Towns scores 28, Gobert has season-high 26 and Timberwolves beat Hornets 123-117
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) Karl-Anthony Towns scored 28 points, Rudy Gobert had a season-high 26 and grabbed 12 rebounds, and the Minnesota Timberwolves finished strong to beat the Charlotte Hornets 123-117 on Saturday.
Charlotte led by four with 4:53 remaining before Towns and Gobert combined to score eight points in a 13-3 surge that put the Timberwolves ahead 115-109 with 2:02 left. Charlotte would get no closer than three the rest of the way.
Gobert, who was listed as questionable with a hip injury, hadn’t scored more than 17 points in a game this season.
“That’s one of the best games I’ve ever seen from a man who’s questionable,” Towns said. “It’s just amazing to see him play knowing he’s in pain and playing hurt. The way he came out today, I give a huge shout out to him.”
Minnesota improved the best record in the Western Conference to 15-4. Naz Reid scored 23 points and Mike Conley finished with 14 points and 10 assists.
The Timberwolves scored the game’s first 10 points and led by 12 in the first quarter before Charlotte narrowed it to 88-87 after three.
Minnesota appeared to face adversity when Towns was whistled for three fouls in a 1:48 stretch early in the second quarter. But Reid came off the bench and Minnesota didn’t miss a beat.
“Naz gave us a huge lift off the bench,” Timberwolves coach Chris Finch said. “KAT has been in foul trouble a little bit here and there but he’s done a good job of being focused and playing a clean game when he goes back in.”
Terry Rozier scored 23 points and Miles Bridges had 22 for the Hornets. P.J. Washington added 18, Gordon Hayward had 17 and rookie Brandon Miller 14.
Hornets Steve Clifford wasn't helped by the officials while trying to battle the 7-foot, 240-pound Towns and 7-1, 265-pound Gobert.
“They shot 30 free throws - and they’re fouls,” Clifford said. “I would take that crew (of Gediminas Petraitis, JB DeRosa and Marut Kogut) every night, but I’ll be honest, we did not get a good whistle and I don’t usually say that.
“The 50-50 calls all went against us, to me, in the second half. I told one of the officials that after the game. I respect all three of them and I think they’re good together; we got the short end of the stick tonight. That happens. But that’s not why we lost. We lost because we’re not physical enough, we get outworked on the glass, we foul.”
UP NEXT
Timberwolves: Host San Antonio on Wednesday.
Hornets: At Chicago on Wednesday.
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| Time | Team | Play | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12:00 |  | Rudy Gobert vs. Mark Williams (Terry Rozier gains possession) | ||
| 11:43 | | Gordon Hayward misses two point turnaround fadeaway jump shot | ||
| 11:41 |  | Rudy Gobert defensive rebound | ||
| 11:26 | | +2 | Karl-Anthony Towns makes two point driving floating bank jump shot (Mike Conley assists) | 2-0 |
| 11:15 | | Terry Rozier misses two point driving layup | ||
| 11:13 | | Nickeil Alexander-Walker defensive rebound | ||
| 11:09 | | +2 | Rudy Gobert makes two point reverse dunk (Troy Brown Jr. assists) | 4-0 |
| 10:49 | | Brandon Miller misses two point pullup jump shot | ||
| 10:46 | | Mike Conley defensive rebound | ||
| 10:41 | | Karl-Anthony Towns misses three point running jump shot | ||
| 10:41 | | Timberwolves offensive rebound | ||
| 10:41 | | Mark Williams personal foul (Loose ball) (Rudy Gobert draws the foul) | ||
