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SACRAMENTO, Calif., Nov. 10 (AP) -- Kevin Martin had 29 points and Brad Miller added 12 points and 16 rebounds to lead the Sacramento Kings 100-93 over the winless Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday night.

John Salmons had 19 points and three steals for the Kings who were playing at home for the second night in a row.

Al Jefferson had 17 points and 12 rebounds and Rashad McCants came off the bench to score 16 points for Minnesota in a game that was tied 21 times.

Neither team could get much distance after halftime, and Sebastian Telfair made a 3-pointer to send the teams into the fourth quarter tied at 73.

Minnesota took an 89-88 lead on two free throws by rookie Corey Brewer with 4:13 left. But the Kings regained it when Martin hit three straight free throws and Miller made two for a 94-90 lead with 1:28 to play.

McCants hit a 3-pointer on the next possession, but Beno Udrih hit a basket to keep the Timberwolves down by three.

After Garcia won a jump ball, Miller tipped in a missed basket to seal the victory.

Notes: After 354 sellouts at ARCO Arena over an eight-year period, the Kings failed for the third consecutive home game to fill the seats to capacity. ... Saturday night's announced crowd against the Timberwolves was 13,170. ... Sacramento Kings rookie Spencer Hawes made his NBA debut in the second quarter. ... The Kings 10th pick in the first round, Hawes had arthroscopic surgery in October on his right knee. Hawes finished with 2 points in six minutes

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In the MINNEAPOLIS STAR TRIBUNE, Jerry Zgoda writes “the Timberwolves' bothersome relationship with too many turned ankles and too many personal fouls continued Tuesday night. So, too, did their season-opening losing streak, which reached three games with a 111-103 loss to Orlando at Target Center. The Wolves lost needed scorer Rashad McCants because of a sprained ankle 11 minutes into the game, never to return on the night.”

MINNEAPOLIS, Nov. 6 (AP) -- A pair of young beasts on the low block are coming into their own, and it's going to be awfully fun to watch these two go at each other for the next 10 years.

Give the latest, and best head-to-head to date, to Dwight Howard - barely.

In a matchup of two of the best young power forwards in the game, Howard edged his classmate Al Jefferson, scoring 28 points and grabbing 16 rebounds in Orlando's 111-103 victory over winless Minnesota on Tuesday night.

"Oh yeah, its fun,'' Howard said of playing against Jefferson, who had 25 points and 10 rebounds. "He's a great low post player. He works with the guy (Wolves coach Randy Wittman) who taught me almost everything I know.

"His game is getting better. Has gotten better since he got in the league. He's always been a great scorer, but he's more potent now than he was back in the day.''

Carlos Arroyo had 18 points and six assists in place of an injured Jameer Nelson and Rashard Lewis scored nine of his 27 points in the fourth quarter for the Magic to stave off the hard-charging Timberwolves.

Jefferson was quiet for the first three quarters, managing just 13 points and four rebounds, but he scored 12 points in the fourth to help the Timberwolves make things interesting.

The Wolves trailed 92-76 with 10:32 to play in the game before Jefferson took over, scoring eight points in a 14-0 run that cut Orlando's lead to 92-90.

But Lewis came right back, hitting three straight 3-pointers to push the lead back to 101-95 and Minnesota never got closer than four the rest of the way.

"Rashard Lewis hit some big shots,'' Jefferson said. "I knew he was a great player, but he really showed us that tonight.''

Marko Jaric had 10 points and 10 assists and Greg Buckner scored 18 points for the Timberwolves, who missed Rashad McCants' offensive skills down the stretch. McCants went out in the first quarter with a sprained ankle.

Jefferson and Howard have quite a history, and they went at each other hard all night.

"Me and Dwight Howard, we're great friends,'' Jefferson said. "But when we're on the court, we hate each other. He says to me in the game, 'Man stop doing all those ball fakes.'

"And I said, 'Well, stop jumping.' It's always fun to go against him. But when we're out there on the court we're battling.''

Howard dominated Jefferson for the first three quarters, scoring 26 points and grabbing 14 points to give the Magic a 14-point cushion.

