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MINNEAPOLIS -- After a strong start to the season, the Atlanta Hawks never thought theyd be in a fight to make the playoffs when April came rolling around. If they dont find a way to stop the tumble theyve been on before March closes, they could find themselves on the outside looking in. Gorgui Dieng had 15 points and 15 rebounds to continue his out-of-nowhere emergence, and the Minnesota Timberwolves dealt the slumping Hawks another costly loss with a 107-83 victory. "I think to a certain degree each guy has just got to find it in him," Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer said. "And I think the group has got to find the energy that the group can build. Weve spent most of this season playing with very good energy, so I think theres a lot of things we can pull on an reference to how we want to play and tonight would not be one of those nights." Paul Millsap had 12 points and 10 rebounds for Atlanta (31-39), which has lost four straight and has the New York Knicks right in their rearview mirror for the eighth and final playoff spot. Jeff Teague, who had averaged more than 23 points over the previous four games, went scoreless for the first time this season on 0-for-5 shooting. "I think we just didnt come ready to play," Hawks guard DeMarre Carroll said. "Once we started missing a lot of shots, then we lost our focus. At this time of year, you cant lose your focus." Corey Brewer and Kevin Martin each scored 18 points and Kevin Love had 14 points and 12 rebounds for the Timberwolves. Minnesota scored 32 points off 26 Hawks turnovers and blew the game open in the second half. The struggling Wolves defence held Atlanta to 37.8 per cent shooting and had six of its 17 steals in the third quarter to start pulling away. With starting centre Nikola Pekovic out for the sixth straight game, Wolves coach Rick Adelman had no choice but to thrust the rookie Dieng into the first significant minutes of his career. Dieng has flourished with the added responsibility, posting double-doubles in five of the six games. He had 10 points and 13 rebounds in the first half, helping the Wolves weather an unusually quiet night from Love. "I dont care what the record is or where we are in the season, were trying to make them believe that we still have work to do," Wolves coach Rick Adelman said. "We still have to get better as a team and as individuals." The last time these two teams met, on Feb. 1, the Hawks overcame 43 points and 19 rebounds from Love to win for the fifth time in seven games. That put them at 25-22 and in third place in the Eastern Conference. But the Hawks have gone 6-17 since then, a slide exacerbated by injuries to Gustavo Ayon and Kyle Korver, who missed his fourth straight game with back spasms. Atlantas crumbling, combined with a surprising surge from the Knicks, turned a playoff spot that once appeared to be a foregone conclusion into anything but a sure thing. They led the ninth-place Knicks by three games for the final spot in the muddled East. And yet on Wednesday night it was the Wolves, who have essentially been out of the Western Conference playoff race for about two weeks and were completely deflated after a home loss to the Suns on Sunday, who played with the urgency and tenacity on defence of a team that needs every win it can get. "We needed a game like this in order to get our spirits up," Love said. "It was good for us. It goes to show you were down, but were not out." The Hawks had won five straight games after an ugly string of 14 losses in 15 games. But they dropped games to the Pelicans, Raptors, Suns and Wolves to allow the Knicks to creep back into the race. "Were a close team," Hawks forward Mike Scott said. "Weve been through a slump before. Its not good at all. But we know how to do good things, were professionals and were going to stick together." NOTES: Ricky Rubio had four points on 1-for-6 shooting, but he also had 10 assists and six steals. He had to leave in the first quarter to get 15 stitches in his upper lip after a collision with Hawks forward Mike Scott. ... Hawks F Mike Muscala, who played in high school in the Minneapolis suburb of Roseville, had eight points and four rebounds in 23 minutes. Victor Hedman Lightning Jersey .com) - Edmonton Oilers forward Taylor Hall left Saturdays game against the Senators in the second period with a left knee injury. Ryan Callahan Lightning Jersey . Earnshaw, 31, most recently spent time on loan in Israel with Maccabi Tel Aviv from Welsh club