Post by lingzi on Sept 7, 2012 8:19:21 GMT 1
MINNEAPOLIS -- As much as Kevin Garnett wants everyone to believe hes put the Minnesota Timberwolves in his rearview mirror, hes still been watching -- and listening. Devon Still Jersey . The 35-year-old Garnett has heard some suggest that 23-year-old Kevin Love has already usurped him as the best Timberwolves player ever. Love may one day get there. But not today. The Old Wolf showed the Young Pup who still runs things in Minnesota. Garnett had 24 points, 10 rebounds and four assists in his return to Target Center and the Boston Celtics outmuscled Love and the Timberwolves in a 100-79 victory Friday night. "Weve been watching, keeping track of all his accolades and what hes been doing of late," Garnett said of Love. "If yall know anything about me, you know that I was more than ready and prepared tonight." Paul Pierce had 21 points and nine rebounds, and Rajon Rondo had 17 assists for the Celtics, who have won four in a row and six of their last seven. Theyre all alone in first place in the Atlantic Division for the first time all season, and thats with Ray Allen missing the last five games with a sore right ankle. Love had 22 points and 11 rebounds, but succumbed to Garnetts physical defence in a battle between the face of the Timberwolves past and present. "Kevin is the best player to ever play here and Kevin Love has a chance to be that as well or one of them," Celtics coach Doc Rivers said. "I thought both were probably up for it. I know I would have been if it was me." Luke Ridnour had 15 points and eight assists, but the Wolves turned the ball over 21 times to see their playoff hopes take a hit. They entered 2 1/2 games out of the eighth spot in the West. Garnett improved to 6-0 against the Wolves, including 4-0 at Target Center since he was traded in 2007. He has been playing with a little extra spring in his step since Rivers moved him to centre at the All-Star break, and so have the Celtics, who are 14-5 since the break. It was the third straight game Garnett has topped 20 points, his longest streak of the season. He bodied up Love -- his heir apparent in Minnesota -- on defence and knocked down open jumper after open jumper on the other end to set the tone. The old man even threw down an alley-oop in transition in the third quarter and put the game on ice with his patented turnaround jumper over Love that made it 92-78 with four minutes to play. "I think KG took it personal tonight," Wolves forward Anthony Tolliver said. "Im sure hes been hearing a lot of stuff about Kevin Love being the best power forward in the league." Without Montenegrin heavy Nikola Pekovic (ankle) by his side in the paint, Love had a hard time going toe-to-toe with the physical Celtics. Garnett spent 12 seasons in Minnesota, nearly single-handedly turning the woebegone franchise into a perennial playoff team that made a run to the Western Conference finals in 2004. The deeply loyal Garnett didnt want to leave when the Timberwolves traded him. But when the deal was made, things turned sour. Timberwolves executives were unhappy with Garnetts demeanour behind the scenes and Garnett seethed over a perceived lack of loyalty from the organization, particularly when owner Glen Taylor alleged that KG "tanked it" at the end of the 2006-07 season by sitting on the bench with injuries. Earlier this week, he was quoted as saying he loves Minnesota and the fans who cheered for him so passionately, but had "nothing positive to say" about the organization. During the second quarter, Garnett was taking the ball out of bounds and a fan hollered: "Hey Kevin, please come back next year!" Garnett simply muttered: "No way." The Wolves have a new face of the franchise in Love, who has put together a monster March -- averaging 31.3 points, 14.1 rebounds and shooting 46 per cent from 3-point range coming into the game -- to keep the short-handed Wolves hanging around the playoff conversation. But he couldnt live up to Garnetts legacy Friday night. "Two totally different players. The only thing thats really the same about us two is our first names," Love said. "Its a really unfair comparison. Hes a once-in-a-generation, once-in-a-lifetime type player. "If I could do some of the things that he did for this franchise, it would be nice. More than anything, I just want to win and he brought a lot of winning years to this franchise. Hopefully more than anything I can try to emulate that." Notes: Rondo has at least 10 assists in 12 straight games, the longest active streak in the league. ... Avery Bradley scored 17 points for Boston. ... The Wolves were also missing JJ Barea (thigh) and Michael Beasley (toe). Barea said he will not make the upcoming road trip to Portland and Sacramento. ... Vanilla Ice performed at halftime. Maurice Jones-Drew Womens Jersey . "Not true! We are doing [Randy] Couture vs. [Rich] Franklin, not Chuck," said White on Twitter. "Nothing happened to Tito. Tito and I are cool," he added. While Whites comments make it appear as though Couture and Franklin will do battle this summer, the story continues to evolve. Colt McCoy Jerseys . The 71-year-old Hall of Fame coach was