
Ryan Gomes scored a career-high 35 points, including the game- winning free throws with 54 seconds left, and the Timberwolves snapped their 16-game road losing streak with a 109-108 victory over the Golden State Warriors on Monday.
"It feels good to finally get a win," Gomes said. "We need any win we could get, but we're not looking at how many road wins we have. We're just looking at the total wins in the left side of the column."
Al Jefferson chipped in with 21 points with 12 rebounds while Marco Jaric added 16 points, eight rebounds and 10 assists for the league-worst Timberwolves (6-34) whose last win away from home came at New Orleans on November 26.
After Gomes' two free throws gave the Timberwolves a 109-108 edge, Golden State's Baron Davis missed a potential go-ahead three-pointer with 32 seconds left.
Davis had another opportunity after Jaric missed a triple with 8.8 ticks remaining, However, he missed a driving layup and Al Harrington failed on the tip-in at the buzzer.
"I just can't believe I missed that layup," said Davis, who finished with 15 points. "That's all I can say. You have to give them credit. They played hard."
Monta Ellis led the Warriors (25-18) with 28 points and Matt Barnes had 20.
Elsewhere:
Cleveland Cavaliers 97, Miami Heat 90
LeBron James had 28 points and the visiting Cavaliers won their fourth in a row while handing the Heat its 14th consecutive loss.
Dwyane Wade led the hapless Heat (8-32) with 42 points.
Boston Celtics 109, New York Knicks 93
Kendrick Perkins poured in 22 of his career-high 24 points in the first half, and Kevin Garnett had 20 with 13 rebounds and seven assists as the league-leading Celtics (33-6) overcame the ejection of their top scorer to hold off the Knicks.
With the Celtics ahead, 79-63, both Paul Pierce and Knicks swingman Quentin Richardson were each hit with their second technical fouls for jawing at each other, resulting in automatic ejections.
Zach Randolph had 24 points and 15 rebounds while Jamal Crawford finished with 22 points for the host Knicks (13-28) who were embarrassed by the Celtics 104-59 on November 29.
San Antonio Spurs 95, Charlotte Bobcats 86
Tim Duncan scored 19 points while Frenchman Tony Parker and Argentine Manu Ginobili had 16 apiece as the defending champion Spurs opened their annual rodeo road trip that will keep them away from home for 12 of the next 14 games.
LA Lakers 116, Denver Nuggets 99
Derek Fisher scored a season-high 28 points with six three- pointers, Jordan Farmar added 19 off the bench, and the Lakers pulled away in the third quarter for their eighth win in the last nine games.
Kobe Bryant had 17 points and a season-high 11 assists for the Lakers (27-12), who improved to 3-0 against the Nuggets this season.
Allen Iverson netted 24 points and Linas Kleiza had 21 for the Nuggets (24-16) who lost their top scorer Carmelo Anthony to a sprained left ankle sprain midway through the second quarter.
New Orleans Hornets 106, Milwaukee Bucks 92 Tyson Chandler had 20 points and 15 rebounds, Chris Paul added 16 points with 10 assists, carrying the host Hornets to their fifth straight victory.
Houston Rockets 96, Seattle SuperSonics 89
China's Yao Ming had 30 points with 17 rebounds as the Rockets sent the SuperSonics to a franchise-record 11th consecutive loss overall and 10th straight on the road.
Washington Wizards 102, Dallas Mavericks 84
Caron Butler had 25 points, Antawn Jamison added 23 and the Wizards completed a season-sweep over the visiting Mavericks.
Josh Howard led the Mavericks (27-13) with 32 points while Dirk Nowitzki had 21 along with 11 rebounds.
Portland Trail Blazers 111, Atlanta Hawks 109 (OT)
Travis Outlaw scored 23 points, including the game-winning jumper with nine-tenths of a second left in overtime, lifting the visiting Trail Blazers to their 20th win in the last 24 games.
Joe Johnson led the Hawks (17-20) with 37 points.
Utah Jazz 109, LA Clippers 93
Deron Williams had 18 points and 13 assists to lead seven players in double figures as the visiting Jazz rolled to their eighth win in the last 10 games.
Indiana Pacers 110, Philadelphia 76ers 103
Kareem Rush scored a season-high 25 points, Mike Dunleavy had 24 and visiting Pacers coach Jim O'Brien beat the club that fired him.
Memphis Grizzlies 104, Chicago Bulls 90
Rudy Gay and Mike Miller had 24 points with 10 rebounds apiece, leading the Grizzlies past the visiting Bulls.
Ben Gordon scored 25 points for the Bulls (16-24) who shot just 36.5 per cent (35-of-98) from the floor.
Orlando Magic 102, Detroit Pistons 100
Hedo Turkoglu scored 26 points, Rashard Lewis hit the game- winning 10-foot jumper at the buzzer, helping the Magic stop a nine- game slide against the visiting Pistons.
Richard Hamilton led the Pistons (29-13) with 21 points while Rasheed Wallace had 15 points and 15 rebounds.
By Paul Levine, dpa