The Southern Observer » 3s to push the lead to 33-21. Mack fol

MINNEAPOLIS -- The Minnesota Timberwolves best days came with Flip Saunders on the sideline. Now that the organization is shrouded in uncertainty surrounding the long-term future of star forward Kevin Love, Saunders is returning to the bench to try revive a franchise that hasnt made the playoffs in 10 years. With the teams coaching search complicated by Loves status, the Timberwolves decided the best course of action was to have Saunders, who was hired last season as president of basketball operations, step in for a second stint as coach until the situation stabilized, Saunders said in a text message Thursday. The official announcement will come at a news conference on Friday afternoon. Saunders previously coached the Timberwolves from 1995-2005. He won 411 games in 10 1/2 seasons in Minnesota and guided the Wolves to the only eight playoff appearances in franchise history, including the Western Conference finals in 2004. He has a career record of 638-526 in 16 seasons as an NBA head coach, a career that also includes stops in Detroit, where he coached the Pistons to three straight Eastern Conference finals, and Washington. Saunders is joining a short list in the NBA of coaches who also have final-say executive authority, one that includes newly hired Stan Van Gundy in Detroit, Doc Rivers with the Los Angeles Clippers and, to a certain extent, Gregg Popovich in San Antonio. Saunders will continue to work closely with GM Milt Newton in the front office while handling coaching duties. When Rick Adelman retired at the end of the regular season, he did so in part to try to help the Timberwolves move forward with a plan to show Love, a three-time All-Star who can opt out of his contract next summer, that there was a long-term plan in place for success. But Loves tenuous situation didnt help the search process, with trade rumours serving as a caution sign for several high-profile candidates. Saunders was in the market for a coach with extensive head coaching experience, either in the NBA or at a major college program, one that could command the respect of a young locker room and also handle the media scrutiny that comes with the questions surrounding Love. Names like Tom Izzo, Billy Donovan and Fred Hoiberg came and went without any traction. The Wolves hosted Memphis coach Dave Joerger for an interview two weekends ago, but Grizzlies owner Robert Pera sweetened his contract to keep him around. Sam Mitchell, Lionel Hollins, Scott Skiles and several others received consideration as well. Unable to find what they felt was the right fit for a delicate job, Saunders and owner Glen Taylor met this week to reassess the situation, according to two people with knowledge of the situation who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the team was not publicly discussing the search process. Taylor said when he brought Saunders back as team president that he would not put him back on the bench. He fired Saunders as coach once before, in 2005 when Latrell Sprewell and Sam Cassell, unhappy with their contracts, submarined the follow-up to the teams stirring run to the Western Conference finals. Saunders was also hopeful that he could find someone other than himself to take over the team. But with Loves status preventing them from pursuing the coaches they felt would fit best, the two decided that Saunders should take over for at least this season if not longer. The Timberwolves have not given up on convincing Love to play out this season in Minnesota and re-sign next summer to a contract that can pay him and extra year and about $26.5 million more than any other team. It was not immediately clear what the appointment of Saunders would do for Loves desires to stay or go. The Timberwolves planned to meet with Love to see where he stands now that the head coaching vacancy has been filled. Love has yet to make the playoffs in his six seasons in the league and is believed to be growing impatient with the Wolves, who finished 40-42 and in 10th place in the West this year. Love created a stir when he spent last weekend in Boston, where the Celtics are rumoured to be making a run at trading for the 25-year-old power forward before the June 26 draft. Just how long Saunders will coach remains to be seen. There is the possibility that Saunders will add assistants to his staff who could be groomed to eventually take over. The Wolves were expected to reach out to Mitchell, a former Timberwolves player and Raptors head coach, and David Blatt, who has spearheaded Russias return to Olympic relevance and coaches in Israel, to gauge their interest in joining his staff. Steven Stamkos Jersey . Jeff Carter had two goals and an assist as the Kings stretched their streak to seven wins in a row with a 4-2 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Sunday. Tampa Bay Lightning Jerseys .Gasol had 16 points and 13 rebounds, and the Bulls beat the winless Orlando Magic 98-90 on Tuesday night.Jimmy Butler led the Bulls with 21 points and Taj Gibson added 16 for Chicago, which finally pulled away in the final minutes of a game that