NBA

Timberwolves top Hawks with fill-in

— Nikola Pekovic had 25 points and a career-high 18 rebounds, Andrei Kirilenko added 21 points and the Minnesota Timberwolves beat the Atlanta Hawks 108-103 on Tuesday night.

Derrick Williams scored 17 points and Alexey Shved had 15 for the Timberwolves, who were missing Coach Rick Adelman due to personal reasons. Terry Porter filled in and led the Wolves to their first victory over Atlanta since 2006, snapping an 11-game skid.

Josh Smith had 21 points and 13 rebounds and Al Horford had 19 points and 11 boards for the Hawks, who have lost three consecutive and four of their last five.

Minnesota point guard Ricky Rubio had eight assists and four points in 18 minutes in his first game back after missing the previous four with back spasms.

Lou Williams finished with 21 points and eight assists for the Hawks, who had a chance to tie the game in the closing seconds. But Dante Cunningham stole the inbounds pass and Luke Ridnour made two free throws to seal the victory.

The Timberwolves led by 14 to start the fourth quarter, with the Hawks showing few signs of getting back into the game. But Lou Williams scored seven quick points and Horford backed Derrick Williams down for a short jumper to trim the deficit to four with six minutes to play.

Kirilenko hit two threes for a 100-89 lead with 4:15 remaining, but Kyle Korver hit two threes and Lou Williams scored during a 12-2 surge that brought Atlanta within one.

In other games, James Harden scored 31 and Chandler Parsons added 20 to help the host Houston Rockets pick up their fifth consecutive victory, 125-112 over the short-handed Los Angeles Lakers. Metta World Peace had a season-high 24 points for the Lakers, who were playing without their top three big men Dwight Howard, Pau Gasol and Jordan Hill — all out with injuries. ... Brandon Jennings scored 29 points and the host Milwaukee Bucks gave Jim Boylan a victory in his first game as coach, winning 108-99 over the Phoenix Suns. ... Paul George had 29 points and 11 rebounds, and the host Indiana Pacers held the Miami Heat to a season-low point total in an 87-77 victory over the Heat. ... Reggie Evans grabbed a career-high 23 rebounds, Deron Williams scored 22 points and the Brooklyn Nets improved to 6-1 under interim coach P.J. Carlesimo with a 109-89 victory over the host Philadelphia 76ers.

Sports, Pages 22 on 01/09/2013

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