Originally published Wednesday, December 3, 2014 at 8:58 PM
Hannah Foslien / AP
MINNEAPOLIS - The Philadelphia 76ers avoided tying the record for the worst start to a season in NBA history, ending their 0-17 skid with an 85-77 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday night.
Michael Carter-Williams had 20 points, nine rebounds and nine assists and Robert Covington added 17 points to keep Philadelphia from tying the 0-18 start by the New Jersey Nets in 2009-10.
The game got off to an awkward start when 16 seconds into the first quarter, referees realized that the two teams were going in the wrong direction. A foul on the Timberwolves had to be wiped away and the game restarted with a new jump ball, prompting heads to be scratched all over the arena.
By the end, the Sixers wound up going the right away, though it wasn't easy.
The Sixers shot just 39 percent against the worst defense in the league and turned the ball over 19 times. They scored only nine points in the second quarter, but in the end there were smiles and hugs for the first time this season.
Gorgui Dieng had 15 points and 16 rebounds for the Timberwolves. But Minnesota shot just 35.7 percent and turned the ball over 19 times to lose for the 11th time in 13 games.
The Sixers have been competitive in recent losses to Western Conference heavyweights San Antonio, Dallas and Portland and entered this game with real hope that the streak would come to an end, even though they were missing leading scorer Tony Wroten for the fourth straight game.
The Timberwolves have been playing without injured starters Ricky Rubio, Kevin Martin and Nikola Pekovic, and were on their fourth game in six nights and their first back from a West Coast road trip.
The teams combined for 66 points, 55 missed shots and 25 turnovers in the first two quarters. The Sixers led by 10 points after the first quarter - their first double-digit first quarter lead of the season - and 12 in the second quarter before the Wolves got going.
NEW YORK - Mirza Teletovic had a season-high 26 points and a career-best 15 rebounds starting in place of Kevin Garnett, and the Brooklyn Nets snapped the San Antonio Spurs' eight-game winning streak with a 95-93 overtime victory.
The Nets regrouped in overtime after blowing a 14-point lead in the final five minutes of regulation and beat a team with a winning record for the first time this season.
Danny Green had 20 points, 10 rebounds and the tying three-pointer with 2.4 seconds left in regulation for San Antonio. The Spurs endured poor shooting nights from their starting frontcourt and fell to 2-1 on a road trip that ends Friday at Memphis.
San Antonio had little going most of the night and trailed 82-68.
Notes
* Jeff Teague scored 27 points, Kyle Korver scored 18 and the Atlanta Hawks handed the Miami Heat another home loss, 112-102. Dennis Schroder scored 16 and Paul Millsap finished with 14 for the Hawks, who beat the Heat for the second time in two meetings this season. Dwyane Wade scored 28 points and Chris Bosh finished with 27 points and 11 rebounds for Miami, which has lost six of its past eight home games. Mario Chalmers finished with 19 points and 11 assists for the Heat, which gave up 23 points off 19 turnovers.
* Bradley Beal scored 27 points, John Wall had 17 points and 15 assists, and the host Washington Wizards beat Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers 111-95. The Wizards won their third straight and prevented the Lakers from getting their first three-game winning streak in more than a year. Bryant finished with 29 points - 15 points of them in the first quarter when he shot 6 for 11. He missed nine of his final 11 shots.
* Milwaukee Bucks forward Ersan Ilyasova broke his nose in Tuesday's loss at Cleveland and is out indefinitely.
* Sacramento Kings center DeMarcus Cousins has been released from the hospital after receiving treatment for a viral infection that will keep him sidelined through the weekend.
Posted by Unknown on Wednesday, December 3, 2014 - Rating: 4.5
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