- including all of February -- with bursitis in his right ankle. ... Minnesota entered the game averaging a league-low 3.5 blocks per game. ... Thomas reached 1,000 career assists with a first-quarter helper, becoming the eighth player in Sacramento history to have that many in his first three seasons with the Kings. ... Martin made his 1,000th career 3-pointer in the fourth quarter. ... Twelve of Sacramentos final 15 games are in the Pacific time zone. Cory James Jersey . - After sewage backups, toilet overflows and foul smells surfaced the past two years, nothing at the Oakland Coliseum surprises the home team anymore. John Matuszak Jersey .com) - Sporting Kansas City announced Thursday that club has signed former on-loan midfielder Jimmy Medranda to a permanent contract from Colombian side Deportivo Pereira. http://www.shoptheraidersonline.com/Elite-Jerry-Ri...rs-Jers ey/ . They signed their first kicker. Ottawa inked Nick Setta, a 32-year-old native of Lockport, Illinois, to a contract.NEWARK, N.J. -- Carolina forward Patrick Dwyer and goalie Cam Ward didnt have time to think about what they were doing on the ice during the biggest moments of the game. Their instincts were good enough to carry the Hurricanes to victory. Dwyer scored a short-handed goal in the second period and Ward made a save while flat on his back in the waning seconds as the Hurricanes held on to defeat the New Jersey Devils 4-3 on Wednesday night. "I just raced down and sometimes its better in that situation because you dont think about what youre going to do," said Dwyer, whose backhand made it 4-1. "You read the goalie and you let your instincts take over. I made the move and I was glad to see it go in." Ward made the most spectacular of his 19 saves while the Devils were pressing forward with six skaters. Adam Henrique appeared to have an open net with Ward flat on his back, but the goalie managed to make a sweeping glove save with 2:33 left. "Mad scramble in front and I was on my back and it was very difficult for me to get up," Ward said. "It was a desperation save. I kept my eyes on it. He gave me a chance by trying to put it in the middle of the net and my glove was there." Jaromir Jagr made it interesting when he scored with 1:47 left for the Devils. It was the 691st goal of his career, moving him past former Pittsburgh Penguins teammate Mario Lemieux for ninth place in NHL history. "Even when we were down, 4-1, we believed we could come back and we almost did," Jagr said. "They were making great blocks all night. They dont hold the puck, they shoot and thats how they scored their goals. We need to put more pucks on net." Justin Faulk scored his first of the season, and Tuomo Ruutu and Ron Hainsey each had a goal for the Hurricanes. Eric Staals assist extended his season-best points streak to seven games. Travis Zajac and Andy Greene also scored for the Devils, who lost their third in a row -- all with Martin Brodeur in goal. Donald Penn Jersey . . New Jersey goalie Cory Schneider told reporters after the teams morning skate that he was "frustrated" Brodeur was scheduled to start for the third straight game. "Yes, Im surprised," Schneider said. "Im trying to work and do what I can, but Id like to see the ice a little bit more." Faulk gave the Hurricanes a 1-0 lead in the first period before Ruutu, Hainsey and Dwyer each scored in the second. Ruutu made it 2-0 at 1:50 of the second after taking a backhand pass from behind the net from Staal. Zajacs goal at 4:21 cut it to 2-1. Hainsey extended the margin with a slap shot that tipped off the stick of Devils centre Patrik Elias and past Brodeur at 8:16. Dwyers short-handed goal came at 15:43 on the first power play of the game for either team. Dwyer stole the puck from Greene and broke in alone, shifted the puck to his backhand and slid it between Brodeurs legs to make it 4-1. "Anytime you can get goals like that on Marty its a big deal, because once he gets rolling he can be hard to beat," Dwyer said. Greene redeemed himself when he unloaded a slap shot that beat Ward, slicing the deficit to 4-2 at 8:30 of the third period. Greenes third goal of the season was set up by Elias and Steve Bernier. Carolina struck at the 6:44 mark of the first period when Faulk fired a low shot from the right point that beat Brodeur to the glove side. Neither team was whistled for a penalty in the first period, with Carolina gaining a 12-6 advantage in shots. Overall the shots were even at 22, with Brodeur stopping 18 before a sellout crowd of 16,592. NOTES: Staal has three goals and five assists during his points streak. ... Dwyer has four goals this season, two short-handed. ... Next up for Jagr on the career goals list are Steve Yzerman (692) and Mark Messier (694). ... C Stephen Gionta (ankle) was placed on injured reserve by the Devils, retroactive to Nov. 23. Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Jerseys From China Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys ' ' '
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