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DALLAS -- Ricky Rubio hasnt given up on the idea of Minnesota making the playoffs. The case is a little easier to make after the Timberwolves avoided what would have been a disastrous loss in Dallas. Rubio had a triple-double, Kevin Love scored the last of his 35 points with the go-ahead basket late in overtime, and the Timberwolves hung on for a 123-122 victory over the Mavericks on Wednesday night after blowing several leads. Minnesota broke a six-game stretch of alternating wins and losses with a second straight victory to move two games over .500 for the first time since Nov. 23. The Timberwolves (34-32) are still 5 1/2 games behind Dallas and Memphis for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference with 16 games to go. But at least they didnt lose after squandering a 22-point lead in the first half and a 13-point edge with 7 minutes to go. "It was a big game against a tough team who is fighting for the playoffs, too," said Rubio, who had 22 points, 15 assists and 10 rebounds for his third career triple-double. "We want to try to catch up to them." Dirk Nowitzki scored 27 for Dallas and put the Mavericks ahead with a fadeaway over Love with 33 seconds left in overtime before Love scored on a jump hook with 17 seconds to go. Nowitzki missed on another try over Love in the final seconds as the Mavericks saw a three-game winning streak end and missed a chance to move a season-high 15 games over .500. "This is a tough one," said Nowitzki, who had his second straight tough shooting night at 11 of 27. "This feels like a playoff loss. It really does. I dont even know what to say." Monta Ellis scored the last 12 Dallas points of regulation on a three-point play and three consecutive 3-pointers, the last one giving the Mavericks their first lead since early in the first quarter at 113-111. Rubio answered with a pair of free throws for the tie with 50 seconds left. Nowitzki missed a 3-pointer to finish his 0-for-5 shooting in the fourth quarter, but Kevin Martin missed from just inside the arc and Robbie Hummel missed from just outside it for Minnesota. Dallas Devin Harris was short on a mid-court heave at the buzzer in regulation. "We knew they were going to go on a run," said Love, who was 11 of 20 from the field and 11 of 14 from the line. "We will take the win, whether it is in regulation or overtime." Nowitzki hit his first shot of overtime from the baseline and added a 3-pointer for a 120-115 lead, but the Timberwolves went back in front by a point on a reverse layup from Rubio and four free throws from Love. All five Minnesota starters were in double figures. Martin scored 19, Corey Brewer had 11 of his 13 points during Minnesotas fast start in the first quarter and Gorgui Dieng had 10 points and 11 rebounds. Former Dallas guard J.J. Barea had 15 points. Ellis finished with 22 points, including 15 in the fourth quarter and overtime. Shawn Marion had 16 points and 11 rebounds, and Sam Dalembert had 14 boards. Early in the game, the Dallas defence didnt look anything like a unit that had held consecutive teams to less than 40-per cent shooting. Minnesota was at 69 per cent after Dieng hit a hook shot to give the Timberwolves their biggest lead at 50-28 early in the second quarter. The Mavericks had six of their 16 turnovers in the first quarter, and several led to breakaway baskets for Brewer. "They were aggressive. We were sloppy," Dallas coach Rick Carlisle said. "The first quarter was really the biggest factor in the game." The Mavericks forced four straight misses to spark a 24-5 run that got them back in the game. Nowitzki opened the spurt with a jumper, and Jae Crowder finished it with a dunk after a steal by Jose Calderon to make it 55-52. NOTES: Rubio had seven assists in the first quarter, one more than Dallas as a team. Minnesota had 12 for the quarter. ... Ellis was called for a technical after getting his fourth foul in the third quarter. Referee Monty McCutchen screamed at Ellis that he had been warned four times as Ellis walked to the Dallas bench. Stitched Royals Jerseys . - Young and old. Kansas City Royals Pro Shop . -- Mike Shanahan gave Robert Griffin III a rest, and may have turned up the pressure on himself, too. https://www.cheaproyals.com/. -- The Oakland Athletics and free agent right-hander Bartolo Colon have agreed to terms on a US$2 million, one-year contract, bolstering their depleted starting rotation. Royals Jerseys 2019 . 