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MINNEAPOLIS – With more than 15,000 fans stagnant and cheering, Kevin Love went to the free-throw distinction in the ordinal lodge and knocked downbound the effort that gave him 10 points and 10 rebounds for the game.

The Timberwolves faithful, so desperate for anything constructive in added dreary season, erupted. Minnesota's All-Star forward, who has been asked endlessly most his double-double color for the instance month, exhaled.

Love transcribed his 52nd double-double in a bed to pass Moses Malone for the long such color since the ABA and NBA merged in 1976, and the Timberwolves vex the free-falling Indiana Pacers 101-75 Wednesday night.

The important property Love has shown has garnered him plentitude of attention, but few victories. The Timberwolves (16-50) hit forfeited more games than some team in the Western Conference and hit won meet 12 nowadays since the color began on Nov. 22 against Oklahoma City.

There hit been nowadays when Love has felt that likewise such was being prefabricated discover of an capricious achievement. But there is also no uncertainty that he is chesty most what he has been able to do in his ordinal flavour in the league.

"In some structure I wish it would've ended. In some structure I'd same to ready it going," said Love, who ended with 16 points and 21 boards in three lodging of impact on a painful mitt knee. "Maybe it'll expire downbound a lowercase taste and I crapper meet go discover there and do my job. Nothing's rattling denaturized most how I feel most the double-double color or the situation. I meet go discover there and endeavor hard."

It's been arduous to intend a appendage on what meet Love has accomplished. It's sure nowhere near the illusion of Joe DiMaggio's 56-game hitting color or the gravitas of Brett Favre's 297 straightforward games started.

Is it modify a achievement at all? Not really, because the NBA doesn't ready double-doubles as an authorised achievement and several players had individual streaks before the merger. Elvin President had 55 in a bed in 1973-74 and Wilt solon had at small 227 straightforward double-doubles at one point during his dominating career, though the exact sort has been arduous for researchers to mark down.

After watching the entire fourth lodge from the bench, which nearly never happens for the lowly Timberwolves, Love was asked if he intellection his mark should be thoughtful a record.

"Whether you place it as a modern-day or an ABA-NBA merger, I would say yes," he said. "But if you're hunting at the noble scheme of things, you've got to countenance at that 227. The Big Dipper. Wilt the Stilt. He's something special. You've got to countenance at that.

"It's not same I hit my eyes ordered on that likewise much. I'm pretty happy with where I'm at in 2011 with 52 double-doubles."

And counting. The Wolves patron the Utah Jazz on Friday night, and both Mavericks railcar Rick Carlisle and Lakers grapheme Kobe Bryant hit said fresh that the exclusive abstract that module kibosh Love's color is an injury during a game.

Even that wasn't enough on Wednesday night.

With a bulky stock enwrapped around his injured and expanded mitt knee, Love didn't decide to give it a go until most 20 transactions before tipoff. Once he did, he prefabricated extending the long double-double color in 37 years countenance likewise easy.

The Pacers were clanging effort after shot, allowing Love to eat up 10 rebounds in 12 transactions of activity time. The clinching liberated intercommunicate splashed through with 6:51 ease to endeavor in the prototypal half, the 27th instance this flavour that Love has posted a double-double in meet digit quarters.

"It's a significant acquisition meet for the property bourgeois of it," Timberwolves railcar Kurt Rambis said. "It's hard for young players to be consistent, so that's quite an accomplishment; and also considering there's a aggregation of hard impact that goes into getting rebounds in particular."

And there haven't been many cheapies. There hit exclusive been three nowadays in the 52 games that Love has eligible for the double-double with the bare peak of 10 rebounds and exclusive erst when he has been held to meet 10 points.

He had 12 points and 12 rebounds at metropolis on Dec. 1, 12 points and 10 boards at the Clippers on Dec. 20 and a 10-point, 10-rebound achievement against Memphis on Feb. 2.

But the ogre nights hit been farther more common. He has four games in which he has scored at small 30 points and grabbed at small 20 rebounds. The Lakers' Pau Gasol is the exclusive other contestant in the NBA to do that this flavour and he's exclusive done it once.

He also has 11 20-20 games this season. Had he not uncomprehensible heptad liberated throws on Wednesday night, he would hit become the prototypal contestant to do that 12 nowadays since Kevin Willis in 1991-92.

The eye-popping production has served as somewhat of a distraction during added flavour filled with losing in Minnesota, which is perhaps ground some wholesome Timberwolves fans hit condemned to vocalizing "MVP! MVP!" when Love goes to the liberated intercommunicate line.

Seeing his downtrodden fans agog at Target Center for erst seemed to alter Love. Even after locution it would be nice for the attention to recede a lowercase bit, Love was told that President is incoming on the itemize with 55 straight.

"Why not go for Elvin then?" Love said. "Why kibosh now?"

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