| 10:36 | | +3 | Karl-Anthony Towns makes three point jump shot (Mike Conley assists) | 7-0 |
| 10:17 | | Gordon Hayward turnover (out of bounds lost ball) | ||
| 10:04 | | +3 | Troy Brown Jr. makes three point jump shot (Karl-Anthony Towns assists) | 10-0 |
| 9:39 | | +3 | Miles Bridges makes three point pullup jump shot (Brandon Miller assists) | 10-3 |
| 9:22 | | Karl-Anthony Towns turnover (out of bounds bad pass) | ||
| 8:58 | | Brandon Miller misses two point driving floating bank jump shot | ||
| 8:55 | | Mark Williams offensive rebound | ||
| 8:55 | | Mark Williams misses two point tip layup | ||
| 8:54 | | Mike Conley defensive rebound | ||
| 8:48 | | Mike Conley turnover (bad pass) (Terry Rozier steals) | ||
| 8:43 | | +2 | Terry Rozier makes two point running layup | 10-5 |
| 8:34 | | Karl-Anthony Towns misses three point stepback jump shot | ||
| 8:32 | | Terry Rozier defensive rebound | ||
| 8:18 | | Miles Bridges misses two point pullup jump shot | ||
| 8:17 | | Karl-Anthony Towns defensive rebound | ||
| 8:03 | | Rudy Gobert misses two point hook shot | ||
| 8:01 | | Miles Bridges defensive rebound | ||
| 7:49 | | +3 | Brandon Miller makes three point stepback jump shot (Terry Rozier assists) | 10-8 |
| 7:20 | | +2 | Karl-Anthony Towns makes two point driving floating bank jump shot | 12-8 |
| 7:00 | | Miles Bridges misses two point driving finger roll layup | ||
| 7:00 | | Hornets offensive rebound | ||
| 6:49 | | Brandon Miller misses two point turnaround jump shot | ||
| 6:47 | | Mike Conley defensive rebound | ||
| 6:40 | | +2 | Rudy Gobert makes two point alley-oop dunk (Karl-Anthony Towns assists) | 14-8 |
| 6:25 | | Terry Rozier misses two point driving floating bank jump shot | ||
| 6:23 | | Rudy Gobert defensive rebound | ||
| 6:15 | | +2 | Rudy Gobert makes two point cutting dunk (Nickeil Alexander-Walker assists) | 16-8 |
| 6:15 | | Hornets 60 second timeout | ||
| 6:07 | | Troy Brown Jr. personal foul (Gordon Hayward draws the foul) | ||
| 5:52 | | +2 | Mark Williams makes two point reverse layup (P.J. Washington assists) | 16-10 |
| 5:37 | | +3 | Mike Conley makes three point pullup jump shot | 19-10 |
| 5:16 | | Brandon Miller misses three point jump shot | ||
| 5:16 | | Rudy Gobert defensive rebound | ||
| 5:05 | | +2 | Nickeil Alexander-Walker makes two point driving floating jump shot | 21-10 |
| 4:49 | | Terry Rozier misses two point fadeaway jump shot | ||
| 4:47 | | Nickeil Alexander-Walker defensive rebound | ||
| 4:44 | | Troy Brown Jr. misses three point running pullup jump shot | ||
| 4:42 | | Mark Williams defensive rebound | ||
| 4:33 | | +2 | Gordon Hayward makes two point stepback jump shot | 21-12 |
| 4:04 | | Shake Milton misses two point floating jump shot | ||
| 4:03 | | Ish Smith defensive rebound | ||
| 3:58 | | P.J. Washington misses three point running jump shot | ||
| 3:55 | | P.J. Washington offensive rebound | ||
| 3:47 | | Rudy Gobert blocks Nick Richards's two point reverse layup | ||
| 3:41 | | Naz Reid defensive rebound | ||
| 3:38 | | +3 | Naz Reid makes three point jump shot (Kyle Anderson assists) | 24-12 |
| 3:16 | | +2 | Miles Bridges makes two point fadeaway jump shot (Nick Richards assists) | 24-14 |
| 3:07 | | +2 | Rudy Gobert makes two point cutting dunk (Kyle Anderson assists) | 26-14 |
| 2:50 | | Miles Bridges misses two point pullup jump shot | ||
| 2:50 | | Ish Smith offensive rebound | ||
| 2:34 | | Miles Bridges misses two point fadeaway jump shot | ||
| 2:34 | | Timberwolves defensive rebound | ||
| 2:34 | | Timberwolves 60 second timeout | ||
