DENVER -- Minnesota built up a big advantage at the free throw line throughout the game, and it was just enough to hold off Denvers furious rally. Kevin Love scored 33 points and tied a season high with 19 rebounds for his NBA-best 50th double-double this season, and the Timberwolves withstood Denvers 45-point fourth quarter to beat the skidding Nuggets 132-128 on Monday night for their third win in a row. Kevin Martin added 22 points for the Timberwolves, including four clutch free throws in the final 11.7 seconds. Martin made 16 of 17 foul shots, helping Minnesota rack up NBA season highs in attempts (64) and makes (52) from the line. Denver, meanwhile, went 16 of 25 (64 per cent). "Sixty-four free throws is a lot of free throws," Love said. "It was unbelievable. There were a lot of things that went on in that game that were just nuts, particularly the free throw situation and the 3-pointers at the end. K-Mart made some great plays, hit some big free throws, and that ultimately gave us separation." Love did his part as well, topping 30 points for the 11th time in his last 14 starts, including 11 of 13 from the free throw line to help Minnesota wrap up a 4-1 trip out west. "Thats major," Martin said of Minnesotas successful road swing. "Tonight was a must-win for us. You dont have too many must-wins in the beginning of March, but we understand where were at right now and guys had the mindset that we had to do anything we had to do to get the win." The Nuggets got a huge boost from the return of Ty Lawson, who scored a season-high 31 points with 11 assists in his first game since breaking a rib Feb. 8 at Detroit. But it wasnt enough to reverse their sagging fortunes. Denver lost its sixth straight and has dropped 11 of 12 overall. "You give a team 52 points at the free throw line and another 54 points in the paint, it is going to be tough to beat them," Nuggets coach Brian Shaw said. Trailing by 22 after a layup by Nikola Pekovic midway through the third quarter, the Nuggets responded with a 13-2 run that Randy Foye finished with a 3-pointer to pull to 85-74 with 4:10 remaining in the period. Minnesota, though, got its transition game going, getting successive breakaway baskets by Corey Brewer and a driving dunk from Dante Cunningham to take a 98-83 lead into the fourth. Just 3 minutes later, the Timberwolves were in front by 20 on a 20-foot jumper by Shabazz Muhammad. Denver made another push, pulling to 117-107 on Aaron Brooks 3-pointer with 3:25 left and then cutting it to 128-125 on Wilson Chandlers 3 with 12.6 seconds left. After Martin was fouled and made a pair of free throws, Evan Fournier hit another 3 with 7.2 seconds remaining to bring Denver to 130-128. Martin was fouled and again made both free throws, securing the win for the Timberwolves after Chandlers 3-point try in the final seconds hit the rim and bounced away -- though Minnesota was outscored 45-34 in the final period. "They were making everything, banking stuff in," Brewer said. "But its all about getting the win. Nights like that, you have to hold on. "For us to go 4-1 on the road trip means a lot. Now we get to go home, four games at home, and we need all four games at home." The Timberwolves outscored the Nuggets 40-25 in the first quarter and led 66-49 at halftime. Chandler had a pair of baskets, cutting Minnesotas lead to 58-47, but the Timberwolves scored eight of 10 points in the last 2:18 of the second to rebuild their lead. "We gave up too many points in the first quarter," Lawson said. "When youre playing uphill like that, its tough to come back and actually get the win. We got it down to two, but they just hit their free throws at the end." NOTES: Timberwolves C Ronny Turiaf missed his fifth game because of a bone bruise on his right knee. ... Minnesota improved to 27-14 when scoring more than 100 points. ... Denver lost to Minnesota at the Pepsi Center for just the fourth time in 18 games since the start of the 2005-06 season. ... Love has scored 30 or more points a team-record 21 times this season. ... Minnesotas point total represented a season high. ... Lawsons previous season high was 29 points against Oklahoma City on Nov. 18. NFL Jerseys Sale . - Jacksonville Jaguars defensive end Jason Babin is now a free agent. Discount Nike NFL Jerseys . Both had to wait out a rain interruption lasting nearly five hours before taking comprehensive third-round victories to join Carling Bassett-Seguso (1983, 1986), Patricia Hy-Boulais (1996-97) and Daniel Nestor (1999) as Canadians who made it into the second week of a major. http://www.jerseyscheapsale.com/ . Goodell said in an ESPN Radio interview Monday (http://es.pn/1gkbauy ) that participants played harder and made the game very competitive. Goodell says he had fun watching the game Sunday and thinks fans did, too. China Jerseys . -- David Ortiz saved his only hit for a key moment for the Boston Red Sox. Cheap Jerseys From China . The mood in Seattle was electrified as the parade featuring the NFL champions began near the Space Needle and made its way to CenturyLink Field, the home of the team. At a