MINNEAPOLIS _ His first two games against the New Orleans Pelicans this season had been a bit frustrating for Karl-Anthony Towns.
Well, to a point anyway. The Wolves had won both games. But, mired in foul trouble in both games, he had been a relative nonfactor.
Not Saturday.
Hitting 3s, dunks and the boards at Target Center, Towns had 21 points and 16 rebounds to lead the Wolves past the Pelicans, 116-98, in wire-to wire fashion in front of a sell-out crowd of 18,978. And if the Wolves let a 34-point third-quarter lead dwindle a bit late? Nobody's perfect.
The victory ended a two-game losing streak for the Wolves _ who have not lost three straight so far _ and put them at 25-16 at the midpoint of the season. The Wolves' fourth straight home win came at the start of a high-profile five-game homestand that will continue against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Monday.
To be sure, this was a team effort. The Wolves got 21 points, eight assists and seven rebounds from Jimmy Butler, 15 points from Taj Gibson, 20 from Andrew Wiggins and 14 from Gorgui Dieng off the bench.
But it had to feel good for Towns, who entered the game having averaged 21.5 minutes, 6.5 points and 5.0 fouls in the first two games against the Pelicans. It was his big second quarter that turned a 12-point lead to a 21-point lead at halftime.
From there the Wolves just kept pushing the pace. It was an impressive performance for the Wolves, who were playing on the back end of back-to-back nights, against the Pelicans (19-19), who were playing for just the second time in seven nights.
New Orleans was led by DeMarcus Cousins (23 points, 15 rebounds) and Anthony Davis (16 points).
The Wolves led by 34 late in the fourth quarter and by 27 entering the fourth.
Butler got the Wolves started strong, but the first quarter was a team effort.
Butler had six points, four rebounds and three assists, and all five starters scored _ with Wiggins' nine points leading the way _ as the Wolves took a 12-point lead into the second quarter.
Ahead from the start, the Wolves led by 11 before a brief spurt by the Pelicans pulled New Orleans within 28-21 on two free throws by Dante Cunningham.
But the Wolves finished the quarter on an 8-3 run _ with Gorgui Dieng scoring four _ to grab a 36-23 lead on Wiggins' spinning drive before Cousins hit one of two free throws to end the quarter. It was the Wolves' biggest first quarter of the season.
Much of the second quarter was one, long Timberwolves run.
And it was Towns leading the way. He had two treys, two dunks, 10 points and six rebounds in the quarter.
The Pelicans cut the lead to nine early in the quarter. But then the Wolves had runs of 6-0, 10-4 and 10-0 in the 33-24 quarter.
The Wolves shot 13-for-26 in the quarter, with assists on eight of those 13 makes. They hit on four of five three-pointers, pushing the lead to as many as 27 on Gibson's free throw, before the Pelicans finished the quarter on a 6-0 run to pull within 21 at halftime.
That lead moved to 8-0 when E'Twaun Moore scored to start the third. But then Dieng hit two three-pointers and a two-pointer in a 10-2 run that pushed the lead back to 27 on his three-pointer.
