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Iguodala has triple-double, Sixers top T-Wolves

Mar 5, 2011 - 4:49 AM Philadelphia, PA (Sports Network) - Andre Iguodola collected his second triple-double of the season and sixth of his career with 22 points, 10 rebounds and 13 assists to lead Philadelphia to a 111-100 victory over Minnesota at Wells Fargo Center.

Elton Brand pumped in 21 points while Thaddeus Young contributed 16 points and eight boards off the bench to lead the Sixers to their fifth win in six games and back to one game over the .500 mark.

Lou Williams and Jodie Meeks provided 12 points apiece and Evan Turner added 10 for the hosts, who are 28-17 after opening the season 3-13.

"We found a way to dig it out," Philadelphia head coach Doug Collins said. "We lacked energy at the start and I thought our bench came in and gave us a lot of juice."

Kevin Love extended his single-season record to 49 straight double-doubles with 21 points and 23 boards -- his 10th 20-20 game of the season -- but the Timberwolves dropped to 5-26 on the road.

Rookie Nikola Pekovic supplied a career-high 16 points and Anthony Randolph chipped in with 12 in a reserve role as the visitors fell for the ninth time in their last 11 games.

Iguodala hit a three-pointer to cap a 10-2 spurt to make it 75-63 Sixers inside of five minutes to go in third quarter. After increasing the lead to 14, Philly took an 85-78 advantage into the final 12 minutes.

Lazar Hayward's three-pointer knotted the score at 91 with 7:26 left in the game before Iguodala delivered a breakaway dunk and two foul shots to finish an 8-0 Sixers push.

Philadelphia native Wayne Ellington knocked down a trifecta and a jumper on consecutive possessions to slice the lead to 101-100 with 2:47 to play.

Brand, who scored 17 in the first half but did not score in the third quarter, canned a jumper to increase the lead to three and, after a Minnesota miss and turnover, he drained another jump shot with 62 ticks left in the game.

The Sixers then made six free throws to sew up the victory.

"We didn't lock in our defense and we stopped moving the basketball," lamented Minnesota head coach Kurt Rambis. "They swung things in their favor and we couldn't find a way to just get stops at the end of the ballgame."

Love collected 11 points and eight boards to help the T-Wolves to a 31-22 advantage after the first quarter.

Young's putback capped a 14-3 run to start the second quarter and put Philadelphia in the lead, 36-34, with just over eight minutes left in the first half.

The Sixers moved in front 42-41 just past the midway point of the stanza and never trailed again. They extended the margin to eight on a Meeks' triple with 1:11 left and to nine on an Iguodala dunk before taking a 56-49 lead at the break.

Game Notes

Iguodala also had a triple-double at Houston on February 16...He made 7-of-13 from the floor and all six of his attempts at the foul line...Brand connected on 10-of-16 shots and grabbed five boards while Young made 8-of-13 from the floor...Jrue Holiday finished with nine points and six assists in the win to help the Sixers complete their first season sweep of Minnesota since the 2005-06 campaign...Love nailed 10-of-17 shots and Pekovic knocked down 6-of-8. Luke Ridnour added eight points and 10 assists while Hayward ended with 11 points and six boards in defeat...Moses Malone collected a double-double in 51 straight games from December 29, 1978 through October 19, 1979 while playing for Houston, which is the record for the most consecutive double- doubles since the NBA-ABA merger...Minnesota guard Wesley Johnson missed the game with gastroenteritis.