Brandon returns to starting lineup, sparks Wolves' win

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- The Minnesota Timberwolves regained their starting point guard, their defense and their winning ways.

Terrell Brandon returned to the starting lineup with 14 points and 12 assists, and the Wolves held the Atlanta Hawks to 37 percent shooting in a 103-80 victory Saturday night.

Kevin Garnett scored 20 points to lead Minnesota, which had lost its previous two games and had allowed eight of nine opponents to reach 100 points. The Wolves forced 24 turnovers and scored 37 points off them.

Brandon, who had missed 16 games with a left knee injury before returning for Minnesota's last four games, started for the first time since Dec. 15 at Dallas. He played his typical under-control game, committing just one turnover in 25 minutes.

While Brandon was on the floor, the Wolves outscored the Hawks by 42 points.

"I try to keep the game simple," Brandon said. "I get the ball to KG (Garnett) and get out of the way."

Garnett, who learned earlier Saturday he was voted to the Western Conference All-Star team, hit eight consecutive shots over the second and third quarters. His 10 points helped key an 18-1 third-quarter run that broke the game open.

The Wolves shot 16-of-22 in the quarter, with Garnett making all five of his shots, to pull away from a seven-point halftime lead.

"We were steaming at halftime," Garnett said. "We set a high standard for ourselves. Sometimes we make it look easy; other times we make it look really difficult."

Minnesota led by as many as 33 points in the fourth quarter and had six players score in double figures.

The Hawks have lost nine of 10, in part due to a rash of injuries that have sidelined starters Toni Kukoc and Theo Ratliff and key reserves Chris Crawford and Alan Henderson. In addition, Atlanta played without forward Shareef Abdur-Rahim, who was serving the final game of a three-game suspension.

Jason Terry led Atlanta with 16 points.

"I'm definitely trying to pick up the scoring, but not having (Abdur-Rahim) makes it tough," Terry said. "Their defense put a lot of pressure on us and caused a lot of unforced turnovers."

The Wolves broke a 29-29 tie with a 19-2 run in the second quarter, capped by Garnett's dunk off an alley-oop pass from Brandon. But the Hawks scored the last 10 points of the half to close to 48-41.

"They played hard, especially having one of their star players out," Brandon said. "But in the third quarter, we took care of business defensively."

With the victory, the Wolves avoided tying a season-high three-game losing streak. Minnesota has lost three in a row on two occasions this season.

Notes: Before the game, the Timberwolves unveiled a 9-foot bronze statue of Minneapolis Lakers great George Mikan in the lobby of the Target Center. ... Garnett was chosen for his fifth All-Star Game, and he will start for the fourth time. ... Joe Smith returned to the Wolves' lineup after missing Friday's game to attend the birth of his daughter, Jamie. ... The Hawks are just 4-18 on the road, averaging just 89 points in those games. ... Wolves rookie Loren Woods had a career-high 11 points.

ATLANTA (80)

Mottola 3-9 3-4 9, Strickland 5-12 2-2 12, Mohammed 3-9 5-6 11, Vaughn 1-6 2-2 4, Terry 5-13 4-5 16, Bowdler 4-9 2-2 10, Glover 0-3 3-4 3, Johnson 2-4 0-0 4, Newble 3-5 2-2 8, L.Smith 0-0 3-6 3. Totals 26-70 26-33 80.

MINNESOTA (103)

Garnett 10-16 0-0 20, J.Smith 3-8 2-2 8, Nesterovic 4-5 0-0 8, Szczerbiak 7-9 1-1 16, Brandon 6-9 2-2 14, Billups 0-4 1-2 1, Peeler 4-10 0-0 10, Mitchell 4-4 2-2 10, Woods 4-8 3-5 11, Evans 2-3 1-1 5, Lopez 0-4 0-0 0, Garrett 0-3 0-2 0. Totals 44-83 12-17 103.

Atlanta 25 16 17 22 -- 80

Minnesota 25 23 33 22 -- 103

3-Point Goals--Atlanta 2-7 (Terry 2-5, Bowdler 0-1, Johnson 0-1), Minnesota 3-6 (Peeler 2-5, Szczerbiak 1-1). Fouled out--None. Rebounds--Atlanta 45 (Mohammed 11), Minnesota 50 (Garnett, Nesterovic, J.Smith 7). Assists--Atlanta 16 (Vaughn 6), Minnesota 31 (Brandon 12). Total fouls--Atlanta 21, Minnesota 25. A--19,828 (19,006).