MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – Kevin Garnett validated his MVP award and put the Minnesota Timberwolves into the Western Conference finals.

Garnett had 32 points, 21 rebounds and five blocks on his 28th birthday, and the Timberwolves held on to beat the Sacramento Kings 83-80 Wednesday in Game 7 of their semifinal series.

The victory wasn’t assured until Chris Webber’s 3-point attempt went in and out at the final buzzer, giving Sacramento a Game 7 playoff loss for a third straight year.

Minnesota will host the Los Angeles Lakers, who have been idle since Saturday, in Game 1 of the conference finals Friday night.

With the Timberwolves clinging to a three-point lead, the Kings had a final possession to tie. Doug Christie’s off-balance 3-pointer was an airball, and Brad Miller’s layup attempt off the rebound was blocked by Garnett into the seats near Sacramento co-owners Joe and Gavin Maloof.

NHL playoffs
Flames 3, Sharks 1

CALGARY, Alberta (AP) – The Calgary Flames finally showed some heart at home – and now Canada’s team will play for the Cup.

Captain Jarome Iginla scored his 10th playoff goal and the Flames advanced to their first Stanley Cup finals in 15 years with a 3-1 victory over the San Jose Sharks in Game 6 of the Western Conference finals.

Miikka Kiprusoff made 18 saves for the Flames, whose victory was the first by a home team in the series. The raucous “Red Sea” of fans in the sold-out Saddledome finally had something to cheer as the Flames took an early lead and hung on through a scoreless third period.

Martin Gelinas also scored for the sixth-seeded Flames.

, who will open their fourth straight playoff series on the road Tuesday, either at Tampa Bay or Philadelphia.

Calgary hasn’t been in the NHL’s final round since winning the Stanley Cup in 1989 – and the Canadian anthem will be sung in the finals for the first time since Vancouver made it in 1994. A Canadian team hasn’t won the Cup since Montreal’s victory in 1993.

Alyn McCauley scored for San Jose, but the best season in franchise history ended with back-to-back losses in the Sharks’ first appearance in the conference finals. San Jose also lost its final four home games of the playoffs, running out of energy and focus despite their 104-point regular season and home-ice advantage in every round.

The teams tied an NHL record with road victories in each of the first five games of the series, so the Flames stayed in a hotel Tuesday night in an attempt to replicate road conditions. It must have worked: Calgary took an early lead and never lost it despite a strong third-period push by the Sharks, who just couldn’t beat Kiprusoff.

The Sharks pulled their goalie in the final minute, but the Flames’ Robyn Regehr was credited with a goal with one second left after a San Jose player attempted to pass the puck from behind the Calgary net and it went the length of the ice.