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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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 GAME FLOW
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- Minnesota Timberwolves coach Flip Saunders
wasn't sure whether or not to be glad about the way his team
clinched a playoff berth Sunday with a 106-101 overtime win over
the Toronto Raptors.
It was Minnesota's third overtime game in a week and fourth game in six nights.
A series of close, physical games in a short time span? Sounds a
little like the playoffs.
|  | | Minnesota's Kevin Garnett, who scored 34 points, battles Toronto's Vince Carter -- who scored 38 -- for the rebound. |
"The bad thing is you like to have one or two of these a week,
not four," Saunders said, "because it does takes a grind on you
mentally."
Minnesota (43-26) is the sixth Western Conference team to secure
a postseason spot.
Kevin Garnett, who led Minnesota with 34 points and 10 rebounds,
was concerned about his team blowing a 10-point lead in regulation.
"You get a little bit ticked off because the refs made some
crazy calls," Garnett said. "We looked at it like, you know, we
got them down and now all of a sudden you're going into another
OT."
Vince Carter had 12 of his 38 points and was 10-for-10 from the
free-throw line in the fourth quarter for the Raptors.
"That's what it is -- a loss," Carter said. "We just couldn't
pull it out in overtime."
Antonio Davis sent the game into overtime at 87-87 on a
three-point play with 12.9 seconds left, capping an 8-1 Toronto run
in the final 2:15 of regulation. Tracy McGrady had five points in
that burst and finished with 21 points and eight assists.
Dee Brown, back after missing six games with an upper
respiratory tract infection, missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer.
"When they passed the ball and Dee Brown got it, I started
walking off the floor," Saunders said. "I didn't think he'd miss
that."
Terrell Brandon had 23 points and 11 assists for Minnesota,
which has won six straight outings.
Carter made just 13 of 31 shots while being hounded by various
defenders. He scored 18 points in Toronto's 102-84 loss to the
Charlotte Hornets Friday, and said he would have preferred to pick
up a win than outscore Garnett.
After icing his shoulder in the trainer's room, Carter said he's
starting to feel the effects of being his team's go-to guy.
"I'm just hoping my body can hold up the rest of the year," he
said.
The Raptors went a span of 5:14 in the fourth quarter between
field goals, but Carter and McGrady (7-of-9 from the free-throw
line) kept Toronto in the game.
After Carter's two free throws with 3:03 left, Minnesota's
Anthony Peeler hit a basket and Joe Smith blocked Davis' shot,
leading to a bucket by Brandon and an 86-78 Timberwolves lead.
Game notes
Carter said he hopes his acceptance of a place on the U.S.
Olympic team will end the distractions surrounding him since
Phoenix Suns forward Tom Gugliotta was injured and had to
relinquish his spot on the team. "I'm glad it's over," Carter
said. "I think people just put too much emphasis on it. I worry
about what I need to do for the Raptors right now." ... Carter's
dunk with 32.7 seconds left in the first half was his first in the
Raptors' last four games. ... Minnesota outrebounded Toronto 52-37.
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ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard
Toronto Clubhouse
Minnesota Clubhouse
RECAPS
Orlando 94
Miami 69
Philadelphia 111
Indiana 101
Denver 112
New Jersey 110
Houston 123
Chicago 78
Milwaukee 99
Boston 84
Minnesota 106
Toronto 101
LA Lakers 90
Sacramento 89
Phoenix 90
Golden State 82
New York 93
Portland 89
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