raging 33.5 points while hitting 57.7 per cent from the field, but didnt

MINNEAPOLIS -- In a rare season of losing in Los Angeles, discombobulated Lakers fans have taken to dreaming about Kevin Love in purple and gold. They see him as the saviour, the young star they need to carry the franchise forward and help Kobe Bryant restore the teams pride. Is it a pipe dream or a real possibility? Its unlikely anyone will know until 2015, when Love can become a free agent and the Lakers will have money to throw at him. In the meantime, Love gave those suffering Lakers fans another performance to drool over. Love had 22 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists for his second career triple-double and the Minnesota Timberwolves set a franchise record for points with a 143-107 victory over the Lakers on Friday night. "Everybody wants someone like that," Lakers coach Mike DAntoni said before the game. "When youre talking about one of the best players in the league, yeah that makes sense." Nikola Pekovic scored 26 points on 9-for-10 shooting in his first game back from an ankle injury and Love hit three of five 3-pointers in just three quarters of work. Kevin Martin scored 17 points for the Wolves, who led by 19 points in the first quarter, 37 in the second and 40 in the third. Steve Nash made a surprise appearance for the Lakers, picking up four points and six assists in 14 minutes of just his 12th game of the season. It was about the only notable development for the Lakers, who lost to the Milwaukee Bucks on Thursday night, then allowed the Timberwolves to shoot 67.1 per cent, the highest any team in the league has shot in a game this season. "Terrible right now, man," Lakers guard Nick Young said. "Its a bad feeling." Love put on a clinic during a masterful first quarter, scoring 15 points, hitting two of three 3-pointers, grabbing five rebounds and dishing four assists. He threw one of his trademark 60-foot outlet passes to Kevin Martin for a layup, threw down a dunk, hit a 3 and finished a fast break during a 20-3 run that gave Minnesota a 26-7 lead. He grabbed his 10th rebound of the game just before the third-quarter buzzer, and his teammates leaped off the bench and cheered his achievement. "Even with the team they have now, its still nice to be a team thats been a heavyweight for a very long time," Love said of the Lakers. It was the quintessential Love performance -- versatile and punishing from inside and out, unselfish and relentless. And it is everything the Lakers are missing right now. Kobe Bryant has missed most of the season with injuries, Nash is on his last legs and the Lakers are desperate for a star to carry them forward when Bryant, who will start a new two-year contract next season, decides to retire. Love went to UCLA and his father, Stan, played for the Lakers in the 1970s. Love can opt out of his contract after next season, at which point the Lakers will have enough cap room to sign him to a maximum contract. The Timberwolves remain confident that they will be able to do enough this off-season to upgrade the roster to convince Love, who has not been to the playoffs in his six seasons, to stay. President of basketball operations Flip Saunders has told teams calling about trading for Love to not even bother asking. The Wolves can also pay him about $26.5 million more than any other team. "My parents lived there and they had me there, so its not my fault," Love said of the fascination with him in Los Angeles. "I dont really care about that right now. I just go out there and play and dont really worry about it." DAntoni coached Love with Team USA, so hes well versed in his abilities. "He was a big piece in what we were doing and obviously hes a big piece here," DAntoni said. "Guys a good player. Wherever he goes, hes going to be good." NOTES: Kent Bazemore scored 21 points and Jodie Meeks scored 19 for the Lakers. ... The Timberwolves topped 40 points in the first quarter for the fifth time this season. ... Xavier Henry sat out for the Lakers with a sore knee. ... Timberwolves PG Ricky Rubio had 10 points, six assists, six rebounds and one steal, which tied Tyrone Corbins franchise for steals in a season with 175. Evgenii Dadonov Jersey . -- D. J. Williams finally has his packing strategy down. Evgenii Dadonov Panthers Jersey . PAUL, Minn. http://www.hockeypanthersofficialonline.com/vincent-trocheck-hockey-jersey/ . Perez, 35, posted a 1-2 record with a 3.69 earned-run average in 19 relief appearances last season. His season ended Aug. 9 due to a torn ligament in his left elbow. Perez joins infielder Andy LaRoche and catcher Mike Nickeas with minor-league agreements for 2014 that include invitations to attend spring training. Keith Yandle Jersey . The Philadelphia left fielder clubbed a tiebreaking, solo home run in the seventh inning, and the Phillies edged the Red Sox, 2-1, in the middle test of a three-game interleague series at Citizens Bank Park. Vincent Trocheck Panthers Jersey . After Andrew Romine served up two monster home runs in the inning, Tigers manager Brad Ausmus said he thought Romine was one of the bright spots