MINNEAPOLIS -- An unexpectedly strong performance in the middle gave the Minnesota Timberwolves a big lift Sunday night. Santiago Arias Colombia Jersey. Kevin Love had his usual solid performance with 26 points, 10 rebounds and five assists to lead the Timberwolves to a 104-102 victory over the Sacramento Kings. But it was the other double-double that was unexpected. In his first career start, rookie Gorgui Dieng had his first career double-double with season highs in points (12) and rebounds (11) for Minnesota. He also had five blocks. "Were a man short right now and Gorgui, he just came in and did what we needed him to do and thats just rebound and alter shots at the basket," said Kevin Martin, who had 31 points Dieng, the 21st pick in last summers draft, made his first career start in place of Nikola Pekovic, who sat out with soreness in his right ankle. "I was prepared if I get minutes or not I was just going to keep working," Dieng said. "I think you should work more when you dont play a lot. I didnt get minutes. I never got frustrated. Just keep working and I know my time will come one day." A former Timberwolves player saw Diengs potential firsthand. "I told him since the first day he got here that its your job to block shots. You got drafted to rebound and block shots. His post games getting better as well. If he sticks with that hes going to be a good player in this league," said Derrick Williams, who scored 26 points and had 11 rebounds off the bench for Sacramento. Williams knows about being a young player in Minnesota. The second-overall pick in the 2011 Draft, Williams had two disappointing seasons with the Timberwolves before being traded to Sacramento on Nov. 26 for Luc Mbah a Moute, who has been a non-factor for Minnesota. "I think anybody who gets traded wants to play good against the team that traded them," he said. "I just wanted to be aggressive because (DeMarcus) Cousins was out and I was the next man up. Coach wants me to be aggressive and thats what I did tonight." Cousins, the Kings starting centre, missed the game with right knee tendinitis. He was replaced by Aaron Gray, who hadnt seen action since Feb. 25. Gray finished with four points in 20 minutes. "Its a testament to Aarons work ethic and his positive attitude for him to be ready to play tonight after not playing in so many games," coach Michael Malone said. "It was good to see him out there." Love hit 3 of 6 3-pointers, including one with 1:07 to play to give Minnesota a 97-95 lead and the Timberwolves hung on to win for the 33rd time, their most wins since 2005-06. Sacramentos Isaiah Thomas had 27 points, including two 3-pointers in the final 15 seconds to keep it close. Thomas scored from beyond the arc with 13.2 seconds left to get the Kings within two. After Martin made two free throws to make it 102-98 with 12.1 seconds left, Thomas answered with another 3-pointer before Martin made two more free throws with 5.7 seconds left. It was the second straight night the Kings couldnt close out a game, leaving them with a 2-5 record on a season-long seven-game road trip. They were outscored by six points in the fourth quarter and lost 94-87 in Chicago Saturday. "We were in there; we had a chance to win, but we just couldnt capitalize," Thomas said. Down 29-19 late in the first quarter, Williams provided a spark by scoring 10 straight points off the bench to get the Kings within three by quarters end. Williams had six more in the second quarter as the Kings took a 54-53 halftime lead. NOTES: Sacramento has officially been eliminated from playoff contention. ... Listed as day to day, Pekovic missed 13 games earlier this season -- including all of February -- with bursitis in his right ankle. ... Minnesota entered the game averaging a league-low 3.5 blocks per game. ... Thomas reached 1,000 career assists with a first-quarter helper, becoming the eighth player in Sacramento history to have that many in his first three seasons with the Kings. ... Martin made his 1,000th career 3-pointer in the fourth quarter. ... Twelve of Sacramentos final 15 games are in the Pacific time zone. Jackson Martinez Colombia Jersey . Here are some of the best from Week Three and players to watch for Week Four: TOP PERFORMERS Andrew Harris, RB, British Columbia (203 YDS, 1 TD, 23 touches at Saskatchewan) - 27-year-old Canadian runner had compiled 3341 yards and 22 touchdowns from scrimmage over the previous two seasons and he burst through with a monster game against the Roughriders last week. Camilo Vargas Colombia Jersey .The sixth-ranked Mount Allison Mounties and No. 3 Marauders will bring very similar styles to McMasters Ron Joyce Stadium on Saturday for the Vanier Cup semifinal.Former NFL lineman Jeremy Newberry often hobbled into the 49ers locker room on game days using a walking boot and crutches, then lined up behind as many as two dozen teammates, in his case to get a shot of the painkiller Toradol in the butt. Ten minutes later, he sprinted out of the tunnel and onto the field. The toughness of pro football players may be legendary, but a lawsuit filed Tuesday on behalf of more than 600 former players contends it was abetted by team