alazar to injuries in September.Cleveland played all but 11 games without All-Star left fielder Michael Brantley, who couldnt ma

MINNEAPOLIS -- Andrew Wiggins career-best, 47-point outburst on Sunday for the Minnesota Timberwolves flashed the immense potential and the continuing growth in the third-year swingman.With Wiggins leading the charge, Minnesota has been among leagues best offensive teams. The Timberwolves are ninth in the league in scoring, averaging 107.9 points per game.The Charlotte Hornets have their own breakout star emerging in point guard Kemba Walker. Walker is a sixth-year pro whos had plenty of big moments in the NBA, but hes taken his scoring to another level by averaging a career-best 25.3 points per game.Wiggins, who begins the week as the NBAs ninth-best scorer at 26.3, and Walker (12th in the league in scoring) will lead their teams against each other Tuesday at Minnesota.With Wiggins setting career bests in points in two of the past four games, the Timberwolves (3-6) have won two of their past three games. Wiggins has asserted himself more on the offensive end this season and picked up the scoring slack in Saturdays 125-99 victory against the Los Angeles Lakers.Hes smart. Hes driven, Minnesota coach Tom Thibodeau said. I think sometimes mistakenly people take him as laid back. Hes competitive. I think hes just scratching the surface. I think he can do a lot more.Wiggins shot 14 of 21 in Sundays win, hit two 3-pointers and went to the line 22 times, knocking down 17 free throws. One of Wiggins weaknesses in the past had been his 3-point shooting, but he leads the league hitting 54.8 percent of his 3-pointers.Im finding myself; finding the things Im good at, the things I need to work at, Wiggins said. The games just kind of slowed down for me a little bit. Im able to read a lot of different defenses and how people are playing me, the defensive set.Walker isnt exactly new to his role as Charlottes go-to man. He averaged more than 20 points per game last season but hes expanded his impact this year. Walker is also averaging 5.4 assists and 1.6 steals per game, while hitting a career-best 47 percent of his 3s.The Hornets started the season 6-1 but have lost two in a row to the favorites in the Eastern Conference in Toronto and Cleveland. Walker scored a season-high 40 points in a loss to Toronto on Thursday before going extending his streak to eight games with at least 20 points with 21 in Saturdays loss to the Cavaliers.Walker was so frustrated by the loss on Saturday that he sat in front of his locker in his uniform shorts for more than 20 minutes.We just let the game get away from us, he said. They made some great plays and just found guys when they needed to. They were just making big plays down the stretch.Charlotte forward Michael Kidd-Gilchrist returned to the lineup after missing a game with a strained back to notch 11 points and 10 rebounds while defending LeBron James. Kidd-Gilchrist could see much of Wiggins on the defensive end on Tuesday, but Minnesotas injury situation bears watching for matchups.Wiggins big game on Saturday came without starting shooting guard and third-leading scorer Zach LaVine, who was held out with a sore right knee. Thibodeau wasnt sure about the status of LaVine or backup swingman Shabazz Muhammad, who also missed the game with a sore right knee. With Brandon Rush also dealing with a sprained right big toe, the Timberwolves depth is being tested.The 6-foot-8 Wiggins moved to shooting guard against the Lakers with 6-10 Nemanja Bjelica getting his first start and playing small forward. Kidd-Gilchrist stands 6-7 while starting shooting guard Nicolas Batum is 6-8.Bjelica responded well to the unexpected assignment, scoring a career-high 24 with five 3s.The only thing, here everything is possible and you have to be ready every night, Bjelica said. I think I needed this game, especially for myself, because I had, last summer, many issues. First my injury, then I miss the Olympic Games, then I put lots of work. Thats it. I just played the best game so far that Im here.Charlotte will still be without guard Jeremy Lamb, but the hope is he could return by Friday against Atlanta. Center Roy Hibbert has soreness in his right knee and is expected to have his minutes limited. Discount Custom Football Jerseys . Once again Jordan Cieciwa (@FitCityJordan) and I (@LynchOnSports) go head to head in our picks. Last weekend at UFC Fight Night 32 my #TeamLynch got the best of #TeamJC by a score of 9-6. Let us know which side youre on for UFC 167 use the hashtag #TeamLynch or #TeamJC on Twitter. Custom Football Jerseys . The home side created most of the chances but struggled to break down Braunschweigs resilient defence, resulting in the Bundesligas 1,000th scoreless draw. http://www.customjerseysfootball.com/custom-dallas-cowboys-jerseys-cheap-83h . Now, with Game 6 set for Fenway Park and an 8:07 p.m. ET first pitch, the Detroit Tigers face the unenviable task of having to beat the Boston Red Sox twice, on the road, to advance to the World Series. Cheap Custom Football T-shirts . Despite the cost, effort and an improved steroid test, its possible that very few -- if any -- positives will be detected, Dr. Richard Budgett told The Associated Press in an interview. "We just dont know what the results from Torino will be," Budgett said. Custom Football Jerseys Outlet . President of baseball operations Larry Beinfest was fired Friday after 12 years with the Marlins. The move came as the team