"I liked the way we played for 48 minutes," Sixers coach Eddie Jordan said. "We did not have any major lulls like we have in the past. We stayed at a high level."

The Sixers (20-31) snapped Minnesota's four-game winning streak and left the Timberwolves with a 13-39 record.

After the final horn sounded, the Sixers hustled off the court so they could head to the airport for their flight to Toronto. They are scheduled to meet the Raptors tonight in their last game before the all-star break.

"We plan to finish up strong," said forward Elton Brand, who finished with 21 points. "We've won five in a row, and we want to make it six and enjoy the break and come back."

After leading by 30-23 at the end of the first quarter, the Sixers roared to a 73-51 lead at the break. That point total was the most the Sixers had scored in a half this season.

Swingman Andre Iguodala led the Sixers with 24 points. Also in double figures were guards Lou Williams (16) and Willie Green (15), and forward Thaddeus Young (15). The Sixers were without Allen Iverson for the fourth straight game as the veteran guard deals with his daughter's illness.

Wayne Ellington, the Episcopal Academy graduate who is a rookie with the Timberwolves, finished with 16 points in about 22 minutes off the bench. Minnesota also received 14 points from swingman Corey Brewer, 12 from forward Al Jefferson and 10 from forward Ryan Gomes.

After taking a 97-76 advantage into the fourth quarter, the Sixers were up by 104-83 with 8 minutes, 34 seconds to play. They cruised home from there.

The last six times that the Sixers and the Timberwolves got together, the home team won. In the first meeting this season, Minnesota registered a 108-103 victory in overtime Jan. 18 after spotting the visiting Sixers a 17-point halftime advantage.

Last night, Minnesota was in a 22-point hole when intermission arrived.

"The first game, they had a good comeback on us," Iguodala said. "That was in the back of our minds, so we just wanted to finish the game out and come out here with a win."

When Ellington checked in with just over four minutes to go in the first quarter, he canned an 18-foot jumper and then drove for a layup in transition.

There usually isn't much reaction when a visiting player scores - the public address announcer only grudgingly calls out the opponent's name - but a group of Ellington's fans could be heard cheering when the Philadelphia native's second basket pulled his team to 28-20.

The Sixers, led a game from start to finish for the first time this season, had a seven-point lead after one quarter thanks to Green's 10 points.

During the Sixers' second-period run, reserve forward Jason Smith went 3 for 3 from the field and dropped in all three of his foul shots for nine points in just under eight minutes. He helped the Sixers turn a 35-25 edge into a 47-27 advantage with 8:44 to go before the break.

"You have to keep yourself ready for anything," said Smith, who has played sparingly this season. "I just tried to go out there and play as hard as I could."

Contact staff writer Kevin Tatum at 215-854-2583 or ktatum@phillynews.com.