MINNEAPOLIS -- An unexpectedly strong performance in the middle gave the Minnesota Timberwolves a big lift Sunday night. Kevin Love had his usual solid performance with 26 points, 10 rebounds and five assists to lead the Timberwolves to a 104-102 victory over the Sacramento Kings. But it was the other double-double that was unexpected. In his first career start, rookie Gorgui Dieng had his first career double-double with season highs in points (12) and rebounds (11) for Minnesota. He also had five blocks. "Were a man short right now and Gorgui, he just came in and did what we needed him to do and thats just rebound and alter shots at the basket," said Kevin Martin, who had 31 points Dieng, the 21st pick in last summers draft, made his first career start in place of Nikola Pekovic, who sat out with soreness in his right ankle. "I was prepared if I get minutes or not I was just going to keep working," Dieng said. "I think you should work more when you dont play a lot. I didnt get minutes. I never got frustrated. Just keep working and I know my time will come one day." A former Timberwolves player saw Diengs potential firsthand. "I told him since the first day he got here that its your job to block shots. You got drafted to rebound and block shots. His post games getting better as well. If he sticks with that hes going to be a good player in this league," said Derrick Williams, who scored 26 points and had 11 rebounds off the bench for Sacramento. Williams knows about being a young player in Minnesota. The second-overall pick in the 2011 Draft, Williams had two disappointing seasons with the Timberwolves before being traded to Sacramento on Nov. 26 for Luc Mbah a Moute, who has been a non-factor for Minnesota. "I think anybody who gets traded wants to play good against the team that traded them," he said. "I just wanted to be aggressive because (DeMarcus) Cousins was out and I was the next man up. Coach wants me to be aggressive and thats what I did tonight." Cousins, the Kings starting centre, missed the game with right knee tendinitis. He was replaced by Aaron Gray, who hadnt seen action since Feb. 25. Gray finished with four points in 20 minutes. "Its a testament to Aarons work ethic and his positive attitude for him to be ready to play tonight after not playing in so many games," coach Michael Malone said. "It was good to see him out there." Love hit 3 of 6 3-pointers, including one with 1:07 to play to give Minnesota a 97-95 lead and the Timberwolves hung on to win for the 33rd time, their most wins since 2005-06. Sacramentos Isaiah Thomas had 27 points, including two 3-pointers in the final 15 seconds to keep it close. Thomas scored from beyond the arc with 13.2 seconds left to get the Kings within two. After Martin made two free throws to make it 102-98 with 12.1 seconds left, Thomas answered with another 3-pointer before Martin made two more free throws with 5.7 seconds left. It was the second straight night the Kings couldnt close out a game, leaving them with a 2-5 record on a season-long seven-game road trip. They were outscored by six points in the fourth quarter and lost 94-87 in Chicago Saturday. "We were in there; we had a chance to win, but we just couldnt capitalize," Thomas said. Down 29-19 late in the first quarter, Williams provided a spark by scoring 10 straight points off the bench to get the Kings within three by quarters end. Williams had six more in the second quarter as the Kings took a 54-53 halftime lead. NOTES: Sacramento has officially been eliminated from playoff contention. ... Listed as day to day, Pekovic missed 13 games earlier this season -- including all of February -- with bursitis in his right ankle. ... Minnesota entered the game averaging a league-low 3.5 blocks per game. ... Thomas reached 1,000 career assists with a first-quarter helper, becoming the eighth player in Sacramento history to have that many in his first three seasons with the Kings. ... Martin made his 1,000th career 3-pointer in the fourth quarter. ... Twelve of Sacramentos final 15 games are in the Pacific time zone. Vapormax Clearance . - The Kansas City Royals are hoping All-Star catcher Salvador Perez will be back in a few days. Fake Vapormax 3 . "Im proud of him," Jones said in an interview from Sacramento, site of the UFCs weekend televised card. "I think hes listening to his body and hes doing what makes him happy and thats what life is about ultimately. http://www.clearancevapormax.com/cheap-vapormax-2020-clearance.html . The Giants chances of winning the division were dealt a serious blow by the three-game sweep at the hands of the lowly Padres. The Giants open a three-game series at Dodger Stadium on Monday night. San Francisco is still in good shape to clinch a wild-card berth, although it dropped into a tie with Pittsburgh in the race for the top spot. Fake Vapormax Womens . As analysts we do the same thing, so here are some observations from week one. First there were two major upsets. I should say, major upsets in the eyes of the fans and prognosticators. Fake Vapormax 2 . Lisicki beat South African Chanelle Scheepers by a 7-5, 7-6 (7-1) margin. Next up for the Wimbledon runner-up will be Slovenian Polona Hercog, who outlasted Czech Petra Cetkovska 6-4, 5-7, 6-1.MILAN, Italy -- Juventus gave its fans celebrating a third successive Serie A title another reason to revel in Turin by beating Atalanta 1-0 on Monday. Juventus clinched its 30th league title the day before when second-place Roma lost 4-1 at Catania. There was little excitement on the pitch at Juventus Stadium until Simone Padoin scored against his former club to break the deadlock and keep Antonio Contes side on course to become the first Serie A club to reach the 100-point barrier. Juventus, which has won all 18 of its home matches, has 96 points, and it visits Roma on Sunday before ending the campaign at home to Cagliari. The only worry for Juventus fans will be coach Antonio Conte hinting at a possible departure at the end of the season. "I will speak with the club and we will make the right assessments," Conte said. "It has been three intense years, I have to thank the lads for what they have done. Even tonight they went out there with the desire to win. That mentality, which I have transmitted to the lads, is my greatest merit. "Its not easy to improve on what we have done these past few years. I have to understand if I have the strength to continue ..." Chances were few and far between before Padoin scored in the 72nd minute. The midfielder, who spent five years at Atalanta, drilled in a low shot off the inside of the left post after Carlos Tevez flicked on Paul Pogbas pass. Tevez should have scored his 20th goal of the season with the last kick of the game but the Argentina striker fired wide of an empty net after bbeing unselfishly set up by Fabio Quagliarella.dddddddddddd It mattered little, and the final whistle blew moments later to spark joyful scenes of celebration on the pitch and back in the dressing room. "We have been celebrating for more than 24 hours," Juventus defender Leonardo Bonucci said. "But we arrived on the pitch with the right attitude and continued our incredible run. Making Juve history isnt easy and the way weve done it is even harder. Juve hasnt won three successive league titles since the 30s, it was right to celebrate, and were really enjoying the moment." Earlier, Lazio scored a stoppage-time penalty to rescue a 3-3 draw at home to Hellas Verona as the clubs saw their Europa League hopes diminish. The clubs are level on points, a point behind Parma and AC Milan, and two behind Torino, which occupies the last European spot. Substitute Romulo thought he scored the winner for Verona seven minutes from time as he was left unmarked to tap home Emil Hallfredssons cross with Lazio goalkeeper Etrit Berisha stranded. But Lazio was awarded a penalty when Michelangelo Albertazzi clipped Miroslav Kloses heels. Albertazzi was sent off, joining Lazios Senad Lulic, who was shown a straight red card minutes earlier for an awful challenge on Juan Manuel Iturbe. Stefano Mauris penalty was saved by Rafael, but the Lazio captain fired the rebound into an empty net. Verona twice fought back, with equalizers from Marquinho and Iturbe after goals from teenage forward Keita Balde and Lulic saw Lazio go in front twice. ' ' '