Minnesota's 115–109 win over New Orleans on Friday night was decided by the kind of fourth-quarter response that can separate a promising NBA Cup campaign from an early stumble. The Timberwolves trailed by two after three quarters, then scored 38 in the final period to end the Pelicans' four-game winning streak and improve to 2–0 in West Group B. Ayo Dosunmu supplied 26 points, but the defining passage belonged to a group that found its offence when the contest was slipping away.
New Orleans had good reason to believe it could finish the job. A 12–0 burst in the third quarter helped the home side take a 79–77 lead into the final 12 minutes, and Dejounte Murray's three-pointer later pushed it ahead 89–87 with 7:55 remaining. Minnesota didn't respond by waiting for one scorer to rescue it. LaMelo Ball struck for five consecutive points, sparking a 10–2 run that turned a two-point deficit into a six-point advantage. The Pelicans never regained the lead.
That sequence captured Minnesota's strength on the night: it had several credible answers. Dosunmu's 26 led the scoring, Jaden McDaniels added 23 and Ball finished with 22 points and eight assists. The Timberwolves didn't need an overwhelming opening quarter or a single heroic isolation possession. They needed to stay within reach, then find the right combination of shot creation and execution when the game tightened. Their 38–30 final quarter was the clearest expression of that approach.
The visitors still had to withstand a New Orleans team that had recovered impressively from its winless start to the season. Rookie Jeremiah Fears led the Pelicans with 24 points, while Karlo Matković contributed 18 and Saddiq Bey 17. New Orleans also found an early spark from Matković's outside shooting, with three first-quarter triples helping fuel a 17–4 response after Minnesota had opened quickly. This wasn't a game in which the Pelicans simply failed to compete; they repeatedly created problems and entered the closing period in front.
But the finishing details hurt. Herb Jones fouled out after only 14 minutes, removing a defensive option at precisely the stage when Minnesota's guards were becoming more assertive. Zion Williamson scored 13, a season low according to the postgame reporting, and the Pelicans couldn't quite match Minnesota's late shot-making. The difference wasn't that New Orleans lacked contributors. It was that the Timberwolves produced their most convincing offensive stretch after the home side had made its strongest push.
There are practical consequences beyond another November win. Minnesota is now 7–3 overall and unbeaten through two NBA Cup group games; New Orleans drops to 4–5 and 0–1 in the group. In a short group stage, turning a road deficit into a six-point victory matters twice: it protects the win column and adds a useful margin. The Timberwolves have shown they can win a game without dominating from the opening tip, and that's an encouraging quality to carry into their next Cup assignment.
New Orleans' own postgame report also highlighted a costly physical mismatch: Minnesota gathered 17 offensive rebounds for 20 second-chance points and attempted 37 free throws to the Pelicans' 26. Those extra opportunities explain why the Timberwolves could survive their poor third-quarter shooting and still finish strongly. The NBA game record puts the result in West Group B, where Minnesota is already 2–0. And as Reuters reported, Dosunmu's late three and McDaniels' free throws helped shut the door after the Pelicans cut the margin to five. Minnesota hosts Utah next, while New Orleans heads to the Clippers. Staying close for three quarters was encouraging for the Pelicans; winning the final possessions is what mattered in the Cup standings.
Comments