No one on the Timberwolves doubted that all-star forward Kevin Garnett would play in Friday night's game against the New York Knicks.

Not with the team trying to get things back together before the playoffs.

Fortunately for Garnett, the Wolves took control early and cruised to a 98-77 victory, so he was able to rest during the fourth quarter.

"Everybody knows KG's a warrior," Wolves guard Chauncey Billups said. "If he can walk fast enough, he's going to play. We had no doubt he was going to play."

Garnett was injured in the third quarter of Minnesota's 113-111 victory over Dallas on Thursday night at Target Center when he leaped past Dallas reserve Wang Zhizhi to try to block his shot from the corner. Garnett went heels over head, breaking his fall with his right hand before his head bounced hard onto the floor. He lay stunned for several minutes in front of the Wolves' bench before slowly rising holding an ice bag to the crown of his head. He jogged off the court, then came back in the fourth quarter with a bandage covering 12 stitches on his scalp.

Before he left the game against the Knicks, Garnett scored 12 points and pulled down 15 rebounds for his 50th double-double of the season.

Steve Nash nearly bailed the Mavs out twice in the final frantic seconds, but both of his tries, including a jumper at the buzzer, didn't find the the net and Minnesota held on for a 113-111 victory before a sellout crowd of 19,668 at the Target Center.

"We had two great shots," Mavericks coach Don Nelson said. "It just wasn't meant to be tonight."

For the second time in three nights, the Mavericks faced a double-digit deficit on the road. They rallied to win the first time. They weren't as lucky with the Timberwolves. The loss dropped the Mavericks (49-22) to 1-1 on their four-game road trip and back into a first-place tie with idle San Antonio in the Midwest Division. The trek continues tonight against another playoff-caliber opponent, Boston, and concludes Sunday at Washington.

The Timberwolves signed point guard Robert Pack for the remainder of the season Thursday. Considering the Wolves' perilous backcourt situation, it would have been a bigger surprise if the team didn't keep Pack around.

Pack originally signed a 10-day contract that expired Wednesday. Wolves coach Flip Saunders said he liked the energy and leadership Pack brought in four games, making it an easy decision to keep him as Chauncey Billups' backup.

Pack said he was focused more on helping the Wolves pull out of their slump than on his tenuous contract situation. But he wasn't complaining about the security.

"It feels good to get that behind me," he said. "Having the contract thing behind me is definitely one less thing I have to worry about.

Pack averaged 6.5 points and 4.3 assists in 19.5 minutes, entering Thursday's game against Dallas.

Passion was not a problem for the Timberwolves on Thursday night. Kevin Garnett has 12 stitches on his head and a sore back to prove it.

Garnett scraped himself off the court after a nasty fall and came back for more, a touch of symbolism in what was a tumultuous 48 hours for the Wolves.

Two days after hitting rock bottom in their late-season slide, the Wolves picked themselves up off the floor and answered their critics with a rejuvenating 113-111 victory against the Dallas Mavericks in a wild affair before a sellout crowd of 19,668 at Target Center.