CHARLOTTE, N.C. – After a brief cameo from the team they could be on Wednesday night, the Timberwolves morphed back into the team they were for much of the season against the Hornets in a 110-108 loss on Friday.
The Wolves relinquished a 10-point lead at halftime in a disastrous third quarter in which Charlotte outscored them 39-21. The Wolves made a push to cut that lead to one in the fourth quarter behind 20 points and 10 assists from D'Angelo Russell, but they couldn't come all the way back and their five-game win streak is over.
Kelly Oubre Jr. had 28 points for the Hornets, who were without injured guard LaMelo Ball and entered the night as one of the worst shooting teams in the league.
The Wolves' offense grew stagnant in the second half and they shot just 9 for 40 from 3-point range, with Karl-Anthony Towns (19 points) struggling to just 1-for-11 shooting from deep. Anthony Edwards had 25.
The Wolves played an uneven first half in which they led by as many as 13. The Hornets entered the night with the worst effective field-goal percentage in the league, and they couldn't hit much early.
Charlotte shot just 4 for 13 to open the night. But the Wolves lacked the necessary ball pressure to stop Charlotte from attacking the rim, and the Hornets hung around for most of the first half.
Despite their inconsistent defensive effort, the Wolves kept the Hornets off the glass thanks in part to 11 first-half rebounds from Gobert and got enough offense from some of their main weapons. Edwards scored 16 in the first half, Towns had 14 and Russell 10 as the Wolves carried a 10-point lead into halftime.
Their performance in the third quarter didn't inspire a lot of confidence. The Hornets took a 78-77 lead with 4 minutes, 25 seconds remaining in the third. It was their first lead since 6-5.
It only got worse for the Wolves, who had no rhythm on offense and couldn't contain the Hornets off the dribble or stop from fouling them. The Wolves shot just 8 for 22 in the third while Charlott shot 13 for 23.
It got as bad as 14 early in the fourth, and it seemed like no timeout coach Chris Finch could call would stop it.
The Wolves finally got it together halfway through the quarter, and with Russell leading the way offensively, they went on a 19-6 run to cut Charlotte's lead to 103-102 with 3:33 left.
But in a fitting end for a team that has struggled with rebounding, the Wolves forced a Terry Rozier shot when Charlotte was up three with 8.9 seconds left. But they couldn't secure the rebound, and P.J. Washington made one of two free throws to ice the game.