Cardiff City, which plays in Englands second-tier League Championship. Earnshaw began his career with Cardiff Citys youth program and turned professional in 1998. http://www.lightninghockeystore.us/Louis-Domingue-Jersey/ . Seager had another triple, a home run and a double in a rare feat not seen in more than 40 years, leading Felix Hernandez and the Seattle Mariners past the New York Yankees 10-2. "It was a weird play," Seager said of the triple in the fourth inning. Mikhail Sergachev Lightning Jersey . As their best player continued to orchestrate his dramatic exit from the club, the Whitecaps added size and creativity at Thursdays Major League Soccer SuperDraft. Ryan Callahan Jersey .Brothers B.J. and Justin Upton each homered and had an outfield assist, and the Braves held on for a 4-2 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies on Saturday night. NEW YORK -- Curtis Granderson envisioned a bunch of big hits when he signed with the New York Mets. Providing even one proved elusive, until Friday night. The slumping Granderson grounded an RBI single to cap an improbable two-run rally with two outs in the ninth inning that sent the Mets past the Miami Marlins 4-3. "Anytime you get a chance to win and jump up and down with your teammates, its a good thing," Granderson said. Granderson was 0 for 4 when he stepped to the plate with the scoreboard showing his batting average at .130. Not quite what anyone expected for a former All-Star fresh off a $60 million, four-year contract. "Im not there yet, but Im getting closer," Granderson said. After Jarrod Saltalamacchia and Garrett Jones hit back-to-back home runs in the Miami eighth for a 3-2 lead, the Mets stung Marlins closer Steve Cishek and won for the fifth time in six games. Cishek (1-1) had converted a team-record 33 straight save chances -- the longest active streak in the majors -- before Lucas Duda led off the ninth with a soft single and moved up on a sacrifice. Left fielder Christian Yelich made a nice running catch on pinch-hitter Bobby Abreus liner for the second out. Omar Quintanilla followed with a single down the line and Yelich slipped on the dirt as he got ready to throw home, letting Duda score standing up. "It wouldve been a tough play," Yelich said. "But if I had stayed on my feet, I was going home." Pinch-hitter Kirk Nieuwenhuis doubled to put runners at second and third. Granderson then grounded his game-winner past Jones at first base. "Ill be up a while," the sidearming Cishek said. "Its never a good feeling." "Its no excuse for me to come in and not get the job done," he said. "I just didnt have my good command, leaving pitches down the middle." Granderson had a game-winning sacrifiice fly in the 14th inning Sunday against Atlanta.dddddddddddd "Hes a great hitter," Marlins manager Mike Redmond said. "Just because he hasnt gotten a whole lot of hits to this point doesnt mean hes not a great hitter." Redmond felt confident Cishek would close out the Mets. "Hes been so good," Redmond said. "I always anticipate hes going to get out of it. And tonight, he didnt." "You just see the momentum starting to roll their way and we couldnt stop it," he said. Jeurys Familia (1-2) pitched a scoreless inning for his first big league win. Yelichs hitting streak ended at 17 games, and the Marlins fell to 1-9 on the road. Saltalamacchia homered to left-centre off reliever Gonzalez Germen, and Jones followed with a drive off the right-field foul pole. The Mets hadnt allowed any home runs since last Saturday, a span of 57 innings. Young starters Zack Wheeler and Henderson Alvarez both pitched well. Wheeler, a month before he turns 24, struck out 10 in six innings. He gave up four singles and walked three in six innings. Wheeler showed off his repertoire when he fanned the side in the third, all on swinging strike three -- he got Alvarez on a fastball, Yelich on a changeup and Marcell Ozuna on a curve. A week past his 24th birthday, Alvarez gave up two runs in six innings. In his previous start, he pitched a two-hit shutout against Seattle. David Wright hit an RBI single and scored on Daniel Murphys double in the third to put the Mets ahead 2-0. Ozuna hit an RBI single in the fifth that made it 2-1. NOTES: Marlins RHP Kevin Slowey (0-0, 4.15 ERA) is set to start Saturday night against RHP Jenrry Mejia (3-0, 1.99). ... Cishek had converted his first four save chances this season. ... In the last 11 games, no Mets starter has allowed more than three runs. ... Murphy stole third, and has been safe on his last 26 tries. ' ' '