| 2:23 | | Kyle Anderson turnover (bad pass) (Nick Richards steals) | ||
| 2:18 | | +2 | Miles Bridges makes two point running finger roll layup (Terry Rozier assists) | 26-16 |
| 1:58 | | +2 | Naz Reid makes two point driving layup | 28-16 |
| 1:38 | | +2 | Terry Rozier makes two point pullup jump shot (Ish Smith assists) | 28-18 |
| 1:23 | | Kyle Anderson misses two point turnaround hook shot | ||
| 1:23 | | Hornets defensive rebound | ||
| 0:58 | | +2 | Ish Smith makes two point turnaround fadeaway jump shot | 28-20 |
| 0:45 | | Kyle Anderson turnover (bad pass) (Miles Bridges steals) | ||
| 0:42 | | Nickeil Alexander-Walker shooting foul (Terry Rozier draws the foul) | ||
| 0:42 | | Terry Rozier misses regular free throw 1 of 2 | ||
| 0:42 | | Hornets offensive rebound | ||
| 0:42 | | +1 | Terry Rozier makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 28-21 |
| 0:31 | | +2 | Shake Milton makes two point floating jump shot (Naz Reid assists) | 30-21 |
| 0:13 | | Terry Rozier misses two point driving finger roll layup | ||
| 0:12 | | Nick Richards offensive rebound | ||
| 0:12 | | +2 | Nick Richards makes two point tip dunk | 30-23 |
| 0:01 | | Nick Richards blocks Karl-Anthony Towns's two point driving layup | ||
| 0:01 | | P.J. Washington defensive rebound | ||
| 0:00 | | End of period |
| Time | Team | Play | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11:51 | | Brandon Miller blocks Shake Milton's two point driving layup | ||
| 11:48 | | Naz Reid offensive rebound | ||
| 11:44 | | Karl-Anthony Towns turnover (bad pass) (Terry Rozier steals) | ||
| 11:39 | | +2 | Terry Rozier makes two point running layup | 30-25 |
| 11:30 | | +2 | Naz Reid makes two point driving layup (Nickeil Alexander-Walker assists) | 32-25 |
| 11:05 | | +2 | Brandon Miller makes two point driving floating jump shot (Bryce McGowens assists) | 32-27 |
| 10:55 | | Naz Reid misses three point jump shot | ||
| 10:52 | | Karl-Anthony Towns offensive rebound | ||
| 10:52 | | +2 | Karl-Anthony Towns makes two point putback layup | 34-27 |
| 10:40 | | +2 | P.J. Washington makes two point driving layup (Miles Bridges assists) | 34-29 |
| 10:26 | | +2 | Nickeil Alexander-Walker makes two point pullup jump shot | 36-29 |
| 10:13 | | +3 | P.J. Washington makes three point jump shot (Miles Bridges assists) | 36-32 |
| 10:00 | | +2 | Naz Reid makes two point cutting layup (Shake Milton assists) | 38-32 |
| 9:50 | | Karl-Anthony Towns shooting foul (Brandon Miller draws the foul) | ||
| 9:50 | | +1 | Brandon Miller makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 38-33 |
| 9:50 | | +1 | Brandon Miller makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 38-34 |
| 9:32 | | Naz Reid misses three point jump shot | ||
| 9:29 | | P.J. Washington defensive rebound | ||
| 9:24 | | Terry Rozier misses three point stepback jump shot | ||
| 9:22 | | Karl-Anthony Towns defensive rebound | ||
| 9:13 | | Naz Reid misses two point turnaround hook shot | ||
| 9:10 | | P.J. Washington defensive rebound | ||
| 9:07 | | Kyle Anderson personal foul (Brandon Miller draws the foul) | ||
| 8:59 | | Karl-Anthony Towns shooting foul (Miles Bridges draws the foul) | ||
| 8:59 | | +1 | Miles Bridges makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 38-35 |
| 8:59 | | +1 | Miles Bridges makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 38-36 |
| 8:46 | | +2 | Kyle Anderson makes two point driving layup | 40-36 |
| 8:46 | | Brandon Miller shooting foul (Kyle Anderson draws the foul) | ||
