Miles Bridges scored 28 points, Brandon Miller finished with 27 and the Charlotte Hornets overcame a record-setting performance by Karl-Anthony Towns to rally for a 128-125 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday night in Minneapolis.
Towns scored 62 points to break his own franchise record for the Timberwolves. But he missed his final 3-point attempt in the final second of regulation, failing to force overtime.
Charlotte trailed by 15 points at the start of the fourth quarter. The Hornets outscored the Timberwolves 36-18 in the final period to earn their 10th win of the season.
Both teams shined on offense and struggled to keep pace on defense throughout the contest.
Charlotte shot 56.8 percent (50 of 88) overall and 37.8 percent (14 of 37) from 3-point range. Minnesota shot 52.4 percent (44 of 84) from the floor and 45 percent (18 of 40) from long distance.
Miller kept the Hornets’ comeback hopes alive with hot shooting throughout the night. The rookie shot 11-for-13 overall and 3-for-4 from beyond the arc.
Minnesota led 121-120 when P.J. Washington made a floating jump shot to give Charlotte a 122-121 edge with 3:21 to go. Terry Rozier and Miller followed with back-to-back baskets to increase the Hornets’ lead to 126-121 with 2:06 remaining.
Towns and the Timberwolves appeared to run out of energy as they never regained the lead.
Towns had 44 points in the first half, which also was a franchise record, and 18 points in the second half. He shot 21-for-35 from the field, 10-for-15 from 3-point range and 10-for-14 from the free-throw line.
Timberwolves players fed pass after pass to Towns as it became apparent that he was headed toward a history-making night. Minnesota’s top scorer on the season, Anthony Edwards, scored nine points and racked up 11 assists, and Kyle Anderson notched eight assists off the bench.
Towns set the franchise record on a driving layup with 5:37 to go. The basket gave him 62 points as he eclipsed his previous team record of 60 points against the San Antonio Spurs on March 14, 2022.
Minnesota rested veteran guard Mike Conley, who sat out for only the second game this season.
–Field Level Media
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