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Hornets 105, Timberwolves 80
Jeff Hawkins is an award-winning sportswriter with more than four decades in the industry (print and digital media). A freelance writer/stay-at-home dad since 2008, Hawkins started his career with newspaper stints in Michigan, North Carolina, Florida, Upstate New York and Illinois, where he earned the 2004 APSE first-place award for column writing (under 40,000 circulation). As a beat writer, he covered NASCAR Winston Cup events at NHIS (1999-2003), the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks (2003-06) and the NFL's Carolina Panthers (2011-12). Hawkins penned four youth sports books, including a Michael Jordan biography. Hawkins' main hobbies include mountain bike riding, 5k trail runs at the Whitewater Center in Charlotte, N.C., and live music.
All posts by Jeff HawkinsUpdated15 Oct 2021
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Guard Gerald Henderson scored 17 points and the Charlotte Hornets routed the Minnesota Timberwolves 105-80 on Monday afternoon for their seventh win in the last eight games.
The Hornets blew the game open with a 15-0 run midway through the first half, led by as many as 22 in the first half, and extended the lead to as many as 33 in the second half.
The Hornets (17-25) also got good news as center Al Jefferson returned after missing the previous nine games with a strained left groin. Jefferson finished with eight points and five rebounds in 25 minutes.
Guard Brian Roberts added 16 points for the Hornets. Guard Gary Neal scored 12, guard P.J. Hairston scored 11, and forward Michael Kidd-Gilchrist scored 10.
The Hornets were 12 of 22 from 3-point range.
The Timberwolves (7-33) have now lost 17 of their last 19. They shot just 36.3 percent from the field.
Forward Thaddeus Young led the Timberwolves with 18 points. Guard Andrew Wiggins added 12 points and guard Mo Williams scored 10.
Charlotte’s 15-0 run started with a 3-pointer by Hairston at the first-quarter buzzer. Hairston later hit a jumper and another 3-pointer as the Hornets scored the first 12 points of the second quarter. The Hornets wound up outscoring Minnesota 27-13 in the second quarter.
Charlotte led 23-20 after one quarter, 50-33 at halftime and 83-52 after three quarters.
NOTES: The Hornets have a tradition of playing afternoon games on Martin Luther King Day going back to the first year of the Charlotte Bobcats. … Hornets G Kemba Walker (left knee inflammation) missed his second straight game and G Jannero Pargo (low back soreness) missed his 13th straight. Walker is listed as “day to day.” … Hornets C Al Jefferson wound up missing nine games, returning a week earlier than original projections. … The Timberwolves were without F Shabazz Muhammad (strained outer oblique), C Nikola Pekovic (sore right ankle) and G Ricky Rubio (sprained left ankle). Muhammad and Pekovic should return soon but Rubio has already missed 34 games and is out indefinitely. … The T-Wolves were playing the final game of a strange four-game road trip which started in Indiana and then went west to Phoenix and Denver. The T-Wolves were coming off a 113-105 win at Denver on Saturday. … T-Wolves G Andrew Wiggins had a career-high 31 points in the win at Denver. G Mo Williams scored 52 earlier on the trip at Indiana. … The teams will meet again in Minneapolis on March 22. … The T-Wolves will return home to face Dallas on Wednesday. … The Hornets will close out a four-game home stand against Miami.
