Timberwolves' three bigs get the win on the road to Charlotte Hornets

Karl-Anthony Towns, Naz Reid and Rudy Gobert had big nights, but the Wolves struggled defensively.

The three bigs of Karl-Anthony Towns, Naz Reid and Rudy Gobert sent the Minnesota Timberwolves to victory in Charlotte on Saturday evening.

Missing Anthony Edwards for a second consecutive game and with Jaden McDaniels still on the shelf, the Timberwolves managed to get the job done with a 123-117 win over the Hornets, their first win in Charlotte since 2019.

Gobert, more commonly vital on the defensive side of the court, had his best game of the season on offense, scoring 26 points, with his fellow bigs Towns and Reid finishing with 28 and 23 respectively.

At times in the first half it looked as though the Wolves would outclass Charlotte, at one point opening up a 12-point lead over the hosts. But an inability to stretch the lead combined with some poor transition defense let the Hornets back into the game.

Led by the mercurial point guard Terry Rozier, the Hornets took the lead for the first time in the third quarter, sparking a back-and-forth that saw around a dozen lead changes.

With five minutes remaining the Hornets took a four-point lead, prompting a timeout from Chris Finch. Immediately after the resumption, Towns sunk a 3, sparking a 13-3 run that gave the Wolves a six-point lead with two minutes to go.

Rozier halved the deficit with three free throws after a challenge by Finch was rejected – arguably wrongly – by the refs.

But after a stunning defensive block from Gobert, the sublime Mike Conley drew a foul while making a layup, restoring the Wolves six-point lead with the and-1.

The win moves the Wolves to an NBA-leading 15-4, and they now have a few days break before facing San Antonio at Target Center on Wednesday.