Charlotte @ Minnesota preview

Last Meeting ( Dec 3, 2016 ) Minnesota 125, Charlotte 120

The Minnesota Timberwolves were expected to be much improved this season, and it took less than a month for them to give their fans a reason to believe this year may be different from any in recent memory. The Timberwolves set their sights on their first five-game winning streak since 2008-09 on Sunday, when they complete a back-to-back set at home against the Charlotte Hornets.

Karl-Anthony Towns bounced back from a foul-plagued, career-low two-point effort in Wednesday's win at New Orleans with a 31-point, 12-rebound performance in Saturday's 112-99 victory over Dallas, as Minnesota recorded a season-high 33 assists en route to its largest margin of victory this season. "It's just one of many, and hopefully four (in a row) will seem like a little bit to us. It'll seem something like we're having a bad season if we're only getting four in a row at some point," Towns told reporters. The Hornets fell just short of posting their own four-game winning streak last time out, dropping a 108-101 decision on Friday in San Antonio to begin a four-game road trip. Charlotte split its season series with Minnesota last campaign but has won eight of the last 10 meetings overall.

TV: 8 p.m. ET, FSN Southeast (Charlotte), FSN North (Minnesota)

ABOUT THE HORNETS (5-4): Jeremy Lamb (18.1 points) has emerged as a capable sidekick to fellow Connecticut product Kemba Walker (team-high 23.3), scoring at least 15 points in each game after doing so only 11 times last season. Dwight Howard (14.8 points, 14.3 rebounds) appears to have turned back the clock, posting seven double-doubles thus far to run his career total to 673 - the most among active players - and his 128 rebounds are the most by any Hornet through nine games in franchise history. Dwayne Bacon drew his fourth start of the season Friday while Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (personal) sat out and finished with a career-high 18 points, registering the highest point total for a Hornet rookie since Kidd-Gilchrist tallied 21 in 2013.

ABOUT THE TIMBERWOLVES (6-3): Andrew Wiggins (19.9 points) has reached the 20-point plateau in six games thus far, but Saturday's 9-for-14 effort from the field marked the first time during the winning streak he shot over 43 percent. Jeff Teague posted the third double-double in his last four outings with 11 points and 10 assists in Saturday's victory, and the 29-year-old Wake Forest product ranks seventh in the NBA in assists (eight per game) and 13th in steals (1.9) after recording nine thefts over his last two games. Nemanja Bjelica has nailed at least one 3-pointer in every game thus far and leads the league in 3-point accuracy (62.5 percent) after going 2-of-2 from long range against the Mavericks.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. The Timberwolves have attempted more free throws than their opponent in all nine games.

2. Walker has made at least 10 free throws in three of his nine contests this season - a feat he achieved only 14 times over his first 443 career games.

3. This weekend will be the only time this season Minnesota will play home games on consecutive nights.

PREDICTION: Timberwolves 102, Hornets 98