Hornets at Timberwolves
Reigning Rookie of the Year Andrew Wiggins is showing signs of becoming a
star and he looks for his third consecutive 30-point outing when the
Minnesota Timberwolves host the Charlotte Hornets on Tuesday. Wiggins
matched his career best of 33 points in Monday's 117-107 victory over
Atlanta and is averaging 19.8 points through six games.
Wiggins was 15-of-22 shooting in the victory over the Hawks, and the Timberwolves blew a 34-point, third-quarter lead before recovering to continue their strong start. "It should tell you a lot," Wiggins told reporters in reference to Minnesota not folding. "We're focused in. We want to win. People don't think we're going to do anything this year. We want to surprise people." Charlotte has been off since suffering a 114-94 road loss to the San Antonio Spurs on Saturday. The Hornets have split the first two games of a three-game road excursion and are 1-3 in away games this season.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, FSN Southeast (Charlotte), FSN North-Plus (Minnesota)
ABOUT THE HORNETS (2-4): Point guard Kemba Walker broke out of a shooting funk by scoring a season-best 27 points on 11-of-15 shooting against the Spurs. "He hasn't shot the ball as well this season as he did (against San Antonio)," coach Steve Clifford told reporters. "He has played six really good games, so he is playing at a really high level." Center Al Jefferson has been inconsistent and had just 13 points against the Spurs after having 31 points on 15-of-18 shooting two nights earlier against Dallas.
ABOUT THE TIMBERWOLVES (4-2): Wiggins and rookie center Karl-Anthony Towns are displaying signs that Minnesota has some true building blocks. Towns is certainly excelling like one would expect from a No. 1 overall pick and had 17 points and 12 rebounds against the Hawks for his fourth double-double in six games. Towns is averaging 15.5 points and 10 rebounds and has blocked three or more shots in each of the past five games.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Charlotte has won three straight meetings and 13 of the last 17.
2. Minnesota PF Kevin Garnett had a season-best eight rebounds Monday but is averaging just 2.3 points per game.
3. Hornets PF Marvin Williams has four double-digit rebounding outings while averaging 11.3 points and 8.8 rebounds.