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Timberwolves edge Suns

Feb 21, 2015 - 5:08 AM Minneapolis, MN (SportsNetwork.com) - Kevin Martin scored 28 points with six rebounds to help the Minnesota Timberwolves to a 111-109 win over the Phoenix Suns on Friday night.

Andrew Wiggins tallied 20 points and Ricky Rubio checked in with 10 points and 14 assists for the Timberwolves, who snapped a two-game losing streak.

"We're a special team, we're getting better every game," Wiggins said.

Phoenix began life without point guards Goran Dragic and Isaiah Thomas on Friday. The Suns shipped Dragic to the Heat in a three-team deal with New Orleans, and Thomas was sent to Boston.

Brandon Knight, who was acquired by Phoenix in a three-team deal with Milwaukee and Philadelphia, was not active against the Timberwolves.

Markieff Morris led all scorers with 31 points in the loss, while Archie Goodwin had 14 and Eric Bledsoe added 12 points with seven rebounds and six assists. Phoenix has dropped three straight.

"We just made some bad plays down the stretch, our defense has to get better," Bledsoe said.

The Timberwolves led by three after three quarters, but they trailed by one after a Morris jumper with 3:20 to play in the game.

Nikola Pekovic, who had 16 points with 11 rebounds, netted a pair of baskets over the next two-plus minutes to give the hosts a 106-103 lead.

Each team traded free throws before Morris knocked down two free throws to cut the deficit back to one with 34.3 seconds on the clock. Rubio found Wiggins inside at the other end for a layup that kept Minnesota up three with 17.6 ticks left.

Bledsoe missed a point-blank layup out of a timeout, Gorgui Dieng corralled the rebound and the Timberwolves held on.

Minnesota led 26-24 after the first quarter, then opened it up a bit midway through the second.

The Timberwolves went on a 13-0 run to make it a 46-32 game. Phoenix was held without a field goal for a 6:32 span in the second, going 0-for-11 in the process. Alex Len's three-point play ended the drought and cut the Phoenix deficit to 46-36 and it trailed by 10 at the break.

P.J. Tucker knocked down a 3-pointer to start a 13-2 run that he capped with a layup and tied the game at 62-62 with over five minutes to play in the third.

Minnesota brought an 80-77 lead into the fourth quarter.

Game Notes

Phoenix acquired Marcus Thornton from the Celtics, John Salmons from the Pelicans, Danny Granger from the Heat and Kendall Marshall from the Bucks at the deadline ... Minnesota's lone splash of the trade deadline was bringing back veteran Kevin Garnett from Brooklyn in exchange for forward Thaddeus Young. Garnett was drafted fifth overall by Minnesota in the 1995 draft and spent his first 12 seasons with the Wolves. He was not active on Friday ... The Suns had won three straight in this series ... Minnesota held a 20-10 edge on the fastbreak ... There were 15 ties and 15 lead changes ... Dieng finished with 15 points and 12 rebounds off the bench in the win.