NBA

Bringing in Pargo pays off instantly

— Jannero Pargo hopes he’ll be spending the rest of the season with the Atlanta Hawks.

Maybe after his 10-day contract expires, Pargo will get his wish.

“I would rather have been here from the beginning of the year, but I love this team,” he said. “It’s a great team, a great group of guys. It’s like I never left.”

Al Horford scored a season-high 28 points, Pargo had 16 and the Atlanta Hawks posted a 104-96 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday.

Derrick Williams finished with 17 points and Jose Barea had 14 for Minnesota, which lost for the sixth time in seven games after blowing an 18-point lead in the second quarter.

Injuries at guard forced the Hawks to sign the former Arkansas Razorback to a 10-day contract earlier Monday, and he did not disappoint.

The 33-year-old, nine-year NBA journeyman hit a three pointer from the left corner with 5:26 remaining to give the Hawks their first lead since the 9:40 mark of the first quarter.

Pargo, who worked out for the Hawks on Sunday, has been playing pickup games in his adopted hometown of Chicago to stay in shape and hopefully get another chance in the NBA. He played his last game Nov. 14 during a 10-game contract Washington.

Pargo credited Kyle Korver’s 11 points in the third quarter with helping him feel comfortable to take open shots inthe fourth. He was 5 for 7 from the field in the final period and hit four threes.

“I think Kyle did a great job of being aggressive and knocking down shots,” Pargo said. “That definitely made it a lot easier for myself and lot of other guys to take those shots with confidence.”

Horford pulled down 10 rebounds, and Jeff Teague handed out 10 assists with nine points to help the Hawks win for the third time in 11 games.

Pargo, who played 50 games for Atlanta last season and seven with the Wizards this season, was on the floor 25 minutes as rookie John Jenkins failed to score after making his first career start.

“It’s a relief to be able to have a guy like that,” Horford said. “He was working out. He was in shape. He was a great teammate last year, and I’m happy to have him back.”

Minnesota took its biggest lead at 18 points on Andrei Kirilenko’s three-point play at the 4:49 mark of the second quarter, but the Hawks went on a 35-17 run that ended on rookie Mike Scott’s dunk to force a 69-69 tie at the 3:18 of the third.

Korver added 14 points, Anthony Tolliver 11 and Josh Smith 10 for Atlanta. Scott set career highs with 11 points, 7 rebounds and 22 minutes.

Kirilenko and Dante Cunningham each scored 13 points, and Greg Stiemsma added 11 for the Timberwolves.

Minnesota was without forward Kevin Love (hand), center Nikola Pekovic (thigh) and guard Alexey Shved (ankle). Cunningham was a game time decision because he had the flu.

Sports, Pages 19 on 01/22/2013

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