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SANDY, Utah -- Toronto FC goalkeeper Julio Cesars right knee told the story as he sat in front of his locker late Saturday night. A round of ice and a warm shower had reduced the swelling to about the size of a tennis ball, the lump a clear indication of the physical toll the 3-0 loss to Real Salt Lake took on Cesar and his teammates. Just how much of a mental toll the previously unbeaten Reds endured by the humbling defeat will be revealed in the coming days. "We just have to be honest with ourselves to know theres still a lot of work to do," said midfielder Michael Bradley. "Tonight is a good reminder of that." Toronto allowed two goals in the first 28 minutes and chased the scoreboard the rest of the night. Doneil Henrys takedown of Alvaro Saborio led to a penalty kick in the 11th minute, and the games first goal. Luis Gil sent a deflection past Cesar with his left foot 17 minutes later to put the Reds (2-0-1) in unfamiliar territory for the first time on the young season. "It was uncharacteristic of us in terms of goals we gave away," Toronto coach Ryan Nelsen said. "We dug ourselves a bit of a holea A lot of what we did was very good, but the goals we gave up were not us. That was the real disappointing thing about it." Both teams set the tone early in a physical contest. Bodies collided and players lay strewn on the turf as play continued for long stretches in the opening half. Cesar collided with Real Salt Lake forward Olmes Garcia midway through the second half, which resulted in the goalkeepers swollen knee. By the time Saborio scored again in the 55th minute, the Reds were ready to get out of the altitude and regroup. "We got to just try to keep our heads up," said forward Jermain Defoe, who left the game in the 61st minute with an injured hamstring that he said he "tweaked" in the first half. "Its always hard when you lose the game, because weve been playing so well and you come here confident and lose a game like that." Nelsen said he took Defoe out as a precautionary measure, but downplayed the injury. U.S. Mens National coach Jurgen Klinsmann was in attendance to watch Bradley and three RSL players who will report to camp Sunday in Phoenix, Ariz. Toronto nearly made a game of it early in the second half, but three scoring chances in a five-minute span all missed the mark against goalkeeper Nick Rimando, who recorded his 110th MLS shutout. Bradley hit the left post in the 54th minute, and Defoe and Henry narrowly missed wide and high on good opportunities as the Reds failed in their attempt to start a season 3-0 for the first time in franchise history. Just another sign it wasnt going to be Torontos night. "When you start the game and go down 1-0 early, and not too long after, go down 2-0, it makes a difficult game even more difficult," Bradley said. "We tried in the second half to get to 2-1 and see if we could really push things." 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Mohamed Diame put West Ham ahead in the 47th minute before goals by substitutes Carlton Cole and Joe Cole condemned Fulham to a fifth straight defeat, keeping the visitors in the bottom three.MINNEAPOLIS -- Kevin Love landed hard on his hip after a foul late in the game. His head snapped back from the impact and hit the floor. The All-Star power forward was all right afterward, a relief for the Minnesota Timberwolves. The win over the languishing Los Angeles Lakers was nice, too. Love had 31 points and 17 rebounds to lead the Timberwolves to 109-99 victory on Tuesday that spoiled Steve Nashs return and stuck the Lakers with their seventh straight defeat. "I just want to continue to keep playing and give this team all that I can," Love said. "Yeah, Ive taken a physical beating, but youve got to expect being one of the top guys that theyre going to come at you." Kevin Martin helped the Timberwolves get off to a fast start, scoring 14 of his season-high-tying 32 points in the opening 10 minutes as the NBAs highest-scoring first-quarter team surged to a 25-point lead midway through the second period. They stumbled some after halftime, letting the Lakers pull within seven points early in the fourth quarter. "Its just one of those things where the game isnt going to be as easy as you think," coach Rick Adelman said. "You just have to persevere." With Nikola Pekovic likely out through the All-Star break, the Wolves started a difficult week, a theme of Adelmans pregame message. They play at Oklahoma City on Wednesday and New Orleans on Friday before hosting Portland on Saturday, a crucial stretch for a team running out of time to climb back into the playoff picture. But Love picked up the Wolves and carried them to an important win, playing the part of the burly Pekovic by throwing his body at the basket as often as he could. He made it to the line for 18 free throws, making 13. "We realize how good he is. He has incredible toughness," Martin said, adding: "He gets dirty down there. Thats why we pay him the big bucks and thats why hes an All-Star starter, to do things like that." Nash had been sidelined since Nov. 10 because of nerve problems in his back. The soon-to-be-40-year-old two-time league MVP had seven points and nine assists in 25 minutes, about 10 more than he was supposed to play. "I feel a bit selfish in that we lost but it felt great just to play in the NBA again," Nash said, smiling.dddddddddddd "Obviously the game didnt go as we hoped, but for me personally thats pretty cool to be back out there." Coach Mike DAntoni was pleased. "I thought he competed, and weve got to have everybody compete that way," DAntoni said. Steve Blake also returned, coming back from a torn ligament in his right elbow that had shelved him since Dec. 10. He ruptured his eardrum during the game but kept playing on another night of bad luck and bad defence for the fallen franchise. Blake was scoreless in 31 minutes and took only two shots. Fittingly, as soon as two guys came back, two more went out. Jodie Meeks (sprained right ankle, first quarter) and backup Jordan Hill (headache and neck strain, first quarter) were hurt for the Lakers, who have been without star Kobe Bryant for most of the season. Pau Gasol also sat out with a strained right groin and could be out until after the All-Star break. DAntoni said Meeks wont play the rest of the road trip at Cleveland on Wednesday or at Philadelphia on Friday. Hill was walking stiffly in the locker room after the game but was held out as a precaution, the coach said. "I just feel for those guys. I just was in their position," Blake said. "Unfortunately its a part of the game, and the rest of us have to pick it up." The Lakers reserves had a whopping 70 points, with Nick Young (24 points), Manny Harris (17 points) and former Timberwolves first-round draft pick Wes Johnson (15 points and nine rebounds) leading the way. But the Lakers still lost for the 19th time in their last 22 games and fell into a tie for last place in the Western Conference with Utah and Sacramento. This was also their first loss at Target Center in almost seven years, ending an 11-game run. NOTES: This was the league-high seventh time this season that Love had at least 30 points and 15 rebounds. He has 25 for his career, one more than Kevin Garnett on the franchises career list. ... The Lakers have allowed 100-plus points in 15 straight games, their longest such streak since 17 in a row during the 1986-87 season. ' ' '