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Timberwolves snap skid, top Suns

Apr 14, 2013 - 5:21 AM Minneapolis, MN (Sports Network) - Ricky Rubio had 24 points and 10 assists and led the Minnesota Timberwolves to a 105-93 win over the Phoenix Suns.

J.J. Barea scored 16 points off the bench while Derrick Williams and Andrei Kirilenko had 15 and 14 points, respectively, for the Timberwolves, who snapped a three-game losing streak.

"We had a solid second half. It took us a while to get into the game," Timberwolves coach Rick Adelman said.

Though the Timberwolves are out of playoff contention for the ninth straight season, the victory gives them 20 wins at the Target Center for the first time since the 2006-07 season. With a win over Utah on Monday the Timberwolves could finish above .500 at home for the first time since the 2005-06 season.

Markieff Morris had a team-high 20 points and nine rebounds while Jared Dudley tallied 16 points for the Suns, who snapped a 10-game losing streak on Wednesday with a 102-91 win at Dallas. Luis Scola had 14 points and nine rebounds, but also recorded eight turnovers while Goran Dragic had a double- double with 10 points and 14 assists in the setback.

"It was a bad game. We didn't play well; we had a lot of turnovers," Scola said. "We played well the first half but we had a lot of turnovers. It's very difficult to play that way."

Phoenix had a 53-50 lead at halftime, but Minnesota would come back in the third quarter.

Down 59-54 with less than nine minutes to play, the Timberwolves went on a 6-0 spurt to take the lead with 7:26 remaining.

The two teams would tie three times over the next 4 1/2 minutes before a dunk by Williams gave the Timberwolves the lead for the duration of the game.

Entering the fourth quarter, Minnesota had a 77-73 edge, but pulled away in the period.

The Timberwolves shot 62.5 percent from the field and made all six of their free throw attempts over the final 12 minutes, as they outscored the Suns 28-20 to win the game. Rubio scored nine of Minnesota's final 11 points.

Game Notes

Suns forward Michael Beasley did not play due to the birth of a baby girl ... Suns center Jermaine O'Neal did not play due to a bruised shin ... The Timberwolves were 17-of-19 from the foul line ... Minnesota's Dante Cunningham had 13 points and eight rebounds ... Rubio made all seven free throw attempts ... The Suns' Wesley Johnson scored 15 points ... Dragic recorded six turnovers ... Minnesota wins the season series 3-1 for the first time since a sweep in the 2003-04 season.