minimized the link between repetitive head trauma and brain damage.

MINNEAPOLIS -- Charlotte coach Steve Cliffords fiery halftime speech got his team going in the right direction.Minnesota Timberwolves coach Tom Thibodeau saved his hollering for after the game because his team is headed in the wrong one.Kemba Walker scored 30 points and the Hornets blitzed the Timberwolves in the third quarter on their way to a 115-108 victory on Tuesday night.Frank Kaminsky scored 12 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter for the Hornets (7-3), who snapped a two-game skid. Nicolas Batum had 16 points and seven assists, and Charlotte outscored Minnesota 36-17 in the third quarter to wipe out a 12-point halftime deficit.It was perfect timing, and we needed it, Walker said of Cliffords speech. We just (werent) ourselves, and he got into us a little bit. It worked out for us, because we needed to pick our energy up.Andrew Wiggins scored 29 points and Karl-Anthony Towns had 21 points and eight rebounds for the Timberwolves, who fell to 1-2 on their four-game homestand. Minnesota turned the ball over 18 times, which led to 20 points for Charlotte.The teams entered the game on opposite ends of the spectrum in the third quarter this season. Charlotte leads the league in scoring differential coming out of the break, while Minnesota is dead last.The Timberwolves have built double-digit leads in the first half in eight of their first 10 games, but have lost six of them thanks to the failings in the third. That trend continued on Tuesday, with Charlotte opening the third with a 15-2 run and closing it with a 21-4 surge.Very concerned, Thibodeau said. It tells you were not learning. That bothers me.Wiggins rallied the Wolves in the fourth, giving them a 92-91 lead with a 3-pointer. But Kaminsky responded with a 3 and a three-point play, and Clifford got the best of his longtime friend.Weve got guys who have been in the league for a while now, Thibodeau said. Were making mistakes that never should be made.WALKERS BACKA scary moment happened at the end of the first quarter when Walker, who scored 12 points on 6-for-7 shooting in the period, went to the locker room. The team said his back tightened up and he went back to get stretched out.Walker was able to return to the game midway through the second quarter and played the rest of the game with no visible issues.My training staff, theyre the best, Walker said. They did a great job at looking out for me when I came out the game with the heat pack, good massages, things like that. But Im feeling good though.BADGERING TOWNSKaminsky was on the Wisconsin team that stunned Towns and previously undefeated Kentucky in the Final Four two years ago. After ruining Towns shot at history in college, Kaminsky helped spoil the reigning Rookie of the Years 21st birthday on Tuesday.I dont have anything against him. Hes a great player, Kaminsky said. I just want to go out there and compete.LAVINE RETURNSTimberwolves shooting guard Zach LaVine missed the win over the Lakers on Sunday with a sore right knee, something he said hes been dealing with for more than a week. He looked just fine on Tuesday, hitting his first four 3s and finishing with 19 points in 33 minutes.TIP-INSHornets: They shot 53.8 percent from the field and made 11 of 24 3s, including eight of their last 14. ... Clifford said G Jeremy Lamb, who has missed the last seven games with a strained left hamstring, practiced on Monday and will work out on Wednesday and Thursday back in Charlotte with the possibility of playing on Friday night against Atlanta.Timberwolves: F Shabazz Muhammad (right knee) and G/F Brandon Rush (right big toe) both were out. Rush said he hopes to be ready to play on Thursday. ... After shooting 22 free throws on Sunday, Wiggins was just 6 for 9 on Tuesday.UP NEXTHornets: Head home to host Atlanta, Marvin Williams former team, on Friday.Timberwolves: Wrap up a four-game homestand by hosting Philadelphia on Thursday in a game to be televised on TNT. Manuel Neuer Germany Jersey . 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. Niklas Sule Germany Jersey . -- Matt Kuchar and Harris English ran away with the Franklin Templeton Shootout, shooting a 14-under 58 on Sunday in the final-round scramble to break the tournament course record. http://www.germanysoccerpro.com/Jerome-Boateng-Germany-Jersey/ . 8 Iowa State on Saturday, sending the Cyclones to their third consecutive loss. The Longhorns (14-4, 3-2) got their biggest win of the season with their third in the row in the Big 12. Mats Hummels Germany Jersey .2 billion agreement with Rogers Communications for the leagues broadcast and multimedia rights. Julian Draxler Jersey . -- If Henry Burris has his way, he will be the starting quarterback to lead the Hamilton Tiger-Cats back to the Grey Cup next year. WASHINGTON -- House Republicans on Thursday called for an independent review of allegations that the National Football League sought to improperly influence a government study into the link between football and brain disease.In a letter to the Department of Health and Human Services inspector general, GOP leaders of the Energy and Commerce Committee said that a thorough assessment is needed to ensure the integrity of the process for awarding research grants.The committees top Democrat said in May the NFL tried to strong-arm the National Institutes of Health into taking the project away from a prominent researcher that the league believed was biased.But the committees chairman, Rep. Fred Upton of Michigan, and other GOP members of panel said they dont have all the facts needed to reach conclusions. All the attention generated by claims the NFL tried to sway the study have tarnished the reputations of leading researchers into traumatic brain injuries and other medical experts, they said in the 21-page letter to the departments inspector general, Daniel Levinson.The lawmakers also said that based on the information they have, the institutes may have contributed to the breakdown of the structures and processes that exist to preserve the integrity of NIH research.The NFL said in a statement that it looks forward to cooperating with the inspector general. The NFL has never wavered in its commitment to advance the science and understanding of concussions and traumatic brain injuries, the league said.Rep. Frank Pallone, D-N.J., initiated an investigation after ESPN reported in December that the league had agreed to donate $30 million to the NIH to fund brain research. But the league backed out after the institutes went ahead with a $16 million grant to Boston University researcherr Robert Stern, according to the sports networks report.ddddddddddddStern is a leading expert on the link between football and brain diseases such as chronic traumatic encephalopathy. He also filed a declaration opposing a settlement between the NFL and former players, fearing that deserving players would not be compensated.The NFLs critics say the league has downplayed the link between football and brain damage, alleging that an NFL committee on brain injury had ignored or minimized the link between repetitive head trauma and brain damage.Pallone said his probe confirmed the NFL inappropriately attempted to use its unrestricted gift as leverage to steer funding away from one of its critics, Pallone said.The NFL denied Pallones findings. The league at the time acknowledged it had raised concerns about the study and a potential conflict of interest involving Stern, but said it had communicated those concerns through appropriate channels.The league said in the statement Thursday that its $30 million commitment was never in doubt and said its unfortunate that the allegations have distracted attention from the broader goal of further traumatic brain injury science.Upton and other Republicans said if the NFL acted inappropriately, then NIH not only failed to identify and address this behavior, but rather encouraged ongoing discussion, thus creating a perception that the league had input on the use of (research) funds.There is little evidence to suggest, Upton and his colleagues wrote, that anyone affiliated with the NFL advocated on behalf of a specific research team or grant proposal.---Follow Richard Lardner on Twitter: http://twitter.com/rplardner ' ' '