SAN ANTONIO -- Having no answer for Kevin Love for three-and-a-half quarters, the San Antonio Spurs made Minnesota solve their Big 3. The Timberwolves failed. Tony Parker had 29 points to offset Loves season-high 42 points and San Antonio rallied for a 117-110 victory over Minnesota on Friday night. Manu Ginobili had 20 points and nine assists, fueling a 37-21 fourth quarter that helped the Spurs avoid their second home loss this season. Tim Duncan added 12 points and 14 rebounds. Duncan, Parker and Ginobili have won three NBA titles together and are the active leaders for wins as a trio. That experience paid off against the Timberwolves, who have not made the playoffs since 2005. "Its got to show up somewhere," Duncan said of the trios experience. "If you want to call it that, it is what it is. We know whats going on out there, especially when it gets down to crunch time and things really count. Weve made plays long enough that we know where each other is going to be." Ginobili and Parker combined to score San Antonios final points in a 26-12 closing run, and teamed with Duncan to dish out all but one of the teams final five assists and seven of its last 11 rebounds. "We know what theyre capable of and when you get them into a two- or three-minute game, theyre incredible," Love said. "Theyve played together for a very long time, but they just made plays and we missed shots that we usually make." Kawhi Leonard had 19 points and Boris Diaw and Marco Belinelli had 12 points apiece for San Antonio. Nikola Pekovic had 18 points, Ricky Rubio added 15 points and Kevin Martin had 14 for Minnesota, which had won two straight. Ginobili scored 16 points in the final quarter, helping San Antonio overcome a lethargic start. His reverse layup with 2 minutes remaining extended San Antonios lead to 111-108. "Manu is playing great," Parker said. "Hes got his legs. He looks like hes fresh and hes making his shots. In the fourth quarter, he was very aggressive. That was big for us." Parker was just as big, making his only 3-point attempt of the quarter while scoring 12 points on 5-for-7 shooting. "Thats why he is one of the best in the league, and thats why he almost won (the NBA title) by himself last year with the Spurs," Rubio said. "Right now, hes one of the top two or top three point guards in the league." San Antonio needed the trios contributions to offset Love. He was 8 for 9 on 3-pointers and had 14 rebounds. He had 26 points after halftime, nearly besting his previous season-high of 34 in the second half alone. "He shot the ball incredibly," Duncan said. "He made some tough ones and just kept on going. Boris did a great job in the last six minutes of really getting onto him and making him do something else. It changed the game a little bit for us." Loves final points came on a pair of free throw with 6 minutes remaining and his last basket was on a dunk 41 seconds earlier. Leonard scored nine straight points midway through the third quarter, keeping San Antonio in the game while Minnesota got hot behind the 3-point line. The Timberwolves were 6 for 12 on 3s in the third, making three consecutive attempts to take a 79-75 lead with 4 minutes left. Love had the opening and closing 3s in the run, finishing with 19 points in the third quarter. He was 5 for 6 on 3s in the period, and 7 for 9 overall as Diaw, Jeff Ayres and all the help defence the Spurs provided failed to slow him. "He is a great player," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "When you can play inside and outside the way he does, he is a tough cover. I think we could have done a better job. I thought we made some really fundamental errors in guarding him, but, be that as it may, he is a monster." NOTES: Spurs centres Tiago Splitter (tightness left calf) and Aron Baynes (calf strain) both sat out. ... Minnesota F Chase Budinger (knee surgery) missed the game, as did C Ronny Turiaf (fractured right elbow). ... Entering Fridays game, San Antonio leads the league in assists, averaging 25.0 per game. ... Entering Fridays game, a quarter of Corey Brewers 114 baskets for Minnesota this season had come on dunks. He is shooting 45 per cent from the field. Mark Grace Jersey . There are some early surprises in the race for the Hart Trophy, but two of the contenders are the leagues biggest stars over the past decade. There are many more players in contention for the awards