NEW YORK -- For the Minnesota Timberwolves, a 3-0 start is as much cause for caution as celebration. Cris Carter Authentic Jersey . The Wolves have had too much bad luck lately to think things will stay this smooth. Kevin Love had 34 points, 15 rebounds and five assists, Kevin Martin scored 30 points and Minnesota improved to 3-0 for the first time in 12 years with a 109-100 victory over the New York Knicks on Sunday night. The Timberwolves, averaging a whopping 37.3 points in the first quarter, are healthy again after an injury-wrecked 2012-13 and showing the early promise of a team that can contend for its first playoff berth since 2004. But after being limited to 18 games last season, Love knows nothing is guaranteed. "We dont want to get too far ahead of ourselves because of the injuries," he said. "So dont want to live in the past, dont want to live too far in the future, we just want to try to plan for Cleveland tomorrow." Minnesota took a huge lead after a 40-point first quarter, then pulled away after the Knicks trimmed it to two in the closing minutes to move halfway to matching the 2001-02 team that set the franchise record by winning its first six. Carmelo Anthony had 22 points and 17 rebounds for the Knicks, who have dropped two straight after a season-opening victory and drew some loud boos in the first half while appearing to be standing still on defence. Anthony shot just 8 of 21. Metta World Peace added 17 points, but the Knicks were too far behind by the time they found any offence. Raymond Felton had 12 assists but shot 3 of 12, as did rookie Tim Hardaway Jr. The Wolves were 29 of 38 from the free throw line after coming into the game leading the NBA with 27 makes per game, while New York was just 11 of 13. Many times the Knicks lost whatever momentum they had when they sent a Minnesota player to the line. Minnesota rang up 38 points in the first quarter of its opener, put up 34 in a rout of Oklahoma City on Friday, and made 14 of 21 shots in the opening 12 minutes of this one. "That was the difference in the game," Knicks coach Mike Woodson said. "I thought the second, third and fourth quarter we played pretty good basketball, but you just cant come out on your home court and dig a hole." Ricky Rubio finished with eight points, 10 assists and six rebounds, and Nikola Pekovic had 11 points and 12 boards. "This is such a fun team to play on," said Martin, who was 5 for 5 on 3-pointers. "Nobody is trying to lead the league in scoring here. Everybody has the big picture of getting to the playoffs." Leading by four, the Wolves closed the period with a 23-6 run, and it really couldnt have been much easier. When they werent getting ahead of the Knicks defence for fast-break layups, they were getting to the line, such as when Love had a four-point possession after Kenyon Martin fouled him on a 3-pointer, then gave an extra shove for a technical foul. Minnesota scored the final 11 points of the period to make it 40-19, got the first basket of the second, and took a 64-49 lead into halftime. Playing again without the suspended J.R. Smith and with Amare Stoudemire resting, the Knicks finally sustained a run in the fourth quarter. Consecutive 3-pointers by Anthony and Iman Shumpert capped a 17-5 surge that cut it to 100-98 with 4:49 remaining, but Martin made a free throw on a technical foul, then hit a 3-pointer, and Love followed with a jumper to push the lead to 106-98 with 3:19 to play. "We started playing with some energy. We started feeling desperate," Anthony said. "We dug ourselves a hole. We started fighting out that hole. We gave ourselves a chance to get back in the basketball game." NOTES: There was a moment of silence before the game for former Knick and Hall of Famer Walt Bellamy, who died Saturday at 74. Woodson said he had seen Bellamy not long ago in Atlanta, where the former Hawks coach still owned a home. ... Minnesota snapped a four-game losing streak to New York. Fran Tarkenton Purple Jersey . -- Brandon Morrow allowed five runs and six hits over three innings in the Toronto Blue Jays 6-4 loss Wednesday to the Pittsburgh Pirates. Greg Jennings Purple Jersey . Its ironic that two of the oldest and most iconic teams have been taken to the Fall Classic by two men who are there for the first time in their careers and both of whom are relatively light in Major League managerial experience. BOSTON -- Slugger Manny Ramirez has spoken to Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon since retiring while facing a 100-game drug ban, but stopped short of apologizing for his abrupt departure. "He was disappointed in himself, but he was also very kind to the organization," Maddon said Monday. "He just said he was disappointed. He didnt apologize. I wasnt looking for an apology necessarily. I wasnt. He spoke to me kind of like, man to man, person to person, manager to player. So I didnt think he owed me an apology." Maddon did not say whhen the conversation with Ramirez took place. Cordarrelle Patterson Womens Jersey. Ramirez walked away last Friday after testing positive for a performance-enhancing drug. He previously served a 50-game ban for violating the drug policy. As for Ramirezs drug involvement, "youd have to take that up with him," Maddon said. "We had a good camp, very good camp. I was looking forward to working with him," he said. Tampa Bay played Monday night at Boston. The AL East champions went into the game with a 1-8 record that was the worst in the majors. ' ' '
