LOS ANGELES, 21 February 2004 — The Minnesota Timberwolves handed out “KG for MVP” T-shirts to 5,000 fans to promote superstar Kevin Garnett for the Most Valuable Player award, but by the end of the game, nearly all 18,667 in attendance got the message.

Garnett scored six of his 22 points down the stretch and ripped down 24 rebounds to power the Timberwolves past the cold-shooting Sacramento Kings, 92-75 on Thursday night in a showdown of Western Conference top teams.

“I just wanted to come out aggressive,” said Garnett, who finished runner-up to San Antonio’s Tim Duncan in last year’s MVP balloting. “When you’re in the flow, it can be defensive, offensive or a rebounding flow. I was in a flow that I saw every rebound and where it was going. I just wanted it and got it.”

Sam Cassell had 18 points and Latrell Sprewell added 13 for Minnesota (39-15), which moved into a virtual deadlock with Indiana (39-15) and Sacramento (38-14) for the league’s best record.

The Timberwolves welcomed back sharpshooter Wally Szczerbiak, who scored six points in his season debut after missing the first 53 games with a strained tendon in his left foot.

Peja Stojakovic scored 15 points and Darius Songaila added 12 as Sacramento had its four game winning streak snapped after struggling to a season-low output on an icy 34 percent field goal shooting.

The two evenly matched teams had gone into overtime the previous four meetings but that wasn’t the case in Minnesota’s wire-to-wire win. The Timberwolves turned up the defense to hold the Kings 30 points below their league-leading average.

Garnett was brilliant on the backboards but the league’s top rebounder didn’t have a great shooting night (8-for-19) before stepping it up down the stretch. The Kings closed to within 76-70 with just under six minutes remaining after Gary Trent was called for goal-tending Jackson’s — attempt. But that’s as close as they would get. Cassell buried a 3-pointer and Garnett scored six of the next eight points in a decisive 16-5 closing run to wrap up the victory.

Elsewhere:

76ers 112, SuperSonics 101:

Allen Iverson scored 40 points on 10-of-24 shooting and handed out 11 assists to help the visiting 76ers snap a five-game road losing streak. Iverson eclipsed the 40-point barrier for the 50th time in his career, games in which the Sixers have gone 37-13.

Glenn Robinson added 26 points as Philadelphia improved to 2-1 under interim coach Chris Ford. Ray Allen had 31 points and a season-high 11 rebounds in Seattle’s eighth loss in the last 11 games.

L.A. Clippers 102, Celtics 100:

Eddie House buried a 19-foot jumper with 1.8 seconds left, allowing the Clippers to snap a five-game losing streak.

Elton Brand had a season-high 39 points along with 11 rebounds and six blocks as Los Angeles regrouped after blowing a 13-point lead down the stretch.

Keyon Dooling added 16 points off the bench for the Clippers after Quentin Richardson was ejected in the first quarter. Ricky Davis scored 23 points, Jiri Welsch had 20 and Paul Pierce finished with 18 on 5-of-19 shooting in Boston’s fourth consecutive loss.

US Olympic Women’s Team Heads for Cuba

In Jacksonville, Florida, the United States Olympic women’s basketball team began training workouts Thursday in advance of next week’s trip to political rival Cuba for three exhibition games starting Tuesday.

The Americans, who have named nine members of their roster for August’s Athens Games, will play against the 2003 Pan American Games champions three days in a row and conduct a final practice session before returning home.

Chancellor, who also guides the Houston Comets of the Women’s National Basketball Association, said a similar training trip to Australia two years ago before the World Championships in China was crucial to that team’s success.

The US team includes WNBA players Sue Bird, Tamika Catchings, Lisa Leslie, Shannon Johnson, DeLisha Milton-Jones, Katie Smith, Dawn Staley, Tina Thompson and Sheryl Swoopes. Coaches will consider hopefuls Swin Cash, Ruth Riley, Cheryl Ford and Nikki Teasley for the final three spots during the Cuba trip.

China Appoints NBA Coach to Lead Olympic Team

In Beijing, China has appointed Dallas Mavericks’ assistant coach Del Harris to lead its men’s basketball team into this year’s Athens Olympic Games, the China Basketball Association (CBA), said yesterday. Harris, 66, was the head coach of US National Basketball Association (NBA) teams the Houston Rockets, the Milwaukee Bucks and the L.A. Lakers.

The American, who is the first foreigner appointed head coach of the Chinese team, also helped coach the Puerto Rican, US and Canadian national teams.

His NBA record reached 556-457 in his 13 years as a head coach. One of the highlights was taking Houston to the 1981 NBA finals, where they lost to the Boston Celtics.

Jonas Kazlauskas, former head coach of the Lithuanian national team, and two Chinese coaches were appointed as assistants to Harris, the CBA said. The initial stage of Harris’s contract expires after the Athens Olympics in August, with a possible extension to the 2008 games dependent on China’s performance in Athens.