MINNEAPOLIS _ Jeff Teague returned, but Robert Covington watched, and could be doing so for a while.
The Timberwolves opened a stretch in which they'll play six of eight games at home in desperate need of a win but still battling injury problems that affect both their depth and their defense.
What happened next was as unpredictable as it was entertaining.
Unable to get a stop over the first quarter and a half of play, the Wolves fell behind by 19 point before storming back for a 120-103 victory over the Magic that ended a two-game losing streak.
It was as if a flip was switched, a light went on. The Wolves started the game unable to get a stop, the rest of it seemingly unable to do anything wrong.
The Wolves (18-21) found themselves down 63-44 with 6:38 left in the first half. At that point the Magic had hit 26 of 34 shots (76.5 percent), including nine of their first 11 in the second quarter.
But over the next 9 minutes and 2 seconds the Wolves went on a 31-5 run to go up 75-70 with 9:26 left in the third quarter, a stretch in which Orlando missed 21 of 26 shots.
The Wolves didn't trail again.
The Magic (17-21) started the game 26 for 34, then went 16 for 54 the rest of the way, being outscored 76-40.
In his first game back after missing nine games with a sore ankle, Teague finished with a 23-point, 10-assist double-double, making 8 of 10 shots. Karl-Anthony Towns scored 29 with 15 rebounds. Andrew Wiggins had 16, Taj Gibson 14. Dario Saric (10) and Anthony Tolliver (11) were both in double figures off the bench.
Evan Fournier had 21 for the Magic, which scored a season-high 68 points in the first half, 35 the rest of the way. Nikola Vucevic had 22 points and seven rebounds.
Teague announced his return by either scoring or getting the assist on the Wolves first five baskets as Minnesota built an early 10-6 lead. But out of a timeout, the Magic went on a 19-4 run _ with Vucevic scoring eight of them _ to build a 25-16 lead over the next 4-plus minutes.
The Wolves were able to pull within four a couple times over the next few minutes. But they couldn't get a stop _ Orlando scored on six of its last seven possessions of the quarter, shot 17 for 23 in the quarter (73.9 percent) and led 40-31 entering the second.
For a while, it only got worse.
Hitting from everywhere, the Magic opened the second quarter on a 23-13 run to take a 66-43 lead on Ross' 3-pointer _ his third of the game _ with 6:28 left in the half. The Magic, at one point, were shooting 75.8 percent and had made 6 of 8 3-pointers.
It looked like a rout.
And then the Wolves started getting starts. Tolliver hit a 3-pointer, then another. And the Wolves were off on a 20-5 lead to end the half that pulled the Wolves within 68-64. Both Tolliver and Teague _ whose 3-pointer late in the half got the Wolves within four _ had six points in the run.
And then the Wolves came out and started the third quarter on an 11-2 run. By the time Wiggins scored with 9:26 left in the third, the Wolves were on a 31-7 run over a span of 9:02 to take a 75-70 lead.
The Wolves kept going, ultimately going up 13, 88-75 late in the third. They still led by 10, 95-85, entering the fourth.