than just the three that Ive named, and a good or bad week can easily alter the landscape, but through the first 20 or so games of the NHL season, this is how the awards races look to me. Custom Chicago Cubs Jerseys . Now he can be had by any team willing to pay his salary. According to a report from ESPN, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are shopping the veteran CB and plan on releasing him Wednesday if they cant find a trade partner. http://www.cubsauthentic.com/cubs-carlos-zambrano-jersey/. The Wild, playing their first game since leading scorer Mikko Koivu broke his ankle Saturday at Washington, have won three straight for the first time since Nov. 1-5. Koivu underwent surgery on Monday and is expected to miss at least four weeks. David Ross Jersey .C. -- Carter Ashton had a pair of goals and added an assist as the Toronto Marlies downed the Charlotte Checkers 5-2 on Saturday in the American Hockey League. Ben Zobrist Jersey . The Raptors have to get through the pesky New York Knicks Wednesday at Madison Square Garden and can lock up the third spot in the Eastern Conference with a win or a Chicago loss in Charlotte.From huddle to huddle: "The way I see it" Drew Willys huddle in Winnipeg. Found a running back in Nick Grigsby, Buck was right when he said he was a slasher!Aaron Kelly had the half of his career, crazy-good TD catch to open the scoring in 2014, can he sustain that production?Hate to see Cory Watson continue to have hammy problems, hes a difference maker for that offence when hes healthy.Drews smiling for many reasons, but the biggest reason has got to be for the amount of one-on-one coverage he saw against the Argos. When looking back at the video its unbelievable how much cover 1 he faced. Play after play, flat across the board, man to man coverage. Its a quarterbacks dream to get that percentage of man coverage in a game. When the Argos tried to apply pressure and blitz, Drew had a relative easy time reading the alignment of free safety Matt Black. The young QB, making his fifth career start, was seeing everything clearly. He spotted the ball with great accuracy and timing when exploiting the one-on-one coverage and easily detected zone coverage delivering the ball with anticipation and location. Fun night at IGF experiencing the birth of a new coach, new quarterback and new attitude for the Blue and Gold! Ricky Rays Huddle in Toronto The old saying "When you least expect it, expect it", applies here. I for one, thought Ricky was going to shred the Bombers. Hello Mr. Wrong! Theres another saying/philosophy that "offence is the best defence". Well Id say thats true to some extent here but Winnipegs defence was swarming the record-breaking quarterback from 2013 all night. With that said, Ray showed his pedigree and still posted solid numbers that most QBs would take in a heartbeat, 27-38-283-2TD-0INT.A few costly turnovers, out of his control, and this game may have not been so one-sided, just saying! Looks like Ricky and Co. are going to have to score often if the Argos defence does not come around quickly. Really thats their job anyways, score and score often. Id be surprised if they dont! Mike Rileys huddle in Edmonton The same gutsy style of play we fell in love with in 2013 was on display against his old teammates at BC Place, with a bit of a twist. The slide was incorporated into Mikes game and it was effective. Not that he didnt get smacked around out there, which he did, but all in all against a talented Lions team, the Eskimos leader led and did it without flinching. What a difference a healthy Adarious Bowman makes. Next to "Thick Nik" Lewis in Calgary, is there a more physical receiver in the CFL? Bowman balances the field so well and opens up Fred Stamps to do more, although Fred was fairly tough to find in the Dome, except on one occasion when there was a bust in the BC secondary. Shamawd Chambers caught my eye as he seems to have an extra bounce in his step. The third-year receiver from Wilfrid Laurier was exploding out his breaks and played with a discernible difference of confidence. Great to see. Kevin Glenns huddle in BC The night started out fantastic for the New Lion King, showing off his accurate arm and leadership skills, knifing the Eskimo secondary with precision-like daggers in the first quarter. He found Gore, Poblah, and then Harris who owns BC Place Stadium. Since coming