MINNEAPOLIS — When the Timberwolves' game with Charlotte was about to start Tuesday night at Target Center, the sellout crowd of 17,136 was, for the most part, standing.
They had been asked to.
By D'Angelo Russell, who was looking for a little more fan involvement. And when Russell hit a corner three to start Minnesota's scoring, the crowd roared.
By the end of the game the crowd was roaring of its own accord.
In an exciting game that belied some sloppy play from both teams, the Wolves rallied from 13 down early in the third quarter to force overtime. Then the Wolves finished the job in a 126-120 victory.
It was an amazing turnaround for a team that struggled mightily to get shots to fall.
The Wolves shot south of 40 percent overall, made just 13 of 55 three-pointers and missed 15 of 41 free throws.
But, with the crowd getting more and more frenzied, the Wolves did what they had to when it mattered.
Towns scored 12 points in the fourth quarter. His three with 1:30 left in regulation put the Wolves up a point. His three with 54.9 seconds left put them up five.
His three in the overtime put the Wolves up six. Minnesota outscored Charlotte 44-25 over the final 14-plus minutes of the game.
For Minnesota (31-27) it was their first victory over Charlotte in five tries. Towns, frankly, was amazing. He finished with 39 points and 15 rebounds. Playing without Anthony Edwards in the second half — he sprained his right ankle late in the first half — Minnesota got 18 points from Russell to go with 11 assists. Jaden McDaniels had 16 points off the bench. Patrick Beverley had 15 points.
Charlotte (29-30) was led by Miles Bridges' 28 points; his free throw with 9 seconds left tied the game and forced overtime. Terry Rozier had 25 points. LaMelo Ball had 22 points, nine rebounds and six assists by the time he fouled out in the overtime. Center Mason Plumlee had 14 points and 16 rebounds.
The Wolves opened the game on a 17-5 run. That lead was gone by halftime. Up 12 early in the game, that lead was down to three after a quarter. Charlotte led by six at the half, by nine after three quarters and by 13 early in the fourth.
In a first quarter in which the two teams combined to shoot 5-for-29 on three-pointers, the Wolves took a 21-9 lead, then scored just six points over the final 5:34 of the quarter, allowing Charlotte to pull within 27-24 entering the second.
The second quarter was filled with missed Wolves shots, multiple reviews and/or challenges. And it ended with the Hornets finishing the half on a 12-6 run to take a 58-52 halftime lead.
It was a dysfunctional half for the Wolves, who hit just five of 19 shots overall, zero of eight three-point shots and seven of 13 free throws. Meanwhile. Ball scored 11 points with six rebounds in the quarter
Then the Hornets started the second half on an 8-3 run, pushing their lead to 11 on a basket by Rozier before the third quarter was 3 minutes old.
The Wolves never retook the momentum. They pulled within six late in the quarter before the Hornets pushed it back to nine entering the fourth quarter.
