Kevin Love Posts First 30-30 Game in NBA in 28 Years

The Minnesota Timberwolves' Kevin Love became the first NBA player to haul down 30 rebounds and score 30 points since Moses Malone did it for Houston in 1982 against Seattle.

With today's emphasis on stats, it is surprising that it has been so long since a player has accomplished this feat. Love's 31 boards and 31 points helped the T-Wolves beat the New York Knicks 112-103 on Friday night.

Many of Love's rebounds occurred in the third quarter, when he grabbed 15 boards. Love almost singlehandedly brought the Wolves back from a 21-point deficit early in third quarter. He received a standing ovation when he was pulled in the final two minutes.

Meanwhile, the Knicks provided plenty of opportunities for Love to pile up the rebounds, as they shot only 28 percent in the second half. It is the most rebounds against the Knicks since Charles Barkley grabbed 33 rebounds in 1996.

What made this effort even more remarkable was that Love had a very rough first half shooting the ball, as he had just six points at halftime.

Love had help, as Michael Beasley had 35 points and six rebounds for the Wolves, as the Knicks lost their fourth consecutive game.

As for the historical performance, Moses Malone also had another 30-30 in 1978-79, the same season that the Celtics Robert Parish had a 30-32 performance against the same Knicks team. The year before, Kareem-Abdul Jabbar had 37 points and 30 boards.

Minnesota is only 3-7 after the victory, but at least they have a white guy who can actually play the game of basketball. Keep in mind that white players who do historic things in the NBA over the past 20 years are few and far between, unless you are talking about free throw percentage or assists, which nobody cares about.

So let's get a little love for Kevin Love, can we NBA fans?