ceremony inside the stadium, the team thanked its loyal followers -- the 12th Man -- capping a day of boisterous celebration that drew an estimated 700,000 revelers to Seattle.MELBOURNE, Australia -- Venus Williams was moving freely in her first-round match at the Australian Open, breezing through the first set and getting a look at another break in the second against a player who upset her sister here two years ago. Thats when things started to go wrong for her Monday, the first day of the season-opening major. The seven-time Grand Slam champion missed the break-point chance in the sixth game and then, after getting to 40-30 on serve in the ninth, inexplicably firing three consecutive double-faults to surrender a break and just about the set to No. 22-seeded Ekaterina Makarova. After a quick break and a change of her self-designed zebra print dress, she took a 3-0 lead in the third before her unforced error toll climbed to 56 and Makarova won six of the next seven games for a 2-6, 6-4, 6-4 win. The 33-year-old Williams, the second-oldest player in the tournament, has struggled with injuries and illness in recent seasons but reached the final of the WTA event at Auckland to start 2014 and came to Melbourne saying she was feeling better than she had in years. "The last 12 months I have had issues," she said. "But this year I definitely am looking forward to having a good run and feeling well." That didnt happen Monday. "My level was a little bit too up and down. Obviously my error count was a little high," said Williams, the 2003 finalist who was playing in her 14th Australian Open. "I have to give her a lot of credit, though, she was very determined ... played hard." Makarova said because it was the first match of the tournament, it was probably more difficult to beat Venus than it was to upset Serena Williams in the fourth round here in 2012. Shell meet another American in the second round after qualifier Irina Falconi beat Anabel Medina Garrigues of Spain 6-3, 6-1. Two highly-ranked Italians lost in the first round, with 2012 French Open finalist Sara Errani, seeded 7th, beaten 6-3, 6-2 by Julia Gorges of Germany and No. 12 Roberta Vinci losing 6-4, 6-3 to Zheng Jie of China. Montreal native Eugenie Bouchard, who is seeded 30th, reached the second round with a 7-5, 6-1 victory over Chen Tang Hao of China. Bouchard led the opening set 3-1, only to fall behind 5-3. Bouchard saved set points in the ensuing game on Tang errors before finally earning a 7-5 win on a break. The 19-year-old Bouchard was more in control in the second set and dominated to win the set 6-1. Vasek Poospisil, a 23-year-old Vancouver resident who grew up in Vernon, B.ddddddddddddC., also won his opening match early Monday. The 28th seed, playing in a grand slam for the first time, defeated unseeded Sam Groth of Australia 6-4, 6-3, 6-4. Two-time finalist Li Na beat Ana Konjuh of Croatia -- the youngest player in the tournament -- 6-2, 6-0 in 61 minutes to set up a meeting with another 16-year-old in the next round after Belinda Bencic of Switzerland accounted for 43-year-old Japanese veteran Kimiko Date-Krumm in three sets. Date-Krumm was 27 years older than Bencic, the reigning French Open and Wimbledon junior champion. The 2011 French Open champion is in the same half of the draw as No. 1-ranked Serena Williams, who was scheduled to play a night match against Australian teenager Ashleigh Barty. Wimbledon semifinalist Kirsten Flipkens was the first woman into the second round when she beat Britains Laura Robson 6-3, 6-0. No. 9 Angelique Kerber, 2011 U.S. Open champion Sam Stosur, No. 14 Ana Ivanovic, No. 26 Lucie Safarova, No. 28 Flavia Pennetta, No. 30 Eugenie Bouchard of Canada and No. 31 Daniela Hantuchova also went through. American Madison Keys wasted five match points in the second set and another in the third before finally beating Patricia Mayr-Achleitner of Austria 6-2, 6-7 (8), 9-7. Eighth-seeded Stanislas Wawrinka, who won the recent Chennai Open in India, was the first man into the next round, advancing after just 15 games when Andrey Golubev retired with an injured left leg. Wawrinka, who lost 12-10 in the fifth set to eventual champion Novak Djokovic in the fourth round here last year in the longest Grand Slam match of 2013, was leading 6-4, 6-1 when his Kazakhstan rival quit. Two other players retired due to shoulder injuries, with Alex Bogomolov Jr., quitting after losing two sets to No. 15 Fabio Fognini and No. 12-seeded Tommy Haas pulling out when he was down a set and a break against Guilllermo Garcia-Lopez. Third-ranked David Ferrer opened with a 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 win over Colombias Alejandro Gonzalez on Rod Laver Arena and No. 7 Tomas Berdych beat Aleksandr Nedovyesov of Ukraine 6-3, 6-4, 6-3. Other men advancing included No. 9 Richard Gasquet, No. 14 Mikhail Youzhny, No. 19 Kevin Anderson, No. 23 Ernests Gulbis, No. 29 Jeremy Chardy, No. 32 Ivan Dodig, who beat fellow Croatian Ivo Karlovic 7-6 (8), 6-3, 7-6 (4), and American Sam Querrey, who defeated Santiago Giraldo of Colombia, 6-3, 6-2, 3-6, 7-6 (3). ' ' '