NBA Brand's 26 points top Clippers

L.A.'s Tremaine Fowlkes became the National Developmental League's first player to start an NBA game.
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Elton Brand tied a season high with 26 points and grabbed 17 rebounds as the Los Angeles Clippers beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 104-88 Saturday.
Kevin Garnett had 19 points and 14 rebounds for the Timberwolves, who lost to a team with a losing record for the first time in seven games this season.
Garnett helped trim a 12-point deficit to 90-84 with 6:36 to play, scoring his first points of the second half on a pair of jumpers in the lane 35 seconds apart.
But Clippers rookie Marko Jaric kept the ball alive after missing a driving layup and Tremaine Fowlkes' layup extended the Clippers' lead to 98-86 with the help of a goaltending call against Garnett with four minutes left. Keyon Dooling scored six of his nine points during a game-ending 10-2 run.
Alley-oop
Fowlkes skied above the rim and slammed down Andre Miller's alley-oop pass with 3:20 left in the third quarter to cap a 12-4 run and give the Clippers a 78-67 lead, their biggest of the game to that point. Fowlkes finished with 15 points in 28 minutes.
The Clippers, playing without injured regulars Lamar Odom, Michael Olowokandi and Corey Maggette, led 52-51 at halftime after Jaric cut around Minnesota center Rasho Nesterovic at the right baseline for a layup with 20 seconds left to help erase a nine-point deficit.
Fowlkes, who missed 11 of the Clippers' first 17 games because of a sprained right knee, made his first start of the season because coach Alvin Gentry prefered him over Jaric in the defensive matchup against Garnett.
Garnett posted his league-leading 19th double-double with more than 31/2 minutes still left in the second quarter, finishing the first half with 14 points and 11 rebounds. But the five-time All-Star did not get a point or rebound during his eight minutes on the floor in the third quarter.
The Timberwolves were outscored 13-5 over the first 41/2 minutes as Fowlkes made his first three shots on outside jumpers. But the Clippers turned the ball over three times in the final 47 seconds of the first quarter, and Minnesota capitalized with eight straight points to pull ahead 25-24.
Notes
Garnett, who came within one assist of a triple-double in each of his previous two games, had five assists against the Clippers.
Fowlkes started 17 games as a rookie last season after being signed in February -- becoming the first player from the National Basketball Developmental League ever to start an NBA game.
The Timberwolves had talked with Cleveland about trading F Wally Szczerbiak for Miller before the Cavaliers dealt the point guard to the Clippers.
Szczerbiak, who had a sprained toe on his left foot examined Friday at UCLA Medical Center, is not expected back for at least another two weeks.