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Hornets battle Timberwolves in Twin Cities

Dec 27, 2010 - 4:09 PM (Sports Network) - The New Orleans Hornets will try to stop a six-game road losing streak when they take on the Minnesota Timberwolves tonight from Target Center.

The Hornets are 5-9 away from the Big Easy, where they handed the Atlanta Hawks a 93-86 setback on Sunday. Chris Paul had 22 points and eight assists, David West scored 18 points and Emeka Okafor recorded 14 points and 15 rebounds for New Orleans, which has won two straight and four of six games.

"We just got aggressive. In that first half we were not aggressive offensively or defensively," Paul said. "In that second half D. West got going a little bit. We got stops, our defense created the offense."

Trevor Ariza added 12 points and 10 rebounds to help the Hornets improve to 13-3 at New Orleans Arena this season.

Minnesota will begin a three-game homestand tonight versus the Hornets, Nuggets and Nets, and is 5-7 in the Twin Cities this season.

The Timberwolves were able to stop a seven-game slide with Sunday's 98-97 triumph in Cleveland, as Michael Beasley finished with 28 points and buried the go-ahead basket late in regulation. Kevin Love registered 16 points and 18 rebounds, while Luke Ridnour contributed 23 points and six assists in the win.

"It gives the guys a lot of confidence," Timberwolves coach Kurt Rambis said. "It's a continual learning process for us. In the last sequence, we talked about driving to the open side and that's where he was able to score, get to the basket and make his right-handed layup. Those are things he has to learn and grow with."

Jonny Flynn netted 11 points off the bench for Minnesota. Wolves guard Sebastian Telfair is questionable for Monday's game due to a case of plantar fasciitis in his right foot.

New Orleans and Minnesota are meeting for the first time since the Hornets won all four matchups a year ago. The Hornets are unbeaten in the past six contests with Minnesota and sport a 14-4 ledger in the previous 18 meetings.

The Timberwolves have lost two straight and seven of eight as the host in this series.