News » the quarter but trailed 62-52 at the bre

WASHINGTON -- Kevin Love looked as if he was headed for a big night against Washington. Instead, the Wizards kicked their defence up measurably and held the NBAs third-leading scorer below his season average. Love, who entered the game averaging 26.8 points, had 16 in the first quarter but only nine afterward as Washington broke its four-game losing streak with a 104-100 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday night. "I thought he was going for 70 in the first eight minutes," Wizards coach Randy Wittman said. Love, who made five of his first six shots, missed eight of his final 11 to finish with 25. He had 11 rebounds, also below his season average. Bradley Beal scored 25 points, while John Wall added 14 points and tied his career high with 16 assists for Washington. Martel Websters 3-pointer with 42 seconds to play gave the Wizards a 100-98 lead. Beal added two free throws with 12.9 seconds left to make it 102-98. Webster had 17 points, including five 3-pointers. Minnesota started furiously. A 13-2 first-quarter run put them up by 10, and Love had 16 points by the end of the quarter with the Timberwolves ahead 34-27. Love played half the second quarter, missed his only shot, and had just one point, but Minnesota led 63-51 in the half. "I thought when we came out to start the game, it was again lethargic. We werent dictating things defensively. We got upset at halftime and turned it on," Wittman said. Prior to Tuesday mornings shootaround, the Wizards had a players-only meeting, one that Wittman feigned ignorance about before the game. After the game, he joked that he liked the meetings result. "After halftime I was going to have another one. I wasnt going to go in there. Ill do whatever it takes for a win, trust me," Wittman said. Besides holding Love down, Washington also stopped Kevin Martin, who was averaging 24.4 points. He was held to 11. "We need everybody every night. We cant usually get by if we have a couple guys with off games," Timberwolves coach Rick Adelman said. Minnesota began a difficult stretch of five games in seven nights, its second of the season. "Our transition D was poor," Love said. "Thats the only way they scored the ball really. I thought we did a good job in the half court, but everyone knows, when that team gets out in transition they can be pretty good offensively." Beal scored 17 in the second half and his layup with 10:24 to play gave the Wizards an 86-85 lead. They held it until Martins two free throws tied it at 95 with 2:23 to play. "In the first half, we were horrible. We werent there defensively. We were lackadaisical. We played with no energy," Beal said. Wall hit a jumper with 1:26 to play to give Washington a 97-95 lead, but Martin, who had missed 12 of his first 15 field goals, made a 3-pointer and Minnesota pulled ahead 98-97 with 1:11 remaining. Minnesota had won seven of its first 11. Adelman, a veteran of 23 seasons as an NBA coach, cautioned his team. "I keep telling them they havent done anything yet," he said before the game. In the second half, the Timberwolves shot just 34 per cent and missed 10 of their 13 3-pointers. "If youre going to be somebody in the league, you have to be ready to win every night. I think we didnt do it tonight in the second half and this kind of game is one of the games that youre going to need," Wolves guard Ricky Rubio said. Rubio had three quick fouls in just seven first-half minutes and played just 19 minutes. Wall had seven assists in the third quarter as the Wizards outscored the Timberwolves 30-18 to even the game at 81. NOTES: Wittman was incensed about an early first-quarter foul on Beal, but held his emotions in check. After being fined for using profane language and being fined $20,000, Wittman is sensitive. "I aint gonna get in any more trouble," he joked. . Washington F Al Harrington missed his third straight game with a right knee injury. . Wizards F Trevor Ariza missed his second game with a strained right hamstring. . Flip Saunders, who was fired as Washingtons coach in January 2012, returned to the arena in his new role as Minnesotas president of basketball operations. Tyler Pitlick Jersey . In the other Group A game, the Czech Republic stunned Canada, 5-4 in a shootout. Dominik Simon scored the deciding goal in the tiebreaker. The United States scored its first three goals on power plays. "Overall, I love to see the power-play goals we were able to get tonight," said U. Tyler Seguin Jersey . -- Two nights after losing to the Eastern Conferences worst team, the Phoenix Coyotes handled the best. http://www.authenticstarspro.com/Jaromir-jagr-stars-jersey/. The thunderous cheers quickly changed to an appreciative chant: "Ma-son! Ma-son! Ma-son! Headed to New York with new life, Mason sure earned this curtain call. Dino Ciccarelli Jersey . At a news conference Tuesday where it was thought that the fiery Schallibaum may be shown the door after a dismal finish to the Major League Soccer season, team president Joey Saputo said no decision has been made on whether the Swiss Volcano will be back in 2014. Custom Dallas Stars Jerseys . Sijsling, ranked 74th in the world, was leading 6-0, 4-1 when his Italian opponent called it quits after just 39 minutes on court. In a match pitting together two qualifiers, Michal Przysiezny of Poland defeated local favourite Pierre-Hugues Herbert 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (4) for only his second Tour win of the season.Toronto, ON (SportsNetwork.com) - Lou Williams scored five of his 26 points in overtime and the Toronto Raptors beat the Denver Nuggets 112-107 on Monday. The Raptors squandered a 16-point third quarter lead and only forced overtime after Patrick Patterson buried a 3-pointer in the final minute of regulation. Patterson had 19 points and Jonas Valanciunas scored 18 with 12 rebounds for the Eastern Conference leaders, who improved to 7-2 against Western Conference teams this season. Terrence Ross added 16 points in the win and Kyle Lowry scored 13 with 13 assists. Arron Afflalo and Ty Lawson combined to score 47 points for the Nuggets, who have lost four in a row and finished 0-3 on a three-game road trip. Lawson had 12 assists to go with his 22 points. Wilson Chandler scored 18 in the loss and Timofey Mozgov had 15 points and 12 assists. Denver had a chance to win in regulation but turned the ball over on a shot- clock violation, giving Toronto possession with 4.3 seconds left, but Lowry missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer.dddddddddddd Chandler knocked down a 3 for Denver to start overtime, but the Nuggets didnt score again until Alonzo Gees bucket in the final seconds. Ross 3 tied the score for the Raptors, who then took the lead for good on Williams layup with more than three minutes remaining in overtime. Earlier, the Raptors -- who scored a season-low 91 points in Fridays loss to LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers -- led by as many as seven in a 35- point first quarter against Denver. Valanciunas had 10 points in the quarter and Williams scored 13 in the second, including eight during a 14-2 run that stretched Torontos lead to 17. Denver trimmed its deficit to eight later in the quarter but trailed 62-52 at the break. It cut that to one point, going into the fourth down 82-81. Game Notes Toronto is 3-2 since losing DeMar DeRozan to a groin injury on Nov. 28 ... The Raptors go on the road to face Cleveland again on Tuesday ... The Nuggets host Miami on Wednesday. ' ' '