MINNEAPOLIS _ A three-game update on the Timberwolves' Ryan Saunders era:
Expect to be entertained.
Three games, three squeakers, two victories.
After a difficult four-point loss at home to Dallas on Friday, the Wolves bounced back with a give-and-take, down-to-the wire 110-106 victory over New Orleans on Saturday.
The Wolves scored five straight points out of a time out with 3:08 left and held on for the victory, the second under Saunders, the interim coach and his first at Target Center.
In a game that had 15 lead changes and 18 ties, the Wolves (21-22) outlasted the Pelicans (20-23).
It was a win that came with contributions from up and down the lineup.
Karl-Anthony Towns had 27 points and a career-high 27 rebounds, a monster game that included a late block on Pelicans star Anthony Davis. Andrew Wiggins had 18 points and seven rebounds. Josh Okogie had 17 points.
Both Dario Saric and Tyus Jones _ who played the last 17 minutes of the game _ finished with 14 points off the bench.
New Orleans was led by Davis (30 points and 14 rebounds). Jrue Holiday had 25, Julius Randle had 22.
With the game tied at 103, coming out of time out with 3:08 left, Towns hit a 3-pointer. Then he blocked Davis at the other end, leading to a Tyus Jones drive for a five-point lead.
But Holiday answered with a three-point play. Then, after the teams each turned the ball over, the Wolves missed two shots, getting the offensive rebound each time.
Finally, with 54.5 seconds left, Jones was fouled and made both free throws for a four-point Wolves lead.
At the other end Nikola Mirotic missed a 3-pointer.
Wiggins missed at the other end with 21.4 seconds left. But the Pelicans were unable to score at the other end, sealing the victory.
In a repeat of Friday night, the Wolves opened the game struggling to make shots. Minnesota made just six of its first 24 shots while falling behind by as many as six to the Pelicans, who got 14 points and seven rebounds from Davis in the first quarter.
The good news: The Wolves finally warmed up. After missing 18 of their first 24 shots, the Wolves finished the quarter making six of their final seven. That included a 3-pointer by Tyus Jones late in the quarter that tied the score at 27 before Elfrid Payton scored on a put-back at the buzzer to put the Pelicans up by two entering the second. The Pelicans shot 46.5 percent, but turned the ball over seven times, allowing the Wolves to stay close.
The Pelicans led by two with just over 8 minutes left in the second quarter when Saunders put Luol Deng into the game for Gibson, with Dario Saric on the bench with three fouls.
The Wolves immediate went on a 13-0 run to take a 48-27 lead on Deng's corner three with 4:17 left in the half.
With the Pelicans going 6 { minutes without a field goal the Wolves lead grew to 51-49 before the Pelicans finished the half in a rush, out-scoring the Wolves 13-2 to end the quarter and pull within 54-52 on Davis' basket.
The third quarter was 12 minutes of back-and-forth with neither team really taking hold of the game.
The quarter featured nine lead changes and 10 ties and not a lot of defense.
Okogie scored 12 of his points in the quarter, including a three-point play with 23.4 seconds left that tied the score at 87 before the Pelicans scored at the buzzer. Julius Randle scored eight points in the third for the Pelicans, who made 16 of 24 shots (66.7 percent).