| 8:46 | | +1 | Kyle Anderson makes regular free throw 1 of 1 | 41-36 |
| 8:32 | | Miles Bridges misses two point pullup jump shot | ||
| 8:30 | | Kyle Anderson defensive rebound | ||
| 8:22 | | Mike Conley misses three point jump shot | ||
| 8:15 | | Kyle Anderson offensive rebound | ||
| 8:15 | | +2 | Kyle Anderson makes two point putback layup | 43-36 |
| 8:13 | | +2 | Miles Bridges makes two point alley-oop dunk (Terry Rozier assists) | 43-38 |
| 8:02 | | Karl-Anthony Towns offensive foul (Terry Rozier draws the foul) | ||
| 8:02 | | Karl-Anthony Towns turnover (offensive foul) | ||
| 7:47 | | Kyle Anderson shooting foul (Miles Bridges draws the foul) | ||
| 7:47 | | +1 | Miles Bridges makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 43-39 |
| 7:47 | | +1 | Miles Bridges makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 43-40 |
| 7:33 | | Naz Reid turnover (traveling) | ||
| 7:16 | | Bryce McGowens misses two point driving floating bank jump shot | ||
| 7:14 | | Rudy Gobert defensive rebound | ||
| 6:59 | | +3 | Naz Reid makes three point jump shot (Mike Conley assists) | 46-40 |
| 6:38 | | +3 | Gordon Hayward makes three point jump shot (Ish Smith assists) | 46-43 |
| 6:18 | | +2 | Naz Reid makes two point bank jump shot | 48-43 |
| 6:04 | | Rudy Gobert kicked ball violation | ||
| 6:04 | | Hornets 60 second timeout | ||
| 5:56 | | +2 | Gordon Hayward makes two point pullup jump shot (P.J. Washington assists) | 48-45 |
| 5:36 | | Naz Reid turnover (lost ball) (Gordon Hayward steals) | ||
| 5:27 | | +2 | Gordon Hayward makes two point running pullup jump shot | 48-47 |
| 5:07 | | +2 | Rudy Gobert makes two point dunk (Mike Conley assists) | 50-47 |
| 4:45 | | P.J. Washington misses three point jump shot | ||
| 4:43 | | Troy Brown Jr. defensive rebound | ||
| 4:38 | | Shake Milton misses two point stepback jump shot | ||
| 4:34 | | Ish Smith defensive rebound | ||
| 4:23 | | P.J. Washington turnover (lost ball) (Shake Milton steals) | ||
| 4:19 | | P.J. Washington blocks Shake Milton's two point running layup | ||
| 4:15 | | Naz Reid offensive rebound | ||
| 4:14 | | +3 | Troy Brown Jr. makes three point jump shot (Naz Reid assists) | 53-47 |
| 3:55 | | Mike Conley shooting foul (Mark Williams draws the foul) | ||
| 3:55 | | +1 | Mark Williams makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 53-48 |
| 3:55 | | Mark Williams misses regular free throw 2 of 2 | ||
| 3:52 | | Rudy Gobert defensive rebound | ||
| 3:40 | | Troy Brown Jr. offensive foul (Terry Rozier draws the foul) | ||
| 3:40 | | Troy Brown Jr. turnover (offensive foul) | ||
| 3:25 | | Gordon Hayward turnover (bad pass) (Naz Reid steals) | ||
| 3:20 | | Mike Conley misses three point running jump shot | ||
| 3:16 | | Brandon Miller defensive rebound | ||
| 3:03 | | +3 | Terry Rozier makes three point jump shot (Gordon Hayward assists) | 53-51 |
| 2:51 | | Terry Rozier shooting foul (Mike Conley draws the foul) | ||
| 2:51 | | Timberwolves 60 second timeout | ||
| 2:51 | | +1 | Mike Conley makes regular free throw 1 of 3 | 54-51 |
| 2:51 | | +1 | Mike Conley makes regular free throw 2 of 3 | 55-51 |
| 2:51 | | +1 | Mike Conley makes regular free throw 3 of 3 | 56-51 |
| 2:38 | | Troy Brown Jr. shooting foul (Gordon Hayward draws the foul) | ||
| 2:38 | | +1 | Gordon Hayward makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 56-52 |
| 2:38 | | +1 | Gordon Hayward makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 56-53 |
| 2:15 | | +2 | Rudy Gobert makes two point dunk (Kyle Anders |