News » Tats what killed us," Spruill said. "I

PHILADELPHIA -- Nikola Pekovic had to chuckle on the bench as fans held a pair of gigantic cutouts of his head right over him. His Minnesota teammates were certainly amused, laughing at the trio of Pekovic heads. "When you look at the heads, then you hold it up to close to him, theyre actually the same size," Kevin Love said, smiling. The T-Wolves could afford some levity after a romp on a night when the basket had to look as large as one of those oversized heads. Love scored 16 of his 26 points in a dominant third quarter and Pekovic had 16 points and 14 rebounds to lead the Minnesota Timberwolves to a 126-95 win over the Philadelphia 76ers on Monday night. Minnesota made 16 of 26 3-pointers (62 per cent) to put this one away in a hurry and moved back to .500 (17-17). Kevin Martin scored 18 points and Corey Brewer had 15 to help the Timberwolves win for the fourth time in six games. Thaddeus Young scored 20 points for the Sixers, who entered the night having won the final four games of a six-game road trip. The Timberwolves ended any threat of Philadelphia extending its streak by the second quarter. They led by 16 at the half and Love hit a pair of 3s in the third to build a 31-point lead. The Timberwolves had seven players score in double figures. The undersized Sixers simply had no answer for the Love and Pekovic underneath, or in Loves case from beyond the arc. Young, named before the game the Eastern Conference player of the week, gamely tried to shut down the potent duo, with no luck. Love and the Timberwolves turned the game into a blowout in the third. He hit his first 3 for a 24-point lead, converted a three-point play for a 25-point lead, then nailed another 3 late in the quarter to make it 96-71. The Sixers showed why they are one of the worst 3-point defending teams in the league. Love hit four, Martin had three and the Timberwolves hit 13 of 20 through the first three quarters. That was more than enough to finish off the Sixers. The Sixers were riding a season-best four-game winning streak, capped by a win at Portland. Perhaps fatigued from the lengthy road trip, they were never much of a factor after the first quarter. Minnesota closed the first half on a 24-8 run, with Brewer and Love hitting game-changing 3s. "They were playing good basketball, but Coach mentioned a couple of times that its always tough coming back from a long road trip like that, so they might be a little complacent, a little lackadaisical," Love said. "We just felt they were a little tired being gone so long. We tried to take advantage of that, and I felt we did." Theres no break in the schedule for the Sixers. They play Tuesday at Cleveland and back-to-back home games Friday and Saturday. "Ive never seen a schedule like this coming back from a West Coast trip," said centre Spencer Hawes. "Its not like were just getting to stay home." The already sparse crowd, still reeling from the Eagles early post-season loss, fled for the exits by the fourth. The final quarter had the feel of a preseason game -- which the Sixers surely wish it was. A.J. Price and Robbie Hummel connected on consecutive 3s in the final minute for the final 3s for a team that was shooting only 34 per cent. Ricky Rubio had eight assists and Minnesota held a 53-40 rebounding edge. "Just a really solid win for us," coach Rick Adelman said. "We came out at the start of the game and played well all the way through. We did a pretty good job of keeping them in the half court and passed the ball and shot the ball well." James Anderson had 14 points, and Michael Carter-Williams and Evan Turner each scored 13 points for the Sixers. "Weve just got to bounce back," Turner said. NOTES: Timberwolves C Ronny Turiaf was scoreless in 22 minutes in his first game since he hurt an elbow on Nov. 1. ... Timberwolves F Luc Mbah a Moute sat out with a strained groin. ... 76ers G Tony Wroten was inactive with the flu. ... The game between the San Antonio Spurs and Timberwolves originally scheduled to be played in Mexico City on Dec. 4 will now be played in Minnesota on April 8. Adidas Continental 80 NZ . According to Yahoo! Sports, the team has reached a five-year deal to play their home games on the roof of the Plaza Hotel and Casino. Originals Stan Smith NZ . Ending a nine-game losing streak? That gave the Milwaukee Bucks veteran forward a reason to smile. http://www.nmdshoesnz.com/adidas-falcon-cheap-nz.html . Ibrahimovic put PSG ahead when he got in front of his marker to neatly flick in Lucass cross in the 59th minute. New signing Yohan Cabaye came on as a second-half substitute and headed Ezequiel Lavezzis cross against the post in the 87th. Moments later, Lucas set up another goal from the right when fellow countryman Alex turned in his corner with a strikers finish. Originals Superstar NZ . The Mavericks