neared the end of its third consecutive last-place season in the NL East. CLEVELAND -- They conquered injuries, adversity and doubts all season. The little team that could.The Cleveland Indians were models of resiliency, the comeback kids. Knock em down, but they bounced right back. And they did it again in Game 7 on the brink of heartbreak.But they couldnt contain the curse-busting Chicago Cubs.Clevelands unexpected, unforgettable season ended one victory shy of a World Series title as Chicago completed a comeback from a 3-1 deficit to capture its first championship since 1908, beating the Indians 8-7 in 10 innings early Thursday.An incredible game to be part of, manager Terry Francona said.The Indians just didnt have enough. Ace Corey Kluber couldnt win for a third time in the Series, Andrew Miller looked mortal in relief and an overtaxed bullpen finally crumbled in extra innings.They tried until there was nothing left, Francona said.It wasnt meant to be, but following a game hell never forget, Indians second baseman Jason Kipnis was filled with pride.There is nothing for us to hang our heads about, he said. We overcame every single thing they could throw at us. We had injuries. We had you name it, and not once did we use it as an excuse.All we did was put our noses to the ground and kept fighting. We took a very good ballclub to extra innings of Game 7 of the World Series, so I dont think Ill be hanging my head for too long. Im very proud of what weve done.Down 5-1, the Indians never stopped.They scored two runs in the fifth, when both Carlos Santana and Kipnis scored on a wild pitch. Then Rajai Davis connected for a two-run homer in the eighth to tie it 6-6. The season seemed to be saved -- only briefly.But this year belongs to the Cubs, who scored twice in the 10th off Bryan Shaw following a 17-minute rain delay.Cleveland tried to rally in the bottom half, when Davis two-out RBI single made it 8-7. But then Michael Martinez, who was twice claimed off waivers in the regular season and wasnt on the roster when the season opened, grounded out.We fought all year, Kipnis said. We fought all game.Said Francona: That was quite a Series.Now the Indians World Series drought of 68 years is baseballs longest.After the final out, most Cleveland players quickly left the dugout. Not Kipnis, who grew up in suburban Chicago rooting for the Cubs. He leaned on the railing and briefly watched a celebration that remains only a dream, but one that seems more attainable for the Indians.Well be back, Kipnis said.This one hurts for Cleveland fans, but not as much as 1997, when the Indians blew a late lead in Game 7 on a humid night in Florida and lost in extra innings to the Marlins.The 2016 Indians werent expected to win the American League Central or beat Boston in the division series or take out Toronto in the AL Championship SSeries or push Chicago up against the wall.dddddddddddd And yet, thats what the Indians did, which is why it will sting all winter.It was right there for them. After winning two of three at Wrigley Field, the Indians came home to Progressive Field with two chances to close out the Cubs, but couldnt get it done. Cleveland is the first Series team since the 1979 Baltimore Orioles to lose Games 6 and 7 in their own ballpark.Kluber was magnificent throughout Clevelands dash in October, but he ran out of gas on a warm November night.Taking on the Cubs for the third time in nine days was too much to ask of the right-hander, who won his first two starts in the Series. He gave up a homer to Dexter Fowler on his fourth pitch and was pulled in the fifth by Francona, who had no choice but to start the 30-year-old on short rest if the Indians were going to have any chance against Chicagos loaded lineup.I just made some mistakes, Kluber said.While Kluber wasnt as sharp in Game 7 as he had been, neither was Miller.The lights-out left-hander, whose acquisition at the trade deadline vaulted the Indians from competitive to contenders, allowed two runs -- one being a homer to 39-year-old Cubs catcher David Ross. Entering Game 7, Miller had allowed just one run in 17 innings over nine appearances in this postseason.As it turned out, a second title for a Cleveland team in four months was too much to ask.When LeBron James and the Cavaliers ended the citys 52-year championship drought in June, the Indians went along for the ride as Cleveland morphed into Believeland, and anything seemed possible.And it was, until the Cubs came calling.The Indians moved into first place in the AL Central on June 4 and never moved out. They won 14 straight games from June 17 to July 1 -- a run that coincided with the Cavs winning their title -- and then held off the Kansas City Royals and Detroit Tigers despite losing starters Carlos Carrasco and Danny Salazar to injuries in September.Cleveland played all but 11 games without All-Star left fielder Michael Brantley, who couldnt make it back following offseason shoulder surgery. The Indians also shook off PED suspensions for outfielders Marlon Byrd and Abraham Almonte by acquiring Coco Crisp and Brandon Guyer, two veterans who not only plugged holes in the lineup but provided veteran leadership for Clevelands youngsters.But Francona was the real difference-maker.The 57-year-old manager, who guided Boston to two Series titles, somehow steered the Indians around danger for months. He got the most out of this team, mostly unknowns to the rest of the country, but now a team worth watching for years to come. ' ' '