MINNEAPOLIS — Sam Cassell scored 25 points and Kevin Garnett had 19 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Minnesota Timberwolves past the struggling Houston Rockets 92-75 Tuesday night.
Latrell Sprewell added 14 points for the Timberwolves, who've won three straight and improved to 6-1 in December.
Steve Francis led Houston with 16 points.
Minnesota used a 16-4 run to take a 75-49 lead with 1:28 to go in the third quarter. Garnett capped the run with a flurry, making an impressive, one-handed layup off an alley-oop pass from Keith McLeod that brought the crowd to its feet.
Garnett blocked Jim Jackson's jumper on Houston's next possession before going to the bench to a standing ovation.
Despite being thin in the middle, the Wolves outscored the Rockets 32-24 in the paint thanks to some crisp ball movement.
HEAT 97, HAWKS 79: At Miami, rookie Dwyane Wade shot 15-for-22 and had 32 points and nine assists, leading Miami to its fourth straight victory — over Atlanta. Eddie Jones added 22 points and Lamar Odom had his fourth straight double-double with 19 points and 12 rebounds, all on defense. Odom's 3-pointer with 6:54 remaining in the third quarter put the Heat ahead 65-55. The Hawks never got their deficit into single digits the rest of the way.
The four-game winning streak is Miami's first since March, 2002.
Shareef Abdur-Rahim led the Hawks with 16 points. Atlanta has lost four in a row and eight of its last nine.
WARRIORS 104, KNICKS 86: At New York, Jason Richardson scored 26 points in a lopsided game that left Knicks fans booing. The Warriors snapped a two-game losing streak by running all over the Knicks, scoring 23 fast-break points and never being threatened in the second half. Speedy Claxton added 14 points and six assists, and Mike Dunleavy had 10 points, nine rebounds and four assists, and Nick Van Exel and ex-Jazzman Calbert Cheaney scored 13 apiece. The boos started when former Jazzman Shandon Anderson missed an uncontested layup with 3:30 left in the third quarter, continuing while fans started filing out in the middle of the fourth. By that time, the Knicks were down 20.
BULLS 102, MAGIC 88: At Chicago, Kendall Gill scored 27 of his season-high 29 points in the second half when he made 12 of 13 shots. Gill was just 1-of-4 with two points at the half but was nearly perfect thereafter, also contributing tough defense on Tracy McGrady. Chicago rookie Kirk Hinrich added a career-high 21 points before fouling out with 4:25 to play. The Bulls have won two in a row for the first time this season. McGrady scored 26 points, only eight in the second half and none in the final quarter.
GRIZZLIES 105, KINGS 100: At Memphis, Pau Gasol scored 22 points and Shane Battier keyed a fourth-quarter rally with 11 points. Six Memphis players scored in double figures as the Grizzlies snapped Sacramento's four-game winning streak and beat the Kings for the first time since November 2001, a string of eight games. The teams were tied at 83 with just under eight minutes left before Memphis went on a 7-1 run for a 90-84 lead with 5:15 remaining. Sacramento got within 94-93 on a drive by Brad Miller with 3:15 remaining, but never any closer. Peja Stojakovic led Sacramento with 27 points, while Brad Miller finished with 20 points and 16 rebounds.
NUGGETS 116, HORNETS 94: At Denver, Carmelo Anthony had 21 points and Voshon Lenard added 19 points, improving Denver's home record to 10-2 with a rout of New Orleans. Nene had his sixth double-double of the season with 16 points and 11 rebounds, and Marcus Camby had 14 points and 12 rebounds for his third straight double-double. Denver had lost 12 of its previous 15 meetings with the Hornets. Baron Davis had 25 points on 9-for-18 shooting as New Orleans matched its longest losing streak of the season — two games. Denver sat its starters for the entire fourth quarter.
SUNS 92, SUPERSONICS 91 (OT): At Phoenix, Shawn Marion dunked off an inbounds pass from Penny Hardaway with 5.6 seconds to go, and Phoenix held on to beat Seattle in overtime Tuesday night. Marion had 19 points and 14 rebounds, helping the Suns snap a six-game losing streak to win for the first time in four games under coach Mike D'Antoni. Hardaway had 18 points and Stephon Marbury 17 for Phoenix.