Timberwolves at Hornets
The Charlotte Hornets have a great opportunity to finish a three-game homestand on a positive note when they host the reeling Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday. The Hornets have split the first two games of the stay, first falling to Detroit before picking up a 97-87 win over Dallas on Thursday.
Kemba Walker (team-high 18 points) called it an "ugly" win but also made a point of stressing that good teams find a way no matter how the game plays out. "At the end of the day, it shows toughness," Walker told reporters. "It shows that we can withstand games. They really slowed it down tonight. But we really stayed with the game and won." The Timberwolves will be playing their sixth game in nine days and have little time to recover from Friday's 118-114 loss to the New York Knicks in Madison Square Garden, their season-high fourth consecutive defeat. Charlotte has won six straight meetings, including a 115-108 triumph in Minnesota last month.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, FSN North (Minnesota), FSN Southeast (Charlotte)
ABOUT THE TIMBERWOLVES (5-14): The Timberwolves lost to the Knicks twice in a span of three days but the results for star forward Karl-Anthony Towns were exceptionally different. After scoring a career-high 47 points and grabbing a season high-tying 18 rebounds in the first defeat Wednesday at home, Towns went for 20 points on 5-of-18 shooting while pulling down eight boards in Friday's loss. A bright spot came in the form of his backup, Nemanja Bjelica, who came off the bench to produce 17 points and seven rebounds in 21 minutes on Friday.
ABOUT THE HORNETS (11-8): Charlotte's bench was key in the win over Dallas as five reserves combined to score 46 points on 17-of-25 shooting, led by Jeremy Lamb's 12 points. Big man Roy Hibbert had 11 points, his best output since he scored 15 in the season opener before a knee issue knocked him out for five games. "He has to be in the middle of things," coach Steve Clifford told reporters of Hibbert, who also had four rebounds and two blocks in 17 minutes.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Walker had 30 points, six assists, five rebounds and five steals in the win over the Timberwolves on Nov. 15.
2. Minnesota F Andrew Wiggins entered Friday averaging 22.7 points but finished with his fourth straight game of fewer than 20.
3. Hornets F Marvin Williams (knee) has missed four straight games.