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Foye enjoys best game of career to lead Timberwolves

Dec 27, 2006 - 5:34 AM MINNEAPOLIS (Ticker) -- Kevin Garnett deferred to the rookie.

Foye scored a season-high 25 points, including the go-ahead runner with 1.8 seconds remaining, as the Minnesota Timberwolves escaped with a 100-98 victory over the Chicago Bulls.

Garnett had 26 points and 14 rebounds for the Timberwolves, who squandered a 25-point third-quarter lead before emerging with their second straight win.

A nine-time All-Star, Garnett also showed his unselfishness on the Timberwolves' final possession when he took an inbounds pass and handed off to Foye, who drove to his right and banked in a shot to snap a 98-98 tie.

"I feel comfortable with both the offense and defense right now," said Foye, who has scored in double figures in five of his last six games.

"The young fellow (Foye) has confidence in himself and that last play is an example of that," Garnett said. "What's more important is that we have confidence in him also."

Foye scored the Timberwolves' final six points over the final five minutes.

"We created (Foye's) shot for him, and he converted it," Timberwolves coach Dwane Casey said. "He made some big plays. That is who he is and I think that that is who he will be in the future. We have to live with his growing pains, the good and the bad. I love him to death as a player."

Showing his prowess on the other end, Foye also defended Andres Nocioni, who was unable to score on a drive to the basket as time expired.

"It was a foul. There was contact," Nocioni said. "I don't know if it was his foul or my foul, but I felt something. But I think that we lost the game in the first half when we played terrible and without energy."

Ben Gordon, who scored 27 points, had scored on drive with 7.2 seconds left to pull the Bulls into a 98-98 tie.

"We were down 25 and we had a chance to win the game," Gordon said. "The lesson is that we have to play the entire game like we played at the end."

Mark Blount made all seven of his shots and scored 14 points in the first half, which ended with the Timberwolves holding a 55-40 lead. The lead grew to 70-45 with under six minutes left in the third quarter.

Kirk Hinrich scored 19 points for the Bulls, who used a 12-0 run in the fourth quarter to get back into the game.

"We were obviously slow and lethargic for about three quarters, then we went small and battled back and gave ourselves a chance to win," Bulls coach Scott Skiles said. "We just couldn't get the key stop when we needed it."