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AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -- The Detroit Pistons are building their franchise around a talented frontcourt. On Tuesday night, the Minnesota Timberwolves gave them some tips on how thats done. Kevin Love had 26 points and 16 rebounds, while Corey Brewer and Nikola Pekovic combined for 29 points as the Timberwolves routed the Pistons 121-94. The Timberwolves didnt dominate inside, matching Detroits 44 points in the paint, but the Pistons struggle to win games if they dont have a major advantage in the post. "We were trying to make them take outside shots," Timberwolves coach Rick Adelman said. "They made a lot in the first quarter, but our whole point is transition defence, getting back and trying not to give them anything near the basket." As it often does, forcing the Pistons to shoot jumpers turned their offence into chaos. Detroit hit just 38 per cent of its outside shots, and 29 per cent from 3-point range. In the meantime, the Timberwolves were shooting almost 50 per cent from 3-point range and took 33 free throws to Detroits 16. "They are such a hard team to defend, because they can score in so many ways," Pistons coach Maurice Cheeks said. "Once they get scoring, they almost never stop, so you have to keep scoring with them. We had a couple stretches where we either turned the ball over or missed a few shots in a row, and that let them get away from us." Love only played 30 minutes, sitting out the fourth quarter with the big lead. Detroit was unable to stop him inside, outside or on the break. Several of his seven assists came on his trademark 70-foot outlet passes off missed shots. "Hes a unique player, because he can sit down on the block and score against you, and then he can step out and hit 3-pointers," Cheeks said. "On the other end, hes grabbing rebounds and hitting those passes over the top on the break. He hit a few of those against us, and thats an easy basket." Love missed Minnesotas loss to Miami on Dec. 7 to attend the funeral of his grandmother. He had "RIP Grandma Carol" written on his shoes Tuesday, and said he was playing with a little extra incentive. "Shes supported me since I was a baby, so I wanted to make sure and do something special for her tonight," he said. Kevin Martin added 18 points for Minnesota, which finished with six players in double figures. "We did a great job of pushing the ball," Minnesota guard Ricky Rubio said. "We had fun out there, and we were aggressive. That got us to the line, and then Kevin (Love) just does everything for us." Brandon Jennings had 20 points for Detroit, but Greg Monroe and Andre Drummond were held to a combined total of 18 points and 10 rebounds. "They had won four of their last five games, so we knew we had to jump on them early and not let up," Love said. "We had a big run and then kept the game in double digits. That really shows our leadership and maturity throughout our lineup." The Pistons have relied heavily on their frontcourt this season, but didnt have the advantage in that matchup against Minnesota. Love, Nikola and Brewer had 37 points in the first half, seven more than Detroits Drummond, Josh Smith and Monroe. The Timberwolves had a 28-26 edge on points in the paint, usually Detroits biggest strength, and made 17 free throws to just one for Detroit. "Im not going to complain about the free throws, because thats part of the game," Cheeks said. "They were more aggressive than we were, so they got to the line." That was good enough to give the Timberwolves a 64-51 halftime lead, even though both teams had shot just over 52 per cent from the field. Detroit trailed by as many as 17 points in the third, but going to a zone defence helped them cut the margin to 86-75 late in the quarter. Martin hit two 3-pointers to make it a 17-point lead, and Minnesota was up 96-77 going into the fourth quarter. With a fourth game in five nights coming Wednesday in New Orleans, Cheeks conceded early in the final quarter, emptying his bench as Detroit fell farther behind. "We have to forget this and get ready to play tomorrow," rookie Kentavious Caldwell-Pope said. "They just spread us on defence by hitting 3s, and then they threw the ball inside for easy baskets. Its tough to stop that." NOTES: Due to injuries, the game was Loves first at the Palace since the 2010-11 season. ... Chauncey Billups of the Pistons played for the first time since Nov. 12. He had missed 14 games with knee tendinitis. He played 17 minutes and despite obvious rust on his jumper, finished with seven points and five assists. ... Caldwell-Pope finished with a career-high 16 points, while fellow rookie Tony Mitchell hit the first 3-pointer of his career at the final horn. Bernie Carbo Jersey . 