Timberwolves Edge Warriors

Kevin Garnett got what he wanted the ball during crunch time.

Garnett scored half of his 28 points in the fourth quarter and the Minnesota Timberwolves maintained a hold on a playoff berth with a 90-85 victory over the Golden State Warriors on Friday night.

"I won't say I complained, but I sort of ordered that I wanted it," Garnett said. "I felt like I had nothing to do with the third quarter and I wanted to be aggressive."

"We gave the man the ball in the last 3 1/2 minutes and he just dominated the game," Saunders said.

Garnett scored 10 points over the final 3:32. He also had 15 rebounds and Terrell Brandon added 11 points and 14 assists for Minnesota, which is tied for seventh place in the Western Conference with Sacramento. The Timberwolves hold the tiebreaker over Sacramento as well as Seattle, which is ninth.

"Anytime you're in a close game it's great to have a go-to player," Warriors coach P.J. Carlesimo said. "Kevin is a great, great player. He's basically a 7-foot small forward."

Erick Dampier had 20 points for Golden State, which was eliminated from playoff contention. Dampier, who was shooting 57 percent from the free throw line entering the game, was 12-of-15 Friday night.

"It's a disappointment," Golden State's Bimbo Coles said. "Our goal at the beginning of the season was to make the playoffs."

Coles had 16 points, while Terry Cummings added 14.

Garnett made two free throws with 1:13 remaining to give Minnesota an 80-79 lead. Dampier's two foul shots 15 seconds later gave Golden State its final lead, 81-80. Minnesota's Joe Smith made two foul shots with 46 seconds left and, after a miss by Cummings, Garnett hit a turnaround jumper with 22 seconds remaining for an 84-8 lead. He added two free throws with 12 seconds left for an 86-81 lead.

Notes: Golden State rookie Antawn Jamison had a sprained ankle and did not play after starting the previous 21 games at small forward. ... Minnesota forward Malik Sealy missed his fifth straight game with a sore ankle and forward Tom Hammonds remained in the locker room at the start of the second half after injuring his chest taking a charge in the second quarter. ... Golden State placed forward Jason Caffey on the injured list with a strained Achilles' tendon and activated forward Duane Ferrell. Caffey, who was averaging 8.8 points and 5.9 rebounds, had missed the last three and 11 overall due to injury. ... The Wolves got off to another quick start, ending the first quarter with a 23-20 lead. Minnesota had first-quarter leads in the previous three games after falling behind by at least six points in the first quarter of the prior six. ... After beginning the season 0-5, Golden State is 20-22 over the last 42 with nine wins against playoff teams from a year ago.

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