back to the stadium after the refurbishing, Harris has 24 touchdowns in 26 games played! Glenn needed Harris to produce because Ian Logan went MIA, due to the lockdown put on him by the Edmonton defence. Next possession something strange happened, Eddie Steele stole Glenns pass attempt over the middle, showing sweet hands on an interception that no doubt he will tell his grandchildren about. That was the first of four interceptions Glenn would throw in his debut. I know he will take responsibility for the mistakes and has, but you have to give some props to Edmontons defence and the pressure and poise they played with. Finding a way to get it done offensively and getting Logan involved wont get any easier as the Lions go on the road and face a tough Montreal defence this week. I expect the new Lion King to be on the hunt and rebound for the sake of the pride! Bo Levis huddle in Calgary Climb on up, settle into the saddle, put a quarter in the ride and lets roll. Thats what Bo Levi Mitchell did when he took the reigns of the high powered and explosive offence. In some tough windy playing conditions he was patient, efficient and accurate when he needed to be. The biggest throw obviously was the 102-yarder to Maurice Price right before the end of the first quarter with the howling wind at their backs. Who knew those would be enough points to win the contest at that juncture? Ill bet ya, Rich Stubler, the Stamps new defensive coordinator, and his troops had a sneaky suspicion. The new signal caller for the horsemen is going to have the luxury of many weapons at his disposal. One of those weapons is second year receiver Jeff Fuller, who many believe is poised to have a big year. Bo was looking for him and found him on three occasions. He can always look for Marquay McDaniel, Nik Lewis and Brad Sinopoli. If the defence has miraculously covered all those guys then Bo can always turn to the ground and pound with the CFLs Most Outstanding Player in 2013, Jon Cornish. An eight-year veteran, Cornish suffered a concussion during the contest and fortunately for the Stampeders they have a bye this week and there will be no pressures to play the warhorse. If Cornish is not able to go in a few weeks, Mitchell can always hand the rock to a guy Ive had my eye on for a while, Matt Walter, third year running back from the University of Calgary. I cant wait to seee this kid fed the ball on a regular basis.dddddddddddd Bos got to be smiling while atop of that thoroughbred! Troy Smiths huddle in Montreal Watching this video back on this game was painful in many ways. Lets just say theres a lot of work to be done in Montreal. Troys huddle is loaded with exceptional talent from top to bottom and its great to see Brandon (two-way) Whitaker back on the field. Two-Way is an exceptional multi-faceted back that should see the ball early and often until Troy settles in. There is much hype around the former great receiver, Chad Johnson and justifiably so. But Chad has a long way to go before hes consistently contributing at a high level here. Hes playing "Z" receiver in the Als offence, thats the receiver that is the farthest one away from the quarterback to the field side. Tough for a young quarterback thats learning this game to consistently find the Z in the offence. Got to move Chad around but you cant hurry that process because hes just getting accustomed to this game. Duron Carter is a second year player that everyone has pegged to break loose. Good call! But after watching the video, Duron needs to find consistency in his game before thats going to happen. Hes on when he thinks hes got a chance the ball may come his way and off when its a run play or the ball is going the other way. Easy fix, if the young receiver wants to. Its called being a pro and hustling on every play. If I was Troy, as those two gifted athletes figure out the game, Id be locating SJ Green a ton and continue to rotate in Brandon London, Kenny Stafford, Eric Deslauriers, and Dave (Sticky) Stala. The big boys up front are as good as they come in the CFL, rely on them, Two-Way, SJ, simplify things, run it, play action, screen it, high percentage throws, move the launching point and use the unusual amount of talent in that huddle.This is the second year in a row that I find myself scratching my head when it comes to the decisions being made or not being made in Montreal. Im telling ya