Suns' Streak Snapped at 17 by T-Wolves

Kevin Garnett sent the streaking Suns back to Phoenix with a rare loss. The Nets headed home from a wild road trip with a win thanks to Vince Carter. <br/><br/>Garnett scored a season-high 44 points, leading

Tuesday, January 30th 2007, 7:07 am

By: News On 6

Kevin Garnett sent the streaking Suns back to Phoenix with a rare loss. The Nets headed home from a wild road trip with a win thanks to Vince Carter.

Garnett scored a season-high 44 points, leading Minnesota to a 121-112 victory Monday night over the Suns and snapping Phoenix's winning streak at 17 games.

``It was cool while it lasted,'' said Suns guard Raja Bell, who scored 26 points.

Garnett, the All-Star who's sometimes criticized for not coming up big in the clutch, was everywhere in the final period against the Suns, dropping turnaround jumper after turnaround jumper to give Phoenix its first loss of 2007.

He scored 15 points in the fourth, including a looping fallaway from the baseline that gave Minnesota a 118-109 lead with 1:55 to play, and put new coach Randy Wittman on the way to a win in his home debut.

``It's just about being a presence,'' Garnett said. ``It's about making them have to deal with me. I will continue to take that approach.''

In Salt Lake City, Carter saved the Nets by hitting a 35-foot 3-pointer as time expired to beat the Jazz, 116-115.

``It's a great feeling,'' the All-Star said after scoring 33 points and sparking a mad celebration by New Jersey.

In other NBA games, it was: Atlanta 93, Orlando 83; Memphis 124, Sacramento 117; New Orleans 103, Portland 91; Houston 105, Philadelphia 84; and Charlotte 105, Denver 101.

In Minneapolis, Steve Nash had 20 points and 18 assists for the Suns, who were looking to tie the fourth-longest winning streak in NBA history. Instead, they headed home for a marquee matchup with San Antonio on Thursday night hoping to start a new streak.

``Better to lose that way than to lose when we beat ourselves,'' Nash said. ``Kevin was sensational. We just didn't make shots at the end at the clip Kevin was making them.''

The Suns couldn't find an answer for Garnett and uncharacteristically lost their offensive mojo in the fourth quarter. After scoring 95 points in the first three quarters, Phoenix managed just 19 in the fourth and looked a little stagnant.

Shawn Marion had 24 points and 10 rebounds and Leandro Barbosa added 17 for Phoenix, which entered the night 15-0 in January.

``We'll start another one,'' Phoenix coach Mike D'Antoni said. ``This is fun.''

For the Nets, a five-game Western swing that started with three excruciating one-point losses ended with consecutive victories and a party in Utah.

Carter got the shot off, watched it go in and then waved goodbye to the Jazz bench before he was tackled by the rest of the Nets.

``I knew that (Jason) Kidd was fast with the ball, but he's even faster without the ball. By the time I turned around he was right up on me,'' Carter said.

Kidd finished with 22 points and 10 assists. He scored 16 in the second quarter to carry the Nets, then Carter took over with 13 points in the third and outscored Utah 5-1 in the last 6 seconds.

``You know, games have been funny,'' Kidd said. ``We've lost three games in a row at the buzzer and now our last game on the road against a talented team in Utah that we win.''

Mehmet Okur led the Jazz with 18 points, 11 rebounds and had five assists. Utah was without leading scorer and rebounder Carlos Boozer (knee) and coach Jerry Sloan, who missed the game with the flu.

Hawks 93, Magic 83

At Atlanta, Joe Johnson had another high-scoring game against Orlando, putting up 34 points to help Atlanta answer a third-quarter challenge.

Johnson, who had averaged 31.8 points in the Hawks' last five wins over Orlando, scored 22 in the second half.

Orlando lost its third straight, including two to Atlanta in four days. The Magic have lost eight of their last nine.

Grant Hill led Orlando with 21 points.

Hornets 103, Trail Blazers 91

At Oklahoma City, David West had 21 points and 10 rebounds, and Jannero Pargo scored 12 straight points for the Hornets in the fourth quarter.

Tyson Chandler had 14 points and 16 rebounds for his seventh double-double in the past 11 games for the Hornets, who have won their past six home games.

Zach Randolph led the Blazers with 20 points. Rookie Brandon Roy added 19.

Grizzlies 124, Kings 117

At Memphis, Tenn., Pau Gasol scored 34 points and Mike Miller added 27 to lead the Memphis.

Chucky Atkins came off the bench to score 22 points, including 13 in the final quarter, to help the Grizzlies win for only the third time in 10 games.

Mike Bibby led Sacramento with 23 points and Kevin Martin finished with 22.

Rockets 105, 76ers 84

At Houston, Tracy McGrady scored 25 points before sitting out the fourth quarter and Rafer Alston had nine of Houston's season-high 31 assists in a win over Philadelphia.

Juwan Howard added 20 points, 10 rebounds and six assists as the Rockets held an opponent to 85 points or fewer for the third straight game.

Samuel Dalembert had 13 points and 11 rebounds and Andre Iguodala scored 19 points for Philadelphia.

Bobcats 105, Nuggets 101

Gerald Wallace scored 25 points and had a key block of Carmelo Anthony in the final minute as visiting Charlotte sent Denver to its third straight loss.

Allen Iverson scored 31 on 10-of-15 shooting and Anthony scored 25 for Denver, but they both got banged up. Iverson sprained his right ankle and Anthony sprained his left wrist.

Anthony said he doesn't expect to miss any games. Iverson was more cautious, though X-rays on his ankle showed no damage.