on the night, showing just how bad the series opener against the last-place Minnesota Twins went for the Tigers.SALT LAKE CITY -- Marvin Williams has been so hot the last three games that he didnt let an air ball bother him. With Utah leading by seven in the fourth quarter against the reigning NBA champs, the Jazz forward released a 22-foot jumper that wasnt close. The Jazz came right back to the unfazed Williams and his back-to-back 3-pointers sparked Utah to a 94-89 win over the Miami Heat. "I cant think of a bigger win than this one," said Williams, who scored 23 points. Trailing 87-79 after Williams shots, the Heat used a 10-4 run to draw within two points after Ray Allen made a 3 from the corner with 46 seconds to play. Rookie Trey Burke, who had 13 points, rose up and drained the clutch 19-foot jump shot to beat the shot clock and Gordon Haywards free throw clinched the win for the Jazz, who have beat the Heat at home three straight times. Burke has said he hit the classic rookie "wall" that often plagues first-year players after theyve played 35-40 games. Shooting just over 30 per cent the past three games, his teammates and coaches have encouraged him to keep shooting. "They come to me and tell me to play with confidence. Dont think about it. Just play freely. Thats what I did tonight," said Burke, who had a penchant for big shots as the AP Player of the Year at Michigan last season. Dwyane Wade had 19 points for the Heat, who missed their last four shots from the field to thwart their comeback bid. LeBron James was 4 of 13 from the field for 13 points, his lowest scoring total since he had 13 points in a 104-88 win over Atlanta on Nov. 19. "Theres nobody that can stop LeBron from scoring the basketball, but we tried to slow him down collectively as a team and I think we did pretty good," Williams said. Hayward nearly had his first triple-double with nine points, 11 assists and nine rebounds, while often guarding Wade and James. Richard Jefferson had 14 and Alec Burks had 12 points for the Jazz, who snapped their four-game losing streak in front of a frenzied crowd. James subbed in with 7:54 to play and his team trailing 77-70 and the Heat looked poised for a comeback as they also reached the penalty with 6:51 to play. But James missed his only two field goal attempts of the fourth quarter and was 2 of 4 from the line. The young Jazz, who entered the game with worst record in the Western Conference, relied on their two veterans down the stretch until Burkes big shot. Williams, who averages 9.9 points, has scored 67 points in his last three games and made 5 of 8 from beyond the arc in this one.dddddddddddd After his air ball, Williams made a pair of 3-pointers -- the last shot just beating the shot clock after Jefferson dove to the floor to gather a loose ball and flip it to Utahs hot hand. "He just found somebody open and I was able to get away from Chris Bosh. I just threw it up there and was able to beat the clock and it went in," Williams said. Once the Heat turned up the defensive pressure, the Jazz were often scrambling to get any shot they could muster late in the clock. When the ball ended up in the hands of Williams and Jefferson, who had seven in the final period, good things happened. "I cant say enough about their focus and desire to help this young group grow. And their play has been great, gives us a chance to be competitive every night," Utah coach Ty Corbin said of his veteran forwards. James has averaged 31.3 points and 7.8 assists per game in his last four on the road as the Heat have found their offence, shooting better than 50 per cent. "It was just one of those games where offensively we were out of rhythm and you try to win on the defensive end," said James, whose team dropped to 27-2 when holding opponents under 100 points this season. The four-time MVP also had scored 30 or more in six straight trips to Salt Lake City, averaging 33.5 points while hitting 57.7 per cent from the field, but didnt ever get things going in a contest that snapped the Heats three-game winning streak. "We didnt shoot the ball well like we are capable of doing," James said. "We had some great looks, including myself, some really open looks." Even after a couple nights off, the Heat started sluggishly and the Jazz ran around and through them for a 32-18 lead in the first quarter. The Jazz had 11 assists in the opening period and shot 62 per cent. James gave the Heat their final lead in the opening moments of the third quarter at 54-52, but Utah controlled the game the rest of the way. "It seemed we were always in the right place at the right time tonight," Hayward said. NOTES: The NBA assessed a $5,000 fine to Chalmers for a flop in the third quarter against the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday. The league office previously warned Chalmers for a flop against Atlanta on Jan. 20. . James had 30 points and the Heat shot a franchise-best 63.4 per cent from the field when the Heat thrashed Utah 117-94 in Miami on Dec. 16. . James loudly expressed his displeasure after a foul call on Derrick Favours drive with 1:57 to play. ' ' '