Timberwolves 92 - 104 Pelicans
Final
  for this game

Hornets down Timberwolves for fourth straight win

Jan 12, 2013 - 5:37 AM New Orleans, LA (Sports Network) - Greivis Vasquez had 18 points and 13 assists as the New Orleans Hornets rallied from an early deficit to down the Minnesota Timberwolves, 104-92, at New Orleans Arena.

Eric Gordon followed with 16 points, Ryan Anderson netted 15 and Jason Smith dropped in 14 off the bench for the Hornets, who stretched their season-best win streak to four games.

Al-Farouq Aminu contributed a double-double with 12 points and 13 rebounds in the victory.

Luke Ridnour scored a game-high 20 points and Nikola Pekovic added 18 with six rebounds for Minnesota, which dropped its second straight game.

The Hornets trailed, 29-14, entering the second quarter, and Minnesota maintained a double-digit lead until Gordon capped an 11-1 push with a layup to bring New Orleans within 39-32 with three minutes to play in the half.

Pekovic halted the run with a runner at the other end that was followed by a Ridnour 3-pointer to put the Timberwolves back on top by 12, but New Orleans closed out the half with an 8-2 spurt to make it a 46-40 game at the break.

New Orleans then followed an early Alexey Shved jumper in the third quarter with an 11-4 run Vasquez ended with a shot from beyond the arc to take their first lead of the contest at 55-54.

Ricky Rubio put Minnesota back on top with a jumper, but that would be the last time the Timberwolves would hold the lead as Anthony Davis responded with consecutive baskets and New Orleans closed out the third with a 15-5 push to take a 70-61 edge into the fourth quarter.

"Things weren't going our way in the first half...but the third quarter was a big key. We played with a lot of energy and got the crowd involved," Vasquez said.

The Timberwolves never seriously threatened in the fourth quarter, getting no closer than seven points on a pair of Derrick Williams free throws to open the frame as New Orleans scored the next six points and Minnesota could get no closer than nine the rest of the way.

"We stopped executing our offense (in the second half). We started playing a more individual game," said Timberwolves forward Andrei Kirilenko, who finished with 17 points.

Pekovic sank the first three field goals of the game to give the Timberwolves an early 6-0 advantage before New Orleans responded with a 9-3 run to knot the game at 9-9.

Minnesota, however, scored the game's next 16 points to regain the lead as the Hornets went scoreless for over five minutes until Anderson converted a layup with 3:05 left in the first quarter.

The Timberwolves' lead stretched as high as 18 points within the final minute of the frame before an Anderson triple made it a 29-14 game heading into the second quarter.

Game Notes

New Orleans had not won four straight games since April 11-16, 2012 ... The Hornets improved to 6-13 at home this season, while Minnesota fell to 6-12 on the road ... New Orleans scored 17 points off 14 Minnesota turnovers ... The Hornets held a 44-31 advantage on the glass and outscored the Timberwolves, 48-40, in the paint.






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