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SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Having played six seasons with the Kings, Kevin Martin is very comfortable at Sleep Train Arena in Sacramento. He showed it again Saturday night, scoring 26 points to help the Minnesota Timberwolves reach .500 with a 108-97 win over the Kings. Returning after missing Minnesotas last seven games with a broken left thumb, Martin fell into a groove from the start, making his first four shots and scoring 19 first-half points. "I feel like basketball is the easy part," said Martin, who is 5-0 in games at Sacramento since being traded to Houston in the 2009-10 season. "I remember getting hurt before and coming right back with good games, so this didnt surprise me." Martin was a late first-round draft pick who blossomed with the Kings. His first head coach was Rick Adelman, now Minnesotas coach. The time spent in Sacramento is something Martin savors. "I take pride in coming back here and trying to play well. Sacramento is like my second home," he said. "The fans here saw me grow from a guy who played 10 minutes a game as a rookie and is now a 10-year veteran." It was the second straight win and fifth in six games for the Timberwolves (29-29). Trailing by three points at the half, Minnesota outscored the Kings 31-17 in the third quarter, opening the frame with nine straight points and never relinquishing the lead. Kevin Love added 22 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists for Minnesota, and Nikola Pekovic had 20 points and nine rebounds. Corey Brewer scored 13. DeMarcus Cousins had 21 points and 17 rebounds for the Kings in his return from a one-game suspension. Rudy Gay had 22 of his 24 points in the opening half and Isaiah Thomas had 22 points and eight assists in Sacramentos third straight loss. The Kings committed 19 turnovers, including six in the third quarter that led to numerous fast-break opportunities for the Timberwolves. "For whatever reason we just continue to beat ourselves," Kings coach Michael Malone said. "Nineteen turnovers and 27 points? Good teams dont beat themselves. So its very hard in the same game to beat your opponents and yourself and we did that tonight." It was a rare off night for Love, who averaged 34 points and 14 rebounds in seven February games. He shot 4 of 12, but converted 12 of 14 free throws. But Love received plenty of help from Martin and Pekovic, who sat out the last 13 with a right foot he injured Jan. 27 at Chicago. "It was way more than I expected," Pekovic said of his 28 minutes. "I was trying to be productive and had to push myself. Im told the (ankle) pain will be there all the time." Cousins was suspended one game for punching Houston Rockets guard Patrick Beverley on Tuesday and fined $20,000 as part of the incident in which he verbally abused official Courtney Kirkland and failed to leave the court in a timely manner. Cousins leads the NBA with 15 technicals this season. One more and he will be suspended for one game under NBA rules. The Kings are winless in the 10 games Cousins has missed this season. "My biggest disappointment is the first quarter and the third quarter," Cousins said. "We let them get a hot start in the first quarter and the same thing with the third. Coming out of that third we had to dig ourselves out of ditch." Thomas made consecutive baskets to get the Kings within 97-95 with 2:09 remaining. But Pekovic converted two free throws and Rubio hit a 3 to give the Timberwolves some breathing room at 102-95 with 53.4 seconds left and Minnesota closed it out from the free throw line. NOTES: Kings reserve forward Carl Landry missed his second straight game with a sore right knee. ... Sacramento shot 70 per cent in the first quarter and led 31-30. ... Adelman was head coach for eight seasons with the Kings and his teams made the playoffs every year. Sacramento hasnt made the playoffs since Adelman was fired following the 2005-06 season. ... The Timberwolves are 3-1 on their road trip, which concludes Monday in Denver. Lenny Dykstra Jersey . - Diego Fagundez scored his team-leading 13th goal of the season in the 76th minute to lift the Revolution to a 3-2 victory over the Columbus Crew on Saturday night that kept New Englands playoff hopes alive. Todd Frazier Mets Jersey . Some members of the U.S. Congress arent so sure. They say Russia isnt doing enough to assure that athletes will be protected at the Feb. 7-23 games, happening not far from an Islamic insurgency that Russias huge security apparatus has struggled for two decades to quell. Russia may run greater risks in towns outside the tightly controlled Olympic zone. Suicide bombs last month a few hundred kilometres (miles) away have increased concerns, and an Islamic warlord has urged his followers to attack the Sochi Olympics, Russian President Vladimir Putins pet project. http://www.metsbaseballauthentic.com/yoenis-cespedes-mets-jersey/ .com) - Longtime Senators star Daniel Alfredsson returned to Ottawa on Thursday to officially announce his retirement. Keon Broxton Mets Jersey . All of 46 seconds into the Pittsburgh Penguins 3-2 victory over Alex Ovechkins struggling Washington Capitals, Crosby assisted on Chris Kunitzs goal. Jeurys Familia Mets Jersey . Goins is the early favourite to win the starting job at second base. Pillar is an outsider to secure a role off the bench, which becomes an even more difficult spot to win if the number of back up jobs is reduced by one. That happens if the Blue Jays decide to start the season with an eight man bullpen.Iceland overcame the second-half sending-off of Olafur Skulason to hold on for a 0-0 draw against Croatia in the first leg of their World Cup playoff on Friday, keeping the tiny Nordic nation in contention for a place at a first major tournament. After a tight first half, the Croatians took command in Reykjavik after Skulason was dismissed for a professional foul in the 51st minute, but couldnt find a way past Iceland goaalkeeper Hannes Halldorsson and his packed defence.dddddddddddd Eduardo had a weak shot cleared away from near the goalline after barely a minute for Croatia, whose substitute Ivica Olic forced a fine reaction save from Halldorsson in the 55th. The second leg is in Zagreb on Tuesday, with Iceland -- with a population of around 320,000 -- looking to become the least populous country to play at a World Cup. ' ' '