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Love's run continues as T-Wolves silence Jazz

Mar 12, 2011 - 4:50 AM Minneapolis, MN (Sports Network) - Kevin Love pushed his record double-double streak to 53 games, scoring 24 points with 12 rebounds to lead the Minnesota Timberwolves to a 122-101 victory over the Utah Jazz.

Michael Beasley added 23 points and Darko Milicic had 14 for the Timberwolves, who have won two in a row on the heels of a 2-11 stretch.

Gordon Hayward scored 18 points off the bench to lead the Jazz, who lost for the 10th time in their last 13 games. They are just 3-9 since Jerry Sloan stepped down and Tyrone Corbin took over as head coach on February 10.

"We've been up and down. A game like tonight, we just didn't have effort and that's pretty much what it comes down to," said Jazz reserve C.J. Miles, who scored 15.

They also didn't have much of a chance.

Bursting out of the gate, the Timberwolves made 12 of their first 14 shots and built a 28-18 lead less than eight minutes into the game. They carried a 39-28 lead into the second, then went ahead by as many as 19 points before halftime.

Utah cut its deficit to nine at the break, 66-57, and pulled within two after opening the third quarter with a 7-0 burst. But the Timberwolves finished the period with a long 31-8 run that took up the final 10 minutes.

Armed with a 25-point lead heading into the fourth, they upped it to 31 points a couple times down the stretch to run away with it, finishing their three- game homestand with a 2-1 record.

"Once we started to get easy looks at the basket ... we just got up. Ten points went to 12, 12 went to 14 and so on," said Love. "From there, there was no looking back."

Love has the NBA record for most consecutive double-doubles in the post-merger era. He passed Moses Malone with No. 52 in a win over Indiana on Wednesday.

Malone's mark stood for more than 31 years ago. He recorded 51 straight double-doubles from December 29, 1978 to October 12, 1979 when he was with Houston.

Game Notes

The Timberwolves ended 15-of-20 (75 percent) from the field in the first quarter and shot 55 percent for the game...Utah shot 50 percent...Minnesota heads out on the road for three games against the Warriors, Jazz and Lakers.