MINNEAPOLIS -- Kevin Love is used to carrying the beat-up Minnesota Timberwolves lately. This time, he finally had some help when he sat down to take a rest. Love had 42 points and 16 rebounds, Ricky Rubio tied a franchise high with 17 assists, and the Timberwolves beat Paul George and the Indiana Pacers 104-91 on Wednesday night. J.J. Barea scored 12 points off the bench as the Wolves took control early against the Eastern Conference leaders. "This is one of my favourite wins of the season just because we played a very good team," Love said. "We did it without two key players and we fought hard." George led Indiana with 35 points, but managed just two in the fourth quarter as the Pacers lost for the third time in five games, never once taking a lead. "We just didnt have a whole lot of pop tonight," said David West, who scored four points and struggled guarding Love all night. "This is a game that I thought we would come out and play a little better than we did. We just didnt have it, just a step or two slow." It was Loves eighth straight game with at least 25 points and 10 rebounds, the longest streak since Shaquille ONeal accomplished the same feat Jan. 3-19, 2005. Love has an NBA-best 14 games with 30 points and 10 rebounds this season. "I thought a lot of the shots he made was good defence," Pacers coach Frank Vogel said. "You have to give him credit. He is an extraordinary player and he played an extraordinary game tonight." In their first game since the All-Star break as they try to make a late-season run and catch Golden State for the final playoff spot in the West, the Wolves came out running and led by 16 when Love came out for a rest 3 minutes into the second quarter. Minnesotas reserves have been unable to hold their ground when Love goes to the bench recently, but they did fine on Wednesday. Barea, the subject of recent trade rumours, scored eight straight points during one stretch -- including a circus shot on the fast break over C.J. Watson that increased Minnesotas lead to 20 with 6:48 left in the half. "When he gets his rest, we need other people to step up," Barea said. "Tonight, we were able to do that." Love scored 18 points in the third quarter, including a jumper from just inside the 3-point line with 0.8 seconds left that pushed the Wolves lead back up to 10 after an Indiana run. Minnesota, playing without injured starters Nikola Pekovic and Kevin Martin, led by as many as 17 in the third quarter. However, with Love sitting to start the fourth, a jumper from Watson early in the quarter cut Indianas deficit to five and gave the Pacers hope. But again, Minnesotas reserves held on. Barea knocked down a jump shot in front of the Wolves bench to extend the lead back to 11 with 8:33 to play and the Wolves never looked back. "Coach came to me and said hes going to give me a little bit of a rest," Love said. "He came to me during the timeout and said These guys are rolling. I said Great, just keep them in as long as you need to. Those guys just did a great job and really stepped up and took advantage of the opportunity tonight." When Love returned, he reeled in a full-court pass from Rubio with his fingertips and slammed it home to give the Wolves a 98-84 lead. Indiana went into the All-Star break stuck in a shooting slump, but shot 50 per cent in a win over Atlanta on Tuesday. The Pacers made just 8 of 22 shots to start Wednesdays game and finished at 40 per cent. "We will reflect on this," George said. "We really didnt want to lose and drop this game. But we have to move on. Its all about the next game." George Hill finished with 13 points and Lance Stephenson had 10 despite missing his first six shots. NOTES: Wolves coach Rick Adelman on how trade rumours impact players as the deadline approaches: "I think it definitely affects them. But its all part of the business, especially now," he said. ... The Pacers are 8-7 on the second game of a back-to-back. "Not really," Vogel answered after he was asked if he, George and Roy Hibbert have caught up on rest after All-Star weekend. "Im a little more tired than usual. Im sure those guys are. But it doesnt mean anything. Still have to go out and win games." The Wolves still dont know when Pekovic or Martin will return. Adelman said Martin will get his injured thumb examined again in the next day or two. .. Wolves centre Ronny Turiaf left in the fourth quarter with a right knee injury and didnt return. Kånken Ryggsäck . Eller said the Oilers were a "junior team" that was "all over the place" before Edmontons 4-3 victory over Montreal on Tuesday night, Oilers head coach Dallas Eakins took offence to Ellers comments and used it to motivate his youthful team. Fjällräven Kånken Mini Sverige . The Detroit Tigers star had microfracture surgery Friday to repair the medial and lateral meniscus in his left knee. "I dont want to say it was a surprise," team president and general manager Dave Dombrowski said. http://www.fjallravenkankensverige.com/. Rinne had surgery on his left hip May 9 and recovered in time to start the season. He then had arthroscopic surgery on Oct. 24 because of a bacterial infection in his hip. Fjällräven Kånken Klassisk . -- Isaiah Pead took a stutter step forward, then raced to the left sideline and travelled 60 yards up the field before finally getting tripped up by a leg tackle. Kånken Ryggsäck Stor . Each day, TSN.ca provides the latest rumours, reports and speculation from around the NHL beat. Defensive Depth TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun is reporting the Toronto Maple Leafs have considerable interest in unrestricted free-agent defenceman Dan Boyle.CHICAGO - Chicago Bulls guard Jimmy Butler is headed toward restricted free agency next summer.Butler was still hoping before Fridays game against Cleveland that he and the team could agree on a contract extension before Fridays deadline, saying we got til, what, 11:59 (Eastern time)?That deadline passed without an extension. Instead, the Bulls will have the right to match any offer he recceives next summer.dddddddddddd.Drafted with the 30th pick in 2011, the Marquette product has averaged 8.9 points. He broke out last season, scoring a career-high 13.1 points per game while making the NBAs all-defensive second team.He missed the season-opening win at New York on Wednesday because of a sprained left thumb and was inactive for Fridays game against Cleveland. ' ' '