Timberwolves beat Pelicans 115-109 behind 38-point fourth

Ayo Dosunmu scored 26 points and Minnesota outscored New Orleans 38-32 in the fourth quarter as the Timberwolves beat the Pelicans 115-109 on Friday, November 6.

Dosunmu made 8 of 14 shots, four of six 3-pointers, and all six free throws. Jaden McDaniels added 23 points, and LaMelo Ball had 22 points and eight assists with a plus-23 mark in 35 minutes.

The game had 13 lead changes and six ties. Minnesota (7-3), favored with close to a 60 percent chance to win, led 18-7 in the first quarter before a 10-0 Pelicans run made it 18-17.

New Orleans (4-5) went on another 10-0 run in the third quarter to lead 71-66 and stretched it to 73-66, its largest lead of the night. Minnesota scored 20 points in that quarter.

Jeremiah Fears led New Orleans with 24 points on 9-of-16 shooting and five assists. Karlo Matkovic scored 18 points in 18 minutes with four 3-pointers. The Pelicans' bench outscored Minnesota's 37-19, with 17 points from Saddiq Bey, and the team shot 41.7 percent from 3-point range.

The Timberwolves made only 30.8 percent of their 3-pointers but grabbed 17 offensive rebounds and made 27 free throws. Trey Lyles had 13 rebounds off the bench, and Rudy Gobert had 11.

With Minnesota up 97-91 entering the final five minutes, each team scored 18 points the rest of the way. Bey's 3-pointer with 1:02 left made it 112-106, and Lyles made a free throw with 24.3 seconds left for a 113-106 lead.

Fears answered with a three-point play and a running layup, and Jonathan Kuminga dunked off a pass from Lyles with 6.0 seconds left. Kuminga finished with 17 points and eight rebounds.

Up next

Timberwolves: home against the Utah Jazz on Sunday, November 8.

Pelicans: at the LA Clippers on Sunday, November 8.