T’wolves rally past Bobcats

Ricky Davis added 25 points, seven rebounds and seven assists for the Timberwolves, who overcame a 20-point first-half deficit to win for the fourth time in six outings. Mark Blount tallied a season-high 21 points for Minnesota, which used a 25-10 run during the fourth quarter to take the lead for good.

Matt Carroll had 23 points and Raymond Felton had 22 points and nine assists for the Bobcats, who had a two-game win streak halted. Adam Morrison had 18 points and Emeka Okafor had 12 points and 14 boards for Charlotte, which failed to record its first three-game win streak of the season.

Down 80-68 early in the fourth quarter, Minnesota went on a 14-0 run to take its first lead since late in the first quarter. Randy Foye had five points and Garnett tallied four during the run, which gave the Timberwolves an 82-80 edge with just over three minutes gone in the quarter.

Charlotte regained the lead on a Carroll three-pointer and the game went back and forth for the next three minutes. Then, down 88-86, the Timberwolves scored five straight points to go ahead for good. Blount’s three-point play with just over five minutes to play gave Minnesota an 89-88 edge and Garnett added a pair of free throws for a three-point lead.

The lead later reached five points, 99-94, but Charlotte managed to draw within three points on a pair of Carroll free throws with 38 seconds left. However, Garnett iced the contest with a turnaround jumper over Okafor with 16 ticks left.

"Our identity is a defensive identity," said Garnett. "When we get away from that you can basically do what you want on us. When we’re locked in and everyone is on the same page its hard to beat us."

Charlotte led 29-20 after one quarter and extended that lead to 51-31 with 5:06 left in the half. The Bobcats cruised into the break with a 55-47 edge and led 78-68 going into the fourth.

"What they had they laid out there," said Charlotte head coach Bernie Bickerstaff. "When we get tired we make mistakes and there were some unforced errors that we made. I think playing five games in seven days affected us."

Game Notes

Bobcats forward Gerald Wallace is expected to miss a week of action with a separated right shoulder...Minnesota’s Marko Yaric missed the game with a sprained right thumb. He will have an MRI on Tuesday...Garnett shot 12-of-18 from the field.