D’Angelo Russell scored 15 of his 28 points in the fourth quarter and Anthony Edwards added 26 on the night as the Minnesota Timberwolves scored the game’s final six points in a 121-115 win over the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday in Minneapolis.
Rudy Gobert had 16 points and 21 rebounds for Minnesota, which led by as many as 23 in the second quarter before Indiana pulled within two at the half. Jaylen Nowell chipped in 14 points and Jaden McDaniels had 12 for the winners.
Buddy Hield made seven 3-pointers and finished with 26 points for Indiana, while Tyrese Haliburton had 26 points and 15 assists, Myles Turner had 23 points, and Bennedict Mathurin added 14.
Turner made three 3-pointers in a span of two minutes to tie the game at 115-115 with 50 seconds remaining. Gobert then converted two foul shots and blocked Hield’s layup attempt on the other end.
After Edwards made two foul shots, Gobert sealed the victory with a dunk for the final margin.
Minnesota fell behind by eight midway through the third quarter before tying the game at 90 after closing the third quarter on a 7-0 run.
Edwards finished with seven assists and a career-high-tying six steals for Minnesota, which never trailed in a close fourth quarter. The third-year guard has scored at least 20 points in six straight games.
Minnesota, playing its first game in four days, bolted to a 19-6 lead and held a 35-17 advantage at the end of the first quarter.
The Pacers weathered the storm and rallied after falling behind 47-24 midway through the second quarter. Indiana outscored the Wolves 44-28 in the second and cut the deficit to 63-61 at the break.
Hield scored 16 points on five 3-pointers in the first half for the Pacers, who shot 50 percent from the field and 9 of 17 (52.9 percent) from 3-point range before the break.
The Wolves have won their last four meetings against Indiana, including a 115-101 victory on Nov. 23.
–Field Level Media
