Wolves show signs of finding a groove with smooth win over Hornets

Julius Randle paced the Timberwolves with 30 points as Minnesota finally ran away with a victory, toppling the Charlotte Hornets 122-105 Saturday night. It was a performance that provides hope that players who are off to slow starts are starting to find their groove.

Randle was 9-of-13 shooting and hit 3-of-6 threes to reach 30+ points for the third time in the last four games. He added seven rebounds and four assists. For the season. Randle is averaging 27.2 points, 6.5 rebounds, 5.2 assists, while shooting 56.4% overall and 47.1% from three-point range.

The Wolves hit 17 of 36 threes in the game.

• Donte DiVincenzo: 5 of 12
• Julius Randle: 3 of 6
• Naz Reid: 3 of 5
• Jaden McDaniels: 2 of 2
• Mike Conley: 2 of 3
• Johnny Juzang: 1 of 1
• Bones Hyland: 1 of 3

It was the most consistent performance of the season for the Wolves, who improved to 3-3 ahead of road games in Brooklyn and New York this coming Monday and Wednesday. In their previous two wins, they had to rally to beat Portland in the season opener and then overcome Anthony Edwards' hamstring injury in their Home Opener to beat Indiana.

What was the key to a more consistent performance? Rudy Gobert said it all started on defense.

"I think getting stops," Gobert said on FanDuel Sports Network after the win. "I thought we did a much better job as a team in the second half. We came out in the third more physical and forced them into tougher shots.

Gobert finished with 14 points, 15 rebounds, five assists, and two blocks. He was a game-best plus-31, and he wasn't called for a single foul. He had just one other double-digit rebounding game in the first five games of the season, having been held to between five and seven rebounds in the other four games. He's also blocked two shots in four consecutive games.

DiVincenzo started the game 1 of 7 from three but made four of his last five attempts from deep, having suffered a gnarly injury to his nose early in the game.

Reid also hit 3 of 5 threes and finished with 18 points on 7 of 13 shooting. He's been solid offensively in three of six games this season. In his three good games, he's scored 52 points on 20 of 37 shooting. In his three duds, he's totaled 16 points on 6 of 23 shooting.

Up next: Wolves at Brooklyn, Monday at 6 p.m. CT.

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