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NEW YORK -- A goal that didnt count in the Sharks victory over the New York Rangers garnered more attention than the one that made the difference in surging San Joses latest win. Antti Niemi stopped 41 shots for his fourth shutout, and Logan Coutures first-period, short-handed goal stood up as the Sharks beat the Rangers 1-0 Sunday for their sixth straight win. New York thought it had the game tied with 3:15 left in the second period. During a stoppage, all four officials gathered at the scorers table, and a lengthy video review was conducted in Toronto to see if Carl Hagelins stuff attempt at the left post nudged the puck over the line. Numerous replays failed to show the puck behind Niemi, who blocked the view, but one zoomed-in and enhanced picture appeared to show the puck disappear behind the post -- drawing a huge cheer from the crowd. Those yells turned to boos when it was announced there was no conclusive evidence of a goal. Rangers coach Alain Vigneault called over referee Dan OHalloran for an explanation he didnt really seem to accept. "It doesnt matter what I think. I dont make the decisions," Vigneault said in a quiet tone. "This is not me saying this, but some of my friends say that they make it up as they go along. Im just going to leave it at that. "The replay that I saw, you cant see the puck. Maybe I can assume that if you cant see the puck it is under the goaltenders pad and in the goal. It has to be conclusive and I guess they felt it wasnt, so there is nothing you can do about it." Niemi and the Sharks defence were the difference, unlike in the first meeting between the teams, won 9-2 by San Jose on Oct. 8. Niemi, who has 27 career NHL shutouts, was particularly strong during a Rangers power play early in the third. San Jose, tied with Anaheim atop the Pacific Division, is 11-2-1 in its past 14. In a 12-game stretch against Eastern Conference opponents that ends Tuesday at home versus Florida, the Sharks are 9-1-1. "Nemo was unbelievable," Sharks captain Joe Thornton said. "That was maybe his best game all year. He stole this one for us." Henrik Lundqvist made 28 saves but was denied in his first attempt to set the Rangers record with his 302nd victory. He equaled Mike Richters mark Friday at Winnipeg, but couldnt hide his disappointment in this loss. "This loss is so painful in so many ways," he said. "We had so many open nets, so many chances to get back in this game but we just couldnt get it in. Then you look at their goal, to givve it up on our own power play, and thats the only goal.dddddddddddd It just adds to the frustration." New York, which lost for the third time in four games, dropped one point behind Philadelphia in the Metropolitan Division race and into an Eastern Conference wild-card position. "We definitely understand how important every point is," Lundqvist said. "We played a really strong game against one of the best teams in the league, but its hard to be positive about a lot of things when you dont win. Right now its about points, its not about playing great against good teams." San Jose, which had 11 shots in the first period, recorded four while short-handed and grabbed the lead. Couture took the puck away from Mats Zuccarello in the neutral zone, raced ahead of Brad Richards, shook him off, and beat Lundqvist with a backhander at 11:48 for his 19th goal -- second short-handed. "Felt good to get a shorty that stood up for us," Couture said. "We have a great attitude as a team and know how important the last 13 games will be." San Jose came out much better in the second and held a 10-7 shots edge during the scoreless frame. New Yorks next best scoring chance came with 4:09 left when defenceman Ryan McDonagh, seemingly with an open right side in front of him, had his shot blocked by the reaching stick of defenceman Marc-Edouard Vlasic. Niemi was the main reason the Sharks went into the first intermission with the lead. He stopped all 20 shots fired at him. "We played another great road game," Niemi said after the Sharks finished a 3-0 trip. "They came hard at us from the beginning. With good reads and some luck, I was able to make some saves." Niemi made two eye-popping stops against struggling forward Derick Brassard, including a point-blank chance with 40 seconds left that Niemi kicked out with his left pad. It had Brassard staring at the ceiling and shaking his head. Earlier in the period, Niemi quickly moved over to deny Brassards backhander at the right post off a rebound of McDonaghs shot. "Weve got to believe that if we keep playing this way we will be all right," Vigneault said. Lundqvist was also sharp in the first, making a strong save with his chest against Patrick Marleau, who fired the Sharks first shot from the slot 5:31 in. New York had the games first seven shots. NOTES: The Rangers havent allowed a power-play goal in eight games, killing 21 penalties. ... San Jose took three penalties after having none on Friday. ' ' '