BOSTON -- Kevin Garnett sure looked as though he wanted to remind the Minnesota Timberwolves what theyve been missing these last five years. . Garnett scored 18 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and remained unbeaten against his former team as the Boston Celtics beat the Timberwolves 104-94 on Wednesday night in Rajon Rondos return from a two-game suspension. The Celtics improved to 10-0 against Minnesota since they acquired Garnett from the Timberwolves during the summer of 2007. They also won for the 11th straight time against Minnesota. Asked if Garnett still liked to play against his old team, Boston coach Doc Rivers didnt hesitate. "What do you think?" he said. When the reporter answered "yes," Rivers smiled and replied: "Thats a good answer." Celtics teammate Paul Pierce, who scored 18 points, downplayed all that, saying Garnett just likes to face good young players such as Timberwolves forward Kevin Love. "I think he just accepts the challenges of playing against some of the top players in the game," Pierce said. Minnesota is the only other team Garnett has played for in his 17-year career. Garnett looked motivated from start to finish, even coming out and swiping the ball out of Loves hands in front of Bostons bench early in the final quarter. "We established the post, I thought, early on. I thought defensively we played with a lot of energy," Garnett said. "We made them go to their second and third options, which is something they dont like to do." Love could see Garnetts energy sparked Bostons other players. "Hes intense," Love said. "Hes K.G. Hes a guy that defensively, hell clamp down on you. He didnt leave me out there more than once tonight, really clamped in." Boston went 1-1 without Rondo, suspended for his role in a scuffle during a game against the Brooklyn Nets last Wednesday. Rondo had 17 points and 11 assists. Jason Terry scored 17 and Brandon Bass 12. Love led the Timberwolves with 19 points and 13 rebounds. Nikola Pekovic had 14 with nine boards. Minnesota went just 6 for 19 from 3-point range one night after hitting a season-high 13 3s in a win over Philadelphia. The Timberwolves also went 14 for 30 from the free throw line. "Were not going to win if we miss 16 free throws or whatever it was. Thats terrible," Minnesota guard Jose Barea said. Boston, which led by seven entering the final quarter, scored 11 of the initial 14 points in the fourth and opened a 90-75 lead on Terrys 3 from the left wing with 7:50 to play. The Timberwolves went nearly 5 minutes without a basket. The Celtics maintained between a 14 and 12-point lead over the next 3 minutes, keeping the Timberwolves from making a run by nailing a handful of free throws before a spinning, crowd-pleasing basket by Rondo made it 100-85 with 3 1/2 minutes left. The Celtics used a 9-0 run over 2 minutes to open a 67-61 lead on Terrys 3-pointer midway into the third. Minnesota, coming off a 17-point win in Philadelphia on Tuesday, scored the last five points of the half to grab a 51-47 edge at the break. The Celtics opened the game 10 for 13, but cooled off late in the first quarter, missing six of their last nine shots and trailed 30-27 after one. Love headed to the bench early when he picked up his second foul -- both on offence -- with 2:27 left in the first quarter. NOTES: Minnesota held its opponents under 90 points in three of the previous four games -- all wins. Its a commitment to defence that coach Rick Adelman saw at the beginning of the season. "Weve had a great work ethic," he said. "The guys are working hard on it." The Timberwolves entered having allowed the fourth-fewest points in the NBA. ... Boston G Avery Bradley, sidelined since shoulder operations at the end of last season, said he expects to be able to practice in "one to two weeks." ... Rivers compared Loves ability to rebound to that of Hall of Famer Dennis Rodman. "I played with, I think, one of the greatest rebounders all-time -- Dennis Rodman," he said. "I watched him at the (London) Olympics and said, He seems to know where the ball is going when its in the air." Love then went out and grabbed an offensive rebound on Minnesotas first shot of the game. ... Rondo got a loud ovation when he was introduced in the starting lineups. ... Garnett played his 1,273rd game, one behind Minnesota assistant Terry Porter for 17th all-time. [url=http://www.cowboysofficialteamstore.com/autographed-cole-beasley-jersey-vd-... Beasley Jersey . Brown, who has received a wild card invitation to play in the Stuttgart tournament, broke his opponent early in the third set, but allowed Davydenko to fight back. The Russian won a match point on his serve but was eventually overcome by the German. . The Toronto Blue Jays acquired pitchers J.A. Happ, Brandon Lyon and David Carpenter in a 10-player deal with the Houston Astros. [url=http://www.cowboysofficialteamstore.com/autographed-tony-dorsett-jersey-wl-... . He said that improving the teams starting