Kevin Love made two free throws with one- tenth of a second remaining in regulation, giving the Minnesota Timberwolves a 92-91 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers.
Thaddeus Young put the Sixers on top, 91-90, on an 18-foot jumper with 40.4 seconds left. Love and Lou Williams exchanged misses, with Love grabbing the rebound of Williams' miss and calling timeout with 3.6 seconds to go.
Love caught the inbounds pass at the top of the left wing and drove to the lane. Andre Iguodala came off his man along the baseline and tried to tie up the fellow All-Star on the left block. Love went up for a shot and was blocked by Elton Brand, but the whistle blew on Iguodala's reach-in.
The ensuing free throws all but sealed Minnesota's third straight win and Philadelphia's third consecutive loss. The Timberwolves outscored the Sixers at the free throw line, 23-8.
"We haven't been able to get that critical stop," said Sixers head coach Doug Collins, who did not comment on the final foul call.
Love finished with 20 points on 7-of-23 shooting to go with 15 rebounds, while Ricky Rubio logged 22 points in the victory.
Jrue Holiday led the Sixers with 20 points, while Iguodala and Williams scored 13 each in defeat.
There were 15 lead changes -- all in the second half and 11 in the final quarter. Love did not make a field goal in the second or third frames, but posted 12 points over the final 12 minutes, including a jumper in the final minute that gave the T'Wolves a 90-89 lead prior to Young's mid-range make.
"I only played one good quarter," Love admitted. "(But) we were the more physical team tonight. We played well."
Philadelphia never trailed in the first half and led by as many as 11 in the opening quarter. Holiday threw down a left-handed slam for an 18-7 lead midway through before Rubio and Love helped cut the deficit to 24-22 by the end of the stanza.
The visitors led 49-44 at halftime and 74-72 entering the fourth.
Game Notes
