Timberwolves at Hornets
The Charlotte Hornets and the Minnesota Timberwolves took part in two of the more exciting games on the NBA slate Wednesday - the first full day of action in the 2019-20 campaign. Both teams will try to build off the momentum of one-point wins when the Hornets host the Timberwolves on Friday.
Charlotte let franchise player Kemba Walker get away over the summer in free agency but, at least for one night, it managed to replace his production in the form of rookie power forward PJ Washington, who dazzled with 27 points on 9-of-17 shooting while burying seven 3-pointers in his debut. "I told you guys I thought he had been in the league for two years already," Hornets coach James Borrego told reporters of Washington. "He was fantastic. He's a poised young man and he's only going to get better from here. It's his job to continue to grow. He's going to see different defenses every night, but I'm excited about what we see so far with his maturity out there, his poise, his decision-making." The Timberwolves went to overtime to earn a 127-126 win at the Brooklyn Nets, overcoming an 18-point deficit and surviving a 50-point effort from Kyrie Irving. "We bonded," Timberwolves center Karl-Anthony Towns told reporters. "And you saw, when the game got close, no matter how close and how rough it was getting, we stayed very unified, and we kept to each other, and we trusted in each other."
TV: 7 p.m. ET, FS North (Minnesota), FS Southeast (Charlotte)
ABOUT THE TIMBERWOLVES (1-0): Towns was the driving force behind Wednesday's triumph with 36 points, 14 rebounds and seven 3-pointers while Andrew Wiggins overcame a rough outside shooting night and finished with 21 points and eight boards. Wiggins shot a career-low 41.2 percent from the floor last season and went 10-of-27 on Wednesday but is not discouraged. "I worked so hard this summer," Wiggins told reporters. "I shot so much. There are days where your shot's not falling. I look at tonight like, OK, I shot the ball bad, but we still won. So, when I play good and my shot's falling, it's going to be good for everybody. So, I just take the positive out of it and stay with that."
ABOUT THE HORNETS (1-0): Washington's seven 3-pointers set a record for a player in his NBA debut and Charlotte escaped with a 126-125 victory on Wednesday. Borrego is trying to get his team to play a drive-and-kick style heavy on 3-point attempts, and the Hornets went 23-of-44 from beyond the arc in the opener with Washington (7-of-11), Marvin Williams (5-of-7) and Devonte Graham (6-of-7) doing the most damage. Point guard Terry Rozier, who was brought in to replace Walker in the starting lineup, struggled in his team debut with seven points on 2-of-10 shooting.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Hornets SG Nicolas Batum suffered a fractured left middle finger on Wednesday and is expected to miss three to four weeks.
2. Minnesota SF Robert Covington recorded 15 points on 6-of-11 shooting and nine rebounds in the opener.
3. The home team took each of the two meetings last season, with Charlotte earning a 113-106 victory on March 21.