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Timberwolves end road misery, down Warriors

Jan 22, 2008 - 1:33 AM By Ryan Leong PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

OAKLAND, California (Ticker) -- Ryan Gomes scored a career-high 35 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to give the Minnesota Timberwolves only their second road win of the season as they stunned the Golden State Warriors, 109-108, on Monday.

The Warriors came back from an 11-point hole with 10:25 remaining in the fourth quarter, going on a 7-0 push over the next two minutes to make it a four-point game at 92-88.

Golden State continued surging until Monta Ellis was there for the putback to tie the game at 103-103.

The Timberwolves, who entered the game 1-20 away from home, took a two-point lead on a layup by Antoine Walker after a missed 3-pointer by Marko Jaric. Two critical free throws by the Warriors' C.J. Watson tied it with two minutes to go at 107-107.

After both teams failed to score on their next possession, Baron Davis was fouled but could only hit 1-of-2 from the foul line, leaving the door open for Minnesota at 108-107.

Gomes took the ball on the subsequent possession and converted a pair of free throws to allow the Timberwolves to reclaim a one-point lead at 109-108 with 54 seconds remaining.

"I just came out and hit a first few shots and just wanted to keep rolling," Gomes said. "The coach called a few sets for me, and it kept going and I kept playing through and giving us a chance to compete and be there at the end of the game."

Davis and Jaric each missed 3-pointers, with Jaric's attempt falling out of bounds, setting the stage for a last attempt by the Warriors with 6.9 ticks remaining.

After a timeout, Davis drove the length of the court but was just a bit strong on the attempt. Al Harrington tried to follow it up, but the ball simply refused to go in, sending the Timberwolves into joyous celebration as they stormed the court.

"I can't believe I missed that layup, what else do you want me to say?" Davis said in disbelief. "I thought that layup was good but when I looked up, the ball was out. At the end, I saw the ball hit the rim again but that was disappointing. We didn't have that fire that we usually have, and that's why we lost."

"We need any win we can get," Gomes said. "It feels good to get one on the road but we're not looking at how many road wins and how many home wins we've got. We're just looking at the total number of wins on the left side of the column."

Al Jefferson added 21 points and 12 rebounds for the Timberwolves, who also ended a five-game losing streak.

"Come on, this was good," Minnesota coach Randy Wittman said. "We were excited as you could tell on the floor, and it's been a long time coming on the road, especially. And it (has) been a trying season, but these guys get ready for every game. Let's just worry about having pride in how we play, individually and as a team."

Monta Ellis tallied 28 points for the Warriors, who saw their five-game winning streak over Minnesota come to an end.

"This is the NBA, some teams are going have a good night," Warriors forward Stephen Jackson said. "How many times has Ryan Gomes had 35 (points) this year? It happens, you know. Our best player had a chance to win the game tonight and he missed a layup that he'll normally make. We'll live with that."