avoided a season sweep by the Nuggets, who ran away with a win in Denver two weeks ago to hand Dallas its longest losing streak at three games. Dallas (42-28) got a boost in the playoff race when Miami rallied from seven down in the last 3 1/2 minutes to beat Memphis 91-86 Friday night. Superstar Shoes NZ . -- Max Gilbert captured his first pro victory at the Tour Championship of Canada. SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- Clemson coach Dabo Swinney seems to have it down pat: find a way to befuddle defences and then let quarterback Tajh Boyd do the rest. Coach and star player were on the same wavelength again on Saturday. With his talented receiving corps repeatedly running alone in space, Boyd threw for 455 yards and five touchdowns in three quarters of work as the third-ranked Tigers beat Syracuse 49-14 to spoil the Oranges Atlantic Coast Conference debut. "I got guys here who flat just go out there and get it, some of the best skill guys in the country," said Boyd, who finished 20 of 27 with his first two interceptions of the season. "We try to put these guys in the best position possible. We played a pretty complete game and are getting close to where we want to be." Boyd, who matched his school record in TD passes and eclipsed his Clemson record for passing yards in a game by 27, hit a wide-open Adam Humphries with scoring passes of 60 and 42 yards in the first quarter to help stake the Tigers to a big early lead. And when Syracuse threatened to rally in the final minute of the third quarter, Boyd, standing at his own goal line, hit Sammy Watkins with a perfect spiral in stride at the 45-yard line, and he outraced the lone defender for Clemsons final touchdown. "That play really sealed the game," said Watkins, who had four receptions for 126 yards. "Tajh did such a great job of getting the ball out so quick and so fast, its real easy for the wideouts. Being on the road, you have to jump on a team pretty quick to hold them back." Clemson (5-0, 3-0 ACC) entered the game as one of just 20 undefeated teams remaining in the Bowl Subdivision, and the Tigers made sure they wouldnt slip up against the Orange (2-3, 0-1) and their raucous Homecoming crowd, a near-sellout 48,961, by taking a 21-0 first-quarter lead. The Tigers also upped their streak to 13 straight wins by double digits against unranked teams. Only top-ranked Alabama has a longer streak (21) in the FBS. "We talked about getting a fast start," Swinney said. "We knew it was going to be a tough place to play, but our guys came out focused and really executed at a high level early in the game. It keeps us where we need to be." Boyds performance against the Orange pushed his career total offence to 10,421 yards in less than three full seasons.dddddddddddd Thats third all-time in the ACC, behind only North Carolina States Philip Rivers (13,582) and Georgia Techs Joe Hamilton (10,640). Syracuse had won six straight at home dating to the 2012 season opener and had beaten two eleventh-ranked teams handily in the Carrier Dome the previous two seasons. Boyd had a nearly flawless first half against Syracuses blitzing defence, hitting 15 of his first 17 passes for 317 yards and four scores as his receivers repeatedly broke free. Sandwiched between the two scoring catches by Humphries was a 1-yard touchdown run by Zac Brooks that was set up by an 18-yard pass from Boyd to Watkins. Orange middle linebacker Marquis Spruill blamed the early Clemson barrage on the defence. "Miscommunication resulted in touchdowns, unfortunately. Thats what killed us," Spruill said. "If you allow a great team like that to get open spaces on the field, open receivers are going to take advantage. Its a big disappointment. Its hard when you lose, but this one especially, the first ACC game." The Tigers upped the lead to 28-7 when Boyd hit Stanton Seckinger in the right corner of the end zone early in the second quarter. Boyd completed his first-half barrage by hitting Martavis Bryant with a 40-yard scoring pass midway through the second quarter for a 35-7 lead. Rookie Syracuse coach Scott Shafer became irate when Swinney tried for a touchdown on fourth down from the Syracuse 5 instead of kicking a field goal in the final minute of the first half. Shafer got some satisfaction when his defence sacked Boyd, and Shafer was contrite afterward. "Dabos a competitor. Im competitive," Shafer said. "I just felt bad I was a little over the top there." The Oranges extra week of rest wasnt much help. The Clemson defence held Syracuse to 139 yards of offence in the opening half and nearly half that total came on Jerome Smiths 66-yard touchdown run on the first play of the second quarter. Sophomore quarterback Terrel Hunt, making just his second career start for the Orange, finished 8 of 24 for 52 yards with three interceptions and was sacked four times. ' ' '