rotation is a top priority for the 2013 campaign. "Thats definitely going to be an area -- a major area -- of our concentration in the off-season," Anthopoulos said before the Blue Jays closed out their disappointing regular season with a 2-1 win over the Minnesota Twins. [url=http://www.cowboysofficialteamstore.com/autographed-orlando-scandrick-jerse... Scandrick Jersey . The "Blade Runner" said Tuesday that he could struggle to defend his Paralympic title in the 100 metres, opting instead to focus on winning again in the 200 and 400. . - Juan Pablo Montoyas contribution to the NASCAR highlight reel so far this season was his crash into a jet dryer in the season-opening Daytona 500.MANHATTAN - He may be the most important man in solving the ticking time-bomb that is the NHL lockout. Deputy Director for the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS), Scot Beckenbaugh is doing his best to help settle the ongoing CBA mess that has consumed the NHL and NHLPA. Over the course of the past week, Beckenbaugh – whose services were requested by both parties – has been meeting with the sparring factions, together and separately, as the deadline for salvaging a season looms with the NHL-imposed deadline of January 11th, a day that may or may not be flexible. The NHL and NHLPA gathered for three consecutive days of full-committee bargaining earlier this week –Beckenbaugh included – talks that soured late Wednesday evening, following the first player-imposed deadline for declaring a disclaimer of interest. Further negotiations were scheduled for Thursday – smaller group meetings did take place – but never materialized as both sides met internally and with Beckenbaugh through Friday and into the weekend. While Beckenbaugh has no power to enforce a settlement, he can, according to the FMCS website as it refers to the usefulness of mediatiors, look to "guide negotiators through potential deadlocks to a settlement which both sides can accept ... Their only tool is the power of persuasion." The FMSC website, a particularly resourceful tool, stresses that the presence of a mediator does not mean that negotiations have failed. "It means the parties to the negotiation are using a tried and true resource available to them to improve their bargaining and to create an environment in which people are more likely to listen," the website said. "Mediation can add a lot to the bargaining before the final offer hits the table, or the parties hit an obstacle and progress is stalled." Some other interesting and related points in the case for mediation (as per the FMCS website) include their ability to: - Simplify issues and differences: "Frequently, the parties both want a similar outcome. They just have a different view of how to get there, or sometimes, they just phrase it diffferently. [url=http://www.cowboysofficialteamstore.com/autographed-emmitt-smith-jersey-dx-... Smith Jersey. Often, their goals are separate, but not contradictory." - Know when to continue or halt sessions: "[Mediators] know that, sometimes, its important to let the parties vent in joint meetings, and sometimes its better to adjourn and give one or both sides time to regroup, reconsider, or just cool off". - Find new solutions: "Its very natural for negotiators, whove been developing and living with contract issues, to lock in on one approach. The mediator, as a neutral third-party, can take a more objective view and suggest options that more smoothly achieve bargaining aims." - Bolster communication: "This can range from rephrasing statements so that all parties clearly understand what is being said and what is meant, to mediator supposals. These supposals allow exploratory proposals to be offered for discussion by the mediator without ownership and attendant risk to either party. Mediators can also meet off the record with the parties, and they often engage in "shuttle diplomacy," moving back and forth between separate meetings of the parties carrying offers and counter-offers." - Media dealings: "They may ask the parties to refrain from making any statements to the news media while the talks are in progress, or at least, to avoid trying to negotiate in the press."By early Saturday evening – 6 p.m. eastern time – a second players association vote to re-authorize the disclaimer is likely to pass, perhaps reinforcing pressure points that may have ceded following the deadline of the first disclaimer. Extending into its 112th day, the owners and players are believed to be divided on three major issues (among other smaller points) at this critical stage in the lockout; the players pension fund, contract length for player contracts and the cap number for 2013-2014, the second season of the agreement. Mediation was used in the 2004-2005 NHL lockout as well as more recent lockouts by the NFL and NBA. It has also been utilized before in this negotiation process, most recently in early December, a two-day practice which yielded no results. ' ' '