BASKETBALL Garnett's final spurt sinks Cavs

The Timberwolves' ace re-entered the game and finished off the Cavaliers.
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- Kevin Garnett watched the Minnesota Timberwolves begin to pull away in the fourth quarter. He re-entered the game, finished off the Cleveland Cavaliers and showed why he might be the league's most valuable player.
Garnett had 35 points and 12 rebounds, including a huge final period that helped the Timberwolves beat the Cavaliers 103-92 on Friday night.
Gary Trent took Garnett's place with 8:50 left and an 82-all tie. Things started going so well that Garnett actually suggested to coach Flip Saunders he stay on the sideline, but Saunders sent Garnett back in with Minnesota leading 91-85 and 5:52 remaining.
"Hey, I'm not going to keep my MVP on the bench," Saunders said. "You put him in because of what he does down the stretch."
Strong fourth quarter
Garnett made three jumpers and had two steals in that span and finished with 10 points and seven rebounds in the fourth quarter, eliciting a loud "MVP!" chant as the final seconds ticked away.
"We had the flow going our way, and there was really no need to be in there," Garnett said with a sly smile. "But Flip being Flip ..."
The Cavaliers certainly would've preferred Garnett remain seated.
"Right now nobody else comes to mind that has a bigger impact on his team," said Zydrunas Ilgauskas, who had 18 points for Cleveland. "He's 7 feet and when he releases it from the top of the key, there's no way to get it. You just hope he misses."
Latrell Sprewell added 24 points, seven assists and a hand in LeBron James' face much of the night for Minnesota, which won its 14th straight at home and is an NBA-best 26-6 since Dec. 1.
Jeff McInnis scored 21 points and James added 14 for the Cavaliers, who dropped to 5-3 since acquiring McInnis in a trade with Portland.
Down the stretch
Fred Hoiberg had eight of his 10 points in final eight minutes for the Timberwolves. He and Sprewell hit back-to-back 3-pointers to put Minnesota up 97-88 with 3:48 to go.
Carlos Boozer, an important part of the Cavaliers' improvement over the past month, was held to 17 points and nine rebounds. He missed two difficult dunks in the third quarter.
James had a quiet night, too, shooting 6-for-18 from the field under heavy pressure from Sprewell and Trenton Hassell. James air-balled a 3-pointer and missed two free throws in the final three minutes.
Garnett, this generation's preps-to-pros pioneer, challenged James on a one-on-one fast break in the third quarter -- altering the rookie's layup and drawing an offensive foul on the 19-year-old.
"I'm glad that he came, and I'm glad that I'm here," James said, alluding to Garnett entering the draft out of Chicago's Farragut Academy in 1995.
"He's amazing to me," James said. "He knows I'm getting better and he keeps getting better. But if he keeps getting better, oh Lord, he's taking over the league."