that puts an experienced quarterback such as one of the best, if not the best ever, in Anthony Calvillo in peril, let alone a young and talented one like Troy Smith. Give LaPolice a call, please! Zach Collaros huddle in Hamilton The young hired gunslinger is in town replacing the old wily veteran. Hes a decade and a half younger than the old fart, more affordable, hes promising, all shiny bright, and new. With that comes some growing pains and an initial drop-off that you hope to coach up to where he comes around quicker rather than later. But in the meantime, games such as what we witnessed this past weekend are going to happen. That was an old fashioned butt kicking and what impressed me about Zachs performance is how he handled it, for the most part. I didnt like it when he walked past head coach Kent Austin while Austin was coaching him up! Not a good sign, but I understand, stuff happens in the heat of the battle. But I liked the way Collaros kept getting up after he was stapled to the ground, time and time again. You look at his numbers and although not great, he really did not force the issue and turn the ball over like he could have very easily. He hung tough and will learn from this debacle.His huddle was a bit depleted without Andy Fantuz and a healthy Greg Ellingson. With that said thats a talented group nonetheless. Recognition, protection and discipline are three areas which will get better with time and reps. With every rep, things will become a little clearer for the young quarterback and he will be able to recognize fronts, stunts and coverages better with each and every one. The ball will come out quicker, improving the so-called protection problems. The young quarterback will be better equipped to put the boys upfront in more advantageous positions improving the offence overall. Discipline is a learned characteristic, the Ticat coaches will pound that one home! In the meantime Zach lived and hopefully learned to fight a better fight another day! Mamma always said, there will be days like this! Unfortunately, Ive been there and more than a few times, ouch! Lets just hope Zach is a faster learner than I was... Darian Durants huddle in Saskatchewan I can hear Darian introducing himself to Anthony Allen and saying, "Anthony, Im Doubles, and Im going to hand you the ball about 20-25 times a game and your lucky ass is going to get to run through holes as wide as the prairies, here in Saskatchewan, that those guys, yep, those big dudes over there, open up for you". "Now Ill buy the dinner and the cool refreshing drinks for all yall just as long as you promise to hang on to the ball and catch it every now and then, sound like a plan"? And so it went...Doubles gave the ball to Anthony over and over and over again. And just as Darian said it would happen, the holes were as wide as the prairies in Saskatchewan. Now what I wanna know is, did Doubles buy dinner and the cool refreshing drinks? Darian looks mighty comfortable, even the most horrific conditions could not dampen the production offensively. Sure not great numbers passing, that just was not in the cards. Adapt and conquer, thats what they did. They went to the ground-and-pound and found themselves what looks to be a keeper in Double A. Brett Swain continues to impress as did Ryan Smith. I know Saskatchewans offence was cheering the loudest for the performance their defence was laying down, led by Ricky Foleys three sacks and six tackles. The Riders made the most of a poor situation at Mosaic Field and for the folks that could be on hand, they were full of Rider Pride. Ready, Break!!! Authentic Steelers JerseysAuthentic Cowboys JerseysAuthentic Raiders JerseysAuthentic Chiefs JerseysAuthentic Eagles JerseysAuthentic Redskins JerseysAuthentic Falcons JerseysAuthentic Ravens JerseysAuthentic Browns JerseysAuthentic Cardinals JerseysAuthentic Bills JerseysAuthentic Panthers JerseysAuthentic Bears JerseysAuthentic Bengals JerseysAuthentic Texans JerseysAuthentic Broncos JerseysAuthentic Lions JerseysAuthentic Packers JerseysAuthentic Jets JerseysAuthentic Dolphins JerseysAuthentic Patriots JerseysAuthentic Jaguars JerseysAuthentic Titans JerseysAuthentic Chargers JerseysAuthentic Giants JerseysAuthentic Saints JerseysAuthentic Buccaneers JerseysAuthentic 49ers JerseysAuthentic Seahawks JerseysAuthentic Rams JerseysAuthentic Vikings JerseysAuthentic Colts Jerseys ' ' '