WASHINGTON -- Kevin Love looked as if he was headed for a big night against Washington. Instead, the Wizards kicked their defence up measurably and held the NBAs third-leading scorer below his season average. Love, who entered the game averaging 26.8 points, had 16 in the first quarter but only nine afterward as Washington broke its four-game losing streak with a 104-100 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday night. "I thought he was going for 70 in the first eight minutes," Wizards coach Randy Wittman said. Love, who made five of his first six shots, missed eight of his final 11 to finish with 25. He had 11 rebounds, also below his season average. Bradley Beal scored 25 points, while John Wall added 14 points and tied his career high with 16 assists for Washington. Martel Websters 3-pointer with 42 seconds to play gave the Wizards a 100-98 lead. Beal added two free throws with 12.9 seconds left to make it 102-98. Webster had 17 points, including five 3-pointers. Minnesota started furiously. A 13-2 first-quarter run put them up by 10, and Love had 16 points by the end of the quarter with the Timberwolves ahead 34-27. Love played half the second quarter, missed his only shot, and had just one point, but Minnesota led 63-51 in the half. "I thought when we came out to start the game, it was again lethargic. We werent dictating things defensively. We got upset at halftime and turned it on," Wittman said. Prior to Tuesday mornings shootaround, the Wizards had a players-only meeting, one that Wittman feigned ignorance about before the game. After the game, he joked that he liked the meetings result. "After halftime I was going to have another one. I wasnt going to go in there. Ill do whatever it takes for a win, trust me," Wittman said. Besides holding Love down, Washington also stopped Kevin Martin, who was averaging 24.4 points. He was held to 11. "We need everybody every night. We cant usually get by if we have a couple guys with off games," Timberwolves coach Rick Adelman said. Minnesota began a difficult stretch of five games in seven nights, its second of the season. "Our transition D was poor," Love said. "Thats the only way they scored the ball really. I thought we did a good job in the half court, but everyone knows, when that team gets out in transition they can be pretty good offensively." Beal scored 17 in the second half and his layup with 10:24 to play gave the Wizards an 86-85 lead. They held it until Martins two free throws tied it at 95 with 2:23 to play. "In the first half, we were horrible. We werent there defensively. We were lackadaisical. We played with no energy," Beal said. Wall hit a jumper with 1:26 to play to give Washington a 97-95 lead, but Martin, who had missed 12 of his first 15 field goals, made a 3-pointer and Minnesota pulled ahead 98-97 with 1:11 remaining. Minnesota had won seven of its first 11. Adelman, a veteran of 23 seasons as an NBA coach, cautioned his team. "I keep telling them they havent done anything yet," he said before the game. In the second half, the Timberwolves shot just 34 per cent and missed 10 of their 13 3-pointers. "If youre going to be somebody in the league, you have to be ready to win every night. I think we didnt do it tonight in the second half and this kind of game is one of the games that youre going to need," Wolves guard Ricky Rubio said. Rubio had three quick fouls in just seven first-half minutes and played just 19 minutes. Wall had seven assists in the third quarter as the Wizards outscored the Timberwolves 30-18 to even the game at 81. NOTES: Wittman was incensed about an early first-quarter foul on Beal, but held his emotions in check. After being fined for using profane language and being fined $20,000, Wittman is sensitive. "I aint gonna get in any more trouble," he joked. . Washington F Al Harrington missed his third straight game with a right knee injury. . Wizards F Trevor Ariza missed his second game with a strained right hamstring. . Flip Saunders, who was fired as Washingtons coach in January 2012, returned to the arena in his new role as Minnesotas president of basketball operations. Cheap Adidas Shoes Australia Online . And I wanted to take this opportunity to share some of my experiences gained through International competition and the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan. Seven NHL referees and six linesmen will be assigned upcoming games in Sochi by the IIHF as part of their 28-man officiating roster comprised of 14 refs and 14 linesmen. Cheap Adidas Shoes Australia . Watch the game live on TSN and TSN GO at 9pm et/6pm pt. Serge Ibaka returned to the Thunder lineup from a calf injury that was supposed to sideline him for the remainder of the postseason and the results were sparkling. http://www.wholesaleadidasshoesaustralia.com/. The Detroit Tigers closer blew a three-run lead in the ninth inning Wednesday night against the Dodgers. Cheap Adidas Shoes Online .com) - The Boston Bruins announced Monday that the team has signed goaltender Niklas Svedberg to a one-year contract. Adidas Shoes Australia Sale . -- Howie Kendrick had a two-run single in his first game batting leadoff this season, Chris Iannetta hit a pair of RBI singles and the Los Angeles Angels beat Cleveland 6-4 Tuesday night, sending the Indians to their fifth straight defeat.SOCHI, Russia -- Ukraine will compete in the Winter Paralympics in Sochi despite Russias military moves in Crimea. The Ukrainian Paralympic Committee decided against boycotting the games, announcing a few hours before Fridays opening ceremony that its athletes would stay. The decision came after discussions between Ukrainian officials and athletes over whether to pull out in light of the crisis back home and Russias military takeover of the Crimean peninsula. "We are staying at the Paralympics," Valeriy Sushkevich, president of the National Paralympic Committee of Ukraine, said at a news conference. However, he added that the circumstances were far from ideal. "I dont remember a situation when the organizing country during a Paralympics started an intervention on the territory of a country taking part," Sushkevich said, according to the R-Sport agency. "I dont know what to extent the team can focus on the result now." The Ukrainian official said the team would leave Sochi if there is any escalation of military conflict. "I declare should this happen we will leave the games," Sushkevich said. "We cannot possibly stay here in this case." He said he met with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday night to discuss the situation and request peace during the games. Suskevich said he did not receive any guarantees but it was important that Putin agreed to listen. Putin and IOC President Thomas Bach are expected to attend Fridays opening ceremony. Several countries have decided not to send political leaders or dignitaries to the ceremony in protest of Russias actions in Ukkraine.dddddddddddd Ukraines decision to compete in Sochi was welcomed by the International Paralympic Committee. "We want sport to prevail and a full complement of teams to compete in what we are confident will be a fantastic Paralympic Winter Games," IPC President Phillip Craven said. "All week the IPC has been working closely with the Ukrainian Paralympic Committee in an effort to keep them here in Sochi. The talking point of Sochi 2014 needs to be great sport and great athletes, not global politics." The IPC has appealed for Russia to recognize the U.N.s Olympic Truce, which asks warring parties to cease hostilities during the Olympics and Paralympics. About 575 athletes from 45 countries are due to compete in the 10-day Paralympics. Five sports are on the program -- alpine skiing, cross-country skiing, biathlon, sledge hockey and wheelchair curling. Ukraine has entered 23 athletes for the Sochi Paralympics. It finished fifth in the medals table at the Winter Paralympics in Vancouver in 2010, with a total of 19 medals and five gold. Ukrainian athletes chanted "peace to Ukraine" as they apparently walked out of a flag-raising ceremony in Sochi on Thursday night. That is now under investigation by the IPC as a possible breach of rules banning political protests. "What were trying to do is gather the evidence, gather the transcripts and then we will see if any steps are necessary," IPC spokesman Craig Spence said. "If there was a political protest, obviously wed be disappointed by that because we have said all week that this is about sport, not politics." ' ' '