When Terrell Brandon, the Timberwolves' starting point guard, went down with a cartilage fracture in his left leg, Minnesota was expected to lose its grip on its second-place standing in the Midwest Division.

But history suggests otherwise. With Brandon out of the lineup, Minnesota is 15-5 this season. And with Brandon set to have surgery this week that will end his season, the play of Chauncey Billups and Anthony Peeler has been a key to the team's success.

''I don't know how much they lose,'' Riley said. ``They've been very successful without him in the lineup.''

And Riley made that comment before Billups led Minnesota with a game-high 23 points and eight assists Sunday. Peeler only scored eight points, but in Friday's loss to Denver he scored a team-high 24.

HOUSE RETURNS

Heat guard Eddie House returned to action a day after an MRI exam revealed no damage to his right knee. Instead, the injury House suffered against Milwaukee on Friday was a lower leg muscle strain. House played 22 minutes and scored 12 points Sunday. Riley said House's availability eliminated the possibility of activating Anthony Carter on Sunday.

PUNCHLESS AGAIN

The Heat, last in scoring for most of the season, had picked up its scoring significantly -- until Sunday. Other than a 73-point game against the Hawks on Feb. 5, Miami had not scored fewer than 85 points since a Jan. 12 loss at Phoenix, in which it tallied 74.