was tied after three quarters. http://www.lightninghockeystore.us/Mikha...hev-Jersey/.com) - Patrik Elias registered the winner in the shootout as New Jersey nipped Toronto 2-1 at Prudential Center on Wednesday. Brayden Point Jersey .A. remained bitter for Henrik Lundqvist and the Rangers on the long flight back home to New York. Ryan Callahan Jersey . - This win was more the New Jersey Devils style.INDIANAPOLIS -- Atlantas Mike Scott hit Indiana with the first 3-point barrage Monday night. The Hawks defence staggered the Pacers with some late stops. Now Atlanta is heading home with a chance to deliver the knockout punch to the Eastern Conferences top seed. Scott scored all 17 of his points during the Hawks incredible second-quarter run, and the defence fended off the Pacers frantic fourth-quarter charge to hold on for a 107-97 victory and a stunning 3-2 lead in the first-round series. "We can play with this team," Scott said. "Theyre a great team, especially at home, great players, great coach, but we have a belief in ourselves as well." Why not? All the Hawks have to do is protect their home court and they will reach the second round for the first time since 2011, and throw the East into disarray after the talk all season was about an Indiana-Miami rematch in the conference finals. That looks like a long shot now. The Pacers havent won consecutive games with their regular starters in the lineup since mid-March and the leagues best regular-season home team (35-6) has inexplicably given away home court advantage to the Hawks -- twice. Theyre making it look easy, too. Atlanta shredded one of the leagues top defences during a remarkable second quarter, making 13 of 16 shots overall and 9 of 11 from beyond the arc. Scott made all five of his 3s during the decisive 30-6 run, which actually started with the final basket of the first quarter, to turn a 21-18 deficit into a 48-27 lead. Indiana never recovered. Atlanta outscored the Pacers 41-19 during that 12-minute stretch, matching the second-highest second-quarter scoring total in the franchises post-season history. The Hawks scored 41 against Detroit on March 17, 1986, and the St. Louis Hawks had 45 against Fort Wayne on March 14, 1957. Indiana, meanwhile, allowed a second-quarter franchise record, breaking the previous mark of 39 points set by Boston on April 23, 2005. The Hawks joined the 1970 Milwaukee Bucks as the only road teams in the shot-clock era to score at least 40 points in a quarter and give up fewer than 19. Not enough? Atlanta tied an NBA record with 9 3-pointers, most recently done in 2008, and also broke the franchise playoff record for 3s in a game with 15. The previous mark was 12. "I didnt even know," Kyle Korver said after making two 3s in the second quarter and another late in the game to keeep the Hawks in control.dddddddddddd. "Mike got hot. I dont know how many 3s he hit in that quarter. Mike hadnt shot the ball as well as he did tonight, but he hasnt shot that well all series." Shelvin Mack led the Hawks with 20 points, while Paul Millsap had 18. The Pacers, meanwhile, endured yet another bleak chapter in a second-half collapse that could go down as the worst in NBA history -- if they lose either of the next two games. And it was downright dismal. Roy Hibbert finished without a point or a rebound for the first time in his playoff career. Indiana was outrebounded for the first time in the series and its rebuilt bench was outscored 45-23. Paul George led the Pacers with 26 points and 12 rebounds. George Hill, Lance Stephenson and David West all had 16 points, not quite enough to rally on a night they were again serenaded with boos in the first half. "It was frustrating because we didnt make a change," George said of the Pacers defence. "We let them run the same action, the same shot. We didnt do nothing. So that was frustrating." The game changed in a hurry. Atlanta opened the second quarter with a free throw from Mack to tie the score at 21. Scott then made four consecutive 3s to push the lead to 33-21. Mack followed that with a midrange jumper, Korver made a 3, Scott scored on a putback and Korver hit his second 3. Mack followed that with two free throws and Scott closed the run with his last 3 of the game to make it 48-27. The Pacers still trailed 61-40 at halftime and by as many as 30 points in the third quarter before the frantic comeback. Indiana cut the deficit to 85-67 late in the third and with the crowd urging them on, the Pacers made it 96-87 on C.J. Watsons layup with 4:04 to go. But Korver answered with a 3 and the Hawks closed it out at the free throw line. "We dont do much for moral victories, we just dropped the ball," West said. "Everybodys got to be ready to play and I didnt think we responded well enough." Notes: The Pacers had a moment of silence to honour former coach Jack Ramsay, who died Monday at age 89. Ramsay led the Pacers to the first NBA playoff win in franchise history. ... Atlanta has three wins at Bankers Life Fieldhouse and is the only team to beat Indiana on its home court more than once this season. ... The Pacers are 0-10 in series when trailing 3-2. ' ' '