ng athlete follow in his fathers footsteps. But its a little more interesting to

WASHINGTON -- Kevin Love looked as if he was headed for a big night against Washington. Matt Wieters Jersey . Instead, the Wizards kicked their defence up measurably and held the NBAs third-leading scorer below his season average. Love, who entered the game averaging 26.8 points, had 16 in the first quarter but only nine afterward as Washington broke its four-game losing streak with a 104-100 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday night. "I thought he was going for 70 in the first eight minutes," Wizards coach Randy Wittman said. Love, who made five of his first six shots, missed eight of his final 11 to finish with 25. He had 11 rebounds, also below his season average. Bradley Beal scored 25 points, while John Wall added 14 points and tied his career high with 16 assists for Washington. Martel Websters 3-pointer with 42 seconds to play gave the Wizards a 100-98 lead. Beal added two free throws with 12.9 seconds left to make it 102-98. Webster had 17 points, including five 3-pointers. Minnesota started furiously. A 13-2 first-quarter run put them up by 10, and Love had 16 points by the end of the quarter with the Timberwolves ahead 34-27. Love played half the second quarter, missed his only shot, and had just one point, but Minnesota led 63-51 in the half. "I thought when we came out to start the game, it was again lethargic. We werent dictating things defensively. We got upset at halftime and turned it on," Wittman said. Prior to Tuesday mornings shootaround, the Wizards had a players-only meeting, one that Wittman feigned ignorance about before the game. After the game, he joked that he liked the meetings result. "After halftime I was going to have another one. I wasnt going to go in there. Ill do whatever it takes for a win, trust me," Wittman said. Besides holding Love down, Washington also stopped Kevin Martin, who was averaging 24.4 points. He was held to 11. "We need everybody every night. We cant usually get by if we have a couple guys with off games," Timberwolves coach Rick Adelman said. Minnesota began a difficult stretch of five games in seven nights, its second of the season. "Our transition D was poor," Love said. "Thats the only way they scored the ball really. I thought we did a good job in the half court, but everyone knows, when that team gets out in transition they can be pretty good offensively." Beal scored 17 in the second half and his layup with 10:24 to play gave the Wizards an 86-85 lead. They held it until Martins two free throws tied it at 95 with 2:23 to play. "In the first half, we were horrible. We werent there defensively. We were lackadaisical. We played with no energy," Beal said. Wall hit a jumper with 1:26 to play to give Washington a 97-95 lead, but Martin, who had missed 12 of his first 15 field goals, made a 3-pointer and Minnesota pulled ahead 98-97 with 1:11 remaining. Minnesota had won seven of its first 11. Adelman, a veteran of 23 seasons as an NBA coach, cautioned his team. "I keep telling them they havent done anything yet," he said before the game. In the second half, the Timberwolves shot just 34 per cent and missed 10 of their 13 3-pointers. "If youre going to be somebody in the league, you have to be ready to win every night. I think we didnt do it tonight in the second half and this kind of game is one of the games that youre going to need," Wolves guard Ricky Rubio said. Rubio had three quick fouls in just seven first-half minutes and played just 19 minutes. Wall had seven assists in the third quarter as the Wizards outscored the Timberwolves 30-18 to even the game at 81. NOTES: Wittman was incensed about an early first-quarter foul on Beal, but held his emotions in check. After being fined for using profane language and being fined $20,000, Wittman is sensitive. "I aint gonna get in any more trouble," he joked. . Washington F Al Harrington missed his third straight game with a right knee injury. . Wizards F Trevor Ariza missed his second game with a strained right hamstring. . Flip Saunders, who was fired as Washingtons coach in January 2012, returned to the arena in his new role as Minnesotas president of basketball operations. Fake Cardinals Jerseys . - The Denver Broncos kept rookie wide receiver Tavarres King from joining the Green Bay Packers by promoting him to their active roster Tuesday. Marcell Ozuna Jersey .J. - The New Jersey Devils know the odds are against them as they chase a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. https://www.cheapcardinalsonline.com/394t-john-gant-jersey-cardinals.html . Earnshaw, 31, most recently spent time on loan in Israel with Maccabi Tel Aviv from Welsh club Cardiff City, which plays in Englands second-tier League Championship. Earnshaw began his career with Cardiff Citys youth program and turned professional in 1998.Each week, The Reporters put their thumbs out to the good and the bad in the world of sports. This week, they discuss standout moments from the NHL and NBA Drafts, the Coyotes speaking frankly and FIFAs famous foam. Bruce Arthur, Toronto Star: My thumb is up to the NBA. Heres why. The NBA draft is a show about possibilities, and thats fun. Then, Thursday night, midway through the first round, Adam Silver stopped the proceedings to tell a story about a prospect named Isaiah Austin, whose career ended last week after he was diagnosed with a disease called Marfan Syndrome. Then Silver stepped up to make Austin a ceremonial pick on behalf of the entire Association. They took a moment about the cruel end of possibility, and the NBA made it beautiful. Best moment in draft history, hands down. Steve Simmons, Sun Media: My thumb is up to Don Maloney, general manager of the newly named Arizona Coyotes - and yeah, that sounds weird - for his unusual honesty in explaining why the club has chosen to buy out top-line centre, Mike Ribeiro. Normally youd get a little “blah blah blah” from an NHL GM on why a player was being let go. But Maloney was more than clear here: he said the team didnt want to put up with Ribeiros behavioral issues, could not tolerate them going forward and could not have him part of the team anymore. The Coyotes, who couldnt afford lunch a year or two ago let alone buying someone out, will be paying Ribeiro $2 million a year for the next six years just to go away. Wholesale Cardinals Jerseys. Michael Farber, Sports Illustrated: My thumb is up to one of the great sporting advances of the past decade. Baseballs expanded replay? Advanced stats? Heck, no. Im talking about the so-called felony foam world cup referees have been spraying on the field to mark the spot for free kicks and, more importantly, delineate where defenders can set their wall. This low-tech marvel, which looks like shaving cream and dissipates in a minute, eliminates time wasting and the inevitable cheating by defenders who try to creep closer to the spot. While baseball needed a replay room in New York, FIFA found an inexpensive way to literally lay down the law. The gimmick belongs in the sports hall of foam. Sorry. Dave Naylor, TSN: My thumb is up to the sons of athletes who chose their own path to make a name for themselves. Im refering to the selection of Elfrid Payton Jr. in this weeks NBA Draft, going 10th overall to the Philadelphia 76ers. Payton is the son of CFL Hall-of-Famer Elfrid Payton - better known as SWAC to some - who played for five CFL teams including Baltimore, Montreal and Winnipeg. Like recent NHL draft picks Darnell Nurse and Seth Jones - whose fathers played in the CFL and NBA respectively - Payton put his good athletic genes to use in another sport. Its always a nice story to see a young athlete follow in his fathers footsteps. But its a little more interesting to see them go their own way. ' ' '