Brook Lopez scored 22 points in the Brooklyn Nets' 91-83 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Lopez, who made 10 out of 16 attempts from the floor and had seven assists against the Timberwolves, is one of the contenders for a place in the All-Star team.
"We just have a number of great guys who are very talented individually, and we're just playing well together," the Associated Press quoted Lopez as saying. "That's the best part."
Lopez must be waiting for the moment when the All-Star reserves' name will be announced.
"You know I never watch any of that stuff. I'll probably be sitting in my room with the lights turned off, doing nothing," Lopez, the NBA's highest-scoring center, added.
Deron Williams and Joe Johnson scored 18 points apiece against the Timberwolves, while C.J. Watson finished with 14 points for the Nets.
"We're grateful for the win, but hopefully we realize we need to play a little more consistently than we did tonight," Interim coach P.J. Carlesimo said.
For the Timberwolves, Andrei Kirilenko was the top scorer with 15 points and six rebounds, while Dante Cunningham scored 14. Shooting guard Alexey Shved and center Nikola Pekovic could not play because of injuries.
"Any time you play a team like this, all we talk about is they're dangerous," Williams said. "They've got a couple guys out, but these other guys are hungry. They want the minutes. They relish the minutes."
Brooklyn started off very well and outshined the Minnesota 24-17 in the first quarter. They again outscored the Timberwolves 29-25 to enter the second half with an 11-point lead.
The Nets extended their lead to 66-52 at one point in the third quarter, but the Timberwolves rebounded behind Luke Ridnour to trail by only two points. However, Brooklyn ended the quarter leading 68-62.
"The fact that they made a run and we withstood it and still held 'em off on their home floor means a lot," Johnson said.
The Nets out-rebounded the Timberwolves 45-37 in the game. They made six 3-pointers, whereas the opponents could convert only three.
Brooklyn scored 23 points in the fourth quarter and their defense stopped the Timberwolves at 21 to win the game by eight points, a win which improved their record to 12-2 under Carlesimo.
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