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. Royals Jerseys 2020 . The mixed zone is not a place to make friends. MARTINSVILLE, Va. -- Kurt Buschs Sunday at Martinsville Speedway, in some ways, was like his career wrapped into one afternoon. It started with a pit road confrontation with Brad Keselowski, one that had Busch threatening over his radio to rearrange Keselowskis face when the race was finished, and ended with Busch ending an 83-race victory drought. The victory was his first for Stewart-Haas Racing, in just their sixth race together, suggesting that it could prove a very productive partnership, and one that a reflective Busch said he has learned to approach with a more mature attitude. "I ran a lot of my early part of my career as an individual and I didnt respect my team, my team owners," Busch said, adding that having Tony Stewart as a team owner has helped him learn the value of better team communication. Celebrating in Victory Lane also was emotional, too, because he got to do it for the first time with his son, Houston. "It was pretty emotional. To see him starry eyed and not knowing what he needed to do and I was directing him where he needed to stand and where he could see it all better and put him up on stage," Busch said, his voice cracking. "And to have him break down in tears, it got me crossed up because Ive been trying to deliver for him ... It kind of took it to a new level." Busch did it by passing Martinsville master Jimmie Johnson for the lead with 10 laps to go and holding off the eight-time winner to win at the track for the first time since October 2002. It was his 25th career Cup-level victory, and that it came in the most unlikely of places suggested to Busch that hes finally in the right place, team-wise and personally. "Youve got to put life in perspective, and you have to learn from your mistakes and you cant just sit there and try to muscle your way individually through certain situations," he said. "And so you rely on your experience level, you rely on your team, and this is a great day for me to be able to lift the trophy in Victory Lane for Stewart-Haas Racing." Johnson, with eight wins in 25 career starts on the 0.526-mile oval, led 11 times for 296 laps. He seemed on his way to another victory when he took the lead from Busch with 17 laps remaining. But Busch stayed close, ducked underneath Johnson seven laaps later and Johnson had nothing left to make a run at the lead, making for a polite-looking finish.dddddddddddd "Thats all I had," Johnson said. "Man, I ran the rear tires off the car. I flipped every switch and knob I could in there to get front brake and turns fans off and try to help bring my balance back." Just ahead, Busch wasnt sure he could hang on. He hadnt finished in the top 10 in his last 16 starts here. "I didnt know if wed be able to do it, you know? The 48 car is king here, him or the 24," he said in Victory Lane, referring to Johnson and his Hendrick Motorsports teammate, Jeff Gordon, who also has eight Martinsville victories. "Ive been on this journey for a while and every time you come to Martinsville, you just kind of draw a line through it like theres no way Ill be able to challenge those Hendrick guys or be up in the top 10," Busch said. When it was over, Busch brushed aside talk about his in-race comments about his feud with Keselowski, who claimed that Busch "just drove right through me and ruined my day" on pit road, causing Keselowski to lose 30 laps and retaliate. "He tried to flatten all four of my tires," Busch said of his former teammate with Roger Penske Racing. "Thats a no fly zone. ... He will get what he gets back when I decide to give it back." The race featured an event-record 33 lead changes, and Johnson expected there would be one more, but on a slippery day on the smallest circuit in NASCARs premier series, the cars at the end werent conducive to typical short-track racing. "Man, we were so on edge slipping and sliding," Johnson said about the final laps duel, during which there was very little of the beating and banging that usually typifies end-of-the-day racing at Martinsville. "I think the lack of security in our own car kept us from feeling more racy and putting a bumper to someone or really getting inside someone aggressively." Dale Earnhardt Jr. was third, followed by Joey Logano and Marcos Ambrose. Virginia native Denny Hamlin, a four-time winner at Martinsville stung by criticism when he missed last weeks race in Fontana, Calif., because of an eye infection, promised Friday that he would win, and qualified second, but finished 19th. ' ' '