hired Thursday at SMU. It is his first college job in nearly a quarter century, and comes at a struggling program that is headed to the Big East after next season. Nate Solder Jersey . Louis Rams have released Canadian S O. Devin McCourty Jersey . It obviously wasnt his intention to "ice" rookie kicker Dan Bailey. Ed Reed Womens Jersey . -- Despite missing leading scorer Kevin Martin and point guard Kyle Lowry for more than a month, the Houston Rockets are playing some of their best basketball of the season.The fight against the biggest issue in hockey is set to resume in a familiar setting. Concussions will be on the agenda Monday as the NHLs general managers kick off three days of meetings at the Boca Raton Resort & Club on Floridas Atlantic coast. Its the third straight March the leagues caretakers have convened at the oceanfront property to grapple with an injury issue that has affected a number of hockeys most valuable assets. Even though the NHL isnt currently dealing with outcry over a specific incident -- the 2010 meetings came directly on the heels of Matt Cookes devastating hit on Marc Savard -- the concussion issue remains top of mind. The number of players to suffer the injury has increased this season and includes several all-stars: Philadelphia Flyers defenceman Chris Pronger, Chicago Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews and Washington Capitals centre Nicklas Backstrom, to name a few. Pittsburgh Penguins star Sidney Crosby is nearing a return to the lineup after suffering what is believed to be a neck injury that followed the concussion problems he dealt with last season. Armed with a body of evidence and statistics gathered by league doctors, the general managers will once again discuss ways to make the game safer. Of course, recent evidence suggests theres no single rule change that can even guarantee a reduction in the total number of concussions. "Theres nothing we can do that doesnt change the game fundamentally thats going to eliminate concussions in our game," deputy commissioner Bill Daly told The Canadian Press earlier this season. "Bottom line is theyre a fact of life in a contact sport -- not just ours -- and they continue to be a fact of life. "As long as we understand the nature of these injuries and were approaching it responsibly, which I would suggest we are, theres not a whole lot more we can do about it." Changes have already been made to the rulebook. The GMs introduced rule 48 outlawing blindside hits to the head in 2010 before refining the wording around that rule and one covering boarding at last years meeting. Brendan Shanahan was also handed a directive to be more strict when he took over the role of disciplinarian. An interesting discussion expected to take place in Florida will surround the possible reintroductionn of the red-line for two-line passes -- something that was originally removed by GMs as part of sweeping changes coming out of the 2004-05 lockout in a bid to speed up the game. Heath Miller Womens Jersey. Now, with concern growing that increased speed has led to more injuries, the red-line could be reinstated, or at least reintroduced as part of a new type of rule. "My opinion is that we should discuss it," said Boston Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli. "I think weve done a lot of different things to speed up the game. I think maybe looking at putting (the red-line) back in in some way, shape or form would help moderate the speed so to speak." The GMs are also expected to talk about removing the trapezoid that prevents goaltenders from playing the puck in the corners. Thats another rule that was introduced in 2005. Among the other potential tweaks or changes expected to be discussed are hybrid icing, equipment modifications to shoulder pads and different formats for overtime. In many cases, these issues have been raised during breakout sessions at previous meetings -- a process that can lead to enough consensus being built to effect change. Any rule change recommendation coming out of the meetings must be supported by at least 20 GMs before getting passed on to the competition committee (which features players and executives) for approval in June. From there, the board of governors needs to sign off on it before it comes into existence. A year ago, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman kicked off the first day of the GM meetings by outlining a five-point plan to deal with the concussion issue. It saw a blue-ribbon panel created, the introduction of so-called "quiet room" evaluation as part of the leagues concussion protocol and the elimination of seamless glass in every NHL arena. Yet, despite all those measures, the GMs are returning to Florida 12 months on with still more work to do. Notes: With the NHLs collective bargaining agreement set to expire Sept. 15, the managers will be provided with an update on that process ... Shanahans player safety department will also present video of dangerous incidents and trends from this season ... Longtime NHL coach and general manager Pat Quinn will be honoured for his contributions to the sport at a dinner hosted by Bettman on Monday night. ' ' '