physicians and trainers across the NFL who routinely -- and often illegally -- dispensed powerful narcotics and other controlled substances on game days to mask the pain. Among them were the painkillers Percodan, Percocet and Vicodin, anti-inflammatories such as Toradol, and sleep aids such as Ambien -- "handed out like candy at Halloween," according to lead attorney Steven SIlverman. Sometimes, the lawsuit also charges, the drugs were given in combinations as "cocktails." "The stuff works," Newberry, who played seven of his nine seasons in San Francisco before retiring in 2009, told The Associated Press in an interview. "It works like crazy. It really does." But only for so long. Newberry, now 38 and one of the eight plaintiffs so far named in the lawsuit, says that because of the drugs he took while playing, he suffers from kidney failure, high blood pressure and violent headaches. Others -- including three members of the NFL champion 1985 Chicago Bears: quarterback Jim McMahon, Hall of Fame defensive end Richard Dent and offensive lineman Keith Van Horne -- reported a range of debilitating effects, from chronic muscle and bone ailments to permanent nerve and organ damage to addiction. "Our attorneys have not seen the lawsuit," said NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, in Atlanta for the leagues spring meetings, "and obviously I have been in meetings all day." The lawsuits main burden is proving cause and effect -- that use of painkillers long ago is responsible for chronic problems the players face now. The claims are for a wide variety of problems that are common in older people, such as high blood pressure, knee replacements, arthritis, kidney problems, heart attacks and abnormal heart rhythms. The diversity of these problems, affecting so many different parts and body systems, tends to argue against a single cause, such as painkiller use. The players also would have to show that they are suffering these problems at a greater rate than other people their age, and that its not due to other risk factors such as obesity, smoking and family history. Six of the plaintiffs in the new lawsuit filed in federal court in San Francisco, including McMahon and Van Horne, were also parties to the concussion-related class-action lawsuit less than a year ago. The NFL agreed tto pay $765 million to settle that case -- without acknowledging it concealed the risks of concussions from former players. Adrian Ramos Colombia Jersey. A federal judge has yet to approve the settlement, expressing concern the amount is too small. "The difference is that the concussion case claimed the NFL knew or should have known," Silverman said. "Were saying this was intentional, putting profits ahead of players health -- and in violation of federal controlled substance laws, as well as state laws. You dont order hundreds of narcotic painkillers in their names without telling them." The lawsuit covers the years 1968-2008. Silverman said a number of clients reported teams had "tightened up" dispensing procedures since then, including one incident in which a player said a trainer waited until the team plane on a flight home was 10,000 feet in the air before handing over a narcotic "to avoid violating any state laws." McMahon and Van Horne were among several players wqho said they were never told about broken bones and fed pills to mask the pain instead. Toradol, which players called a "full-body numb-er" and "the current game-day drug of choice of the NFL" was prevalent enough that Newberry described frequently seeing both teammates and opponents during warm-ups with blood spots on the buttocks of their pants -- a telltale sign theyd taken a pre-game injection. "There was a room set up near the locker room and you got in line," said Kyle Turley, who played for three NFL teams in an eight-year career. "Obviously, we were grown adults and we had a choice. But when a team doctor is saying this will take the pain away, you trust them. Newberry said he regrets that decision now, but never considered not taking the drugs during his career because he feared hed be out of a job if he didnt play. After his retirement, a specialist who reviewed his medical records concluded the protein levels in his urine had been elevated -- a precursor to kidney problems -- for years. Newberry said he got blood work during a team-sponsored physical every year but was never told about any problems. "They said, Youre good to go, you passed another one. Youre cleared to play," he recalled. Silverman said he planned to serve the NFL with the lawsuit within the next 120 days, after which the league has 30 days to respond. The case could be significantly delayed if there are similar filings and the lawsuits are eventually consolidated into a single class-action. "We hope this gets to trial," Silverman said. "I could see a scenario where, if it were to go to discovery, there would be more doctors and trainers taking the Fifth (Amendment) than providing sworn testimony. We think the problem is that profound." Cheap Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Cheap Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys China Wholesale Jerseys ' ' '