But he managed just two points in the fourth, and got plenty of help from Lewis to keep his buddy Jefferson down.

Both were high school All-Americans from the South - Howard from Atlanta and Jefferson from Mississippi - who decided to skip college in 2004 and go straight for the pros. Howard was the No. 1 overall pick who signed a five-year, $80 million contract extension in July after being an All Star last year.

Jefferson was picked 15th by the Celtics and came to Minnesota in the Kevin Garnett trade at the end of July. He signed a five year, $65 million extension last week.

After signing that deal, Jefferson shocked the local media in attendance at the press conference when he said he didn't feel like he had proven himself to deserve the max contract just yet.

"I just felt like I had more work to do,'' Jefferson said again on Tuesday night. "Dwight Howard got max and I think he proved himself to get max because all three years he's been in the league, he's proved himself to be a max player. I just had a great year last year.''

Jefferson is 22 and Howard will turn 22 in December. They have played against each other in the NBA for four years now, but it's clear this rivalry is just beginning.

"It's all good fun out there,'' Jefferson said. "But we know it's a game and we all try to win.''

Notes: Nelson missed the game with a slight concussion and J.J. Redick was out with back spasms. ... Wolves C Theo Ratliff missed the game with the flu. ... Wittman served as an assistant for one year in Orlando and exchanged pleasantries with several players after coming out of the locker room for warmups at halftime. ... Vikings free safety Darren Sharper was at the game. In the "Don't quit your day job'' department: He shot 5-for-26 from 3-point range before the game.

NEW YORK, Nov. 4 (AP) -- Jamal Crawford scored 10 of his 24 points in the fourth quarter and the New York Knicks won their home opener for the first time in six years by beating the Minnesota Timberwolves 97-93 Sunday night.

After a loss at Cleveland in their opener, the Knicks finally had something to celebrate thanks to Crawford, who keyed the stretch in the middle of the fourth quarter that allowed New York to build enough of a cushion for the final minutes.

Zach Randolph added 15 points and 10 rebounds for the Knicks, who had lost five straight home openers since beating Washington on Oct. 30, 2001. Stephon Marbury added 17 points and seven assists, and David Lee scored 14 points.

Ryan Gomes scored 19 points for the Timberwolves, who fell to 0-2 in their first season since trading longtime star Kevin Garnett to Boston over the summer. The Wolves had won four in a row and 10 of 12 against New York.

Al Jefferson, also acquired in the Garnett deal, added 16 points and 12 rebounds.

The game was tied at 81 with 7 minutes left before Crawford's jumper gave New York the lead for good. After two free throws by Marbury, Crawford made a pair, then he made another jumper for an 89-81 lead with 5:18 remaining.

Minnesota twice pulled within three and had a chance to tie after calling timeout with 11 seconds left. But Antoine Walker missed a 3-point attempt and Randolph made a clinching free throw with 2.2 seconds to play.

The Knicks were greeted with a supportive sellout crowd. Coach Isiah Thomas received a loud, mixed reception during pregame introductions .

The Wolves started quickly, shooting 59 percent and leading by as many as 10 in the first quarter before settling for a 28-21 advantage. The Knicks turned things around with a sizzling second quarter, shooting 12-of-14 (86 percent) in a 33-point period that sent them to halftime ahead 54-50.

New York opened a four-game homestand. The Knicks host Denver on Tuesday night in the first meeting between the teams since last year's brawl at Madison Square Garden that led to seven suspensions, including a 15-game penalty for Denver's Carmelo Anthony, who led the NBA in scoring at the time.

Notes: Thomas and Minnesota coach Randy Wittman, college teammates for two years at Indiana, shared a pregame hug and chat.

"I'm here as a friend. I haven't seen him in a while and that's kind of all I'm going to indulge in,'' Wittman said. "He's going through some tough times, absolutely, and I just told him he could pick up the phone at any time and call me.'' ... The NBA players weren't the only good athletes at MSG. New York marathon champions Paula Radcliffe and Martin Lel were at the game, as was welterweight champion Miguel Cotto, who takes on Shane Mosley here Saturday.