Lin, Lamb lead Hornets over short-handed Wolves, 104-95

Minnesota is now 0-3 at home but a ideal 4-0 on the road.

Henrik Lundqvist made 33 saves for his first shutout this season and 56th of his career, leading the NY Rangers to a 3-0 win over the Carolina Hurricanes last night.

Down five to start the fourth quarter, Wolves coach Sam Mitchell elected to go with his backups. “But they didn’t feel like they could go, so that’s just how it is sometimes”. But Charlotte had other plans.

A 9-0 run bridging the end of the third and start of the fourth quarters pushed Charlotte’s lead to 11, and the Hornets (3-4) held on.

Four of five Wolves starters scored in double figures, with Towns getting yet another double-double (19 points, 13 rebounds).

Charlotte Hornets’ Jeremy Lamb, right, drives around Minnesota…

Given the circumstances – playing without three starters – nobody should be surprised with the loss. But with defensive stalwarts Garnett, Wiggins and Rubio all out, the Wolves were powerless to stop the fresher Hornets. Rubio could be ready to play when the Timberwolves take the court Thursday against the Warriors. “I think now, all I can do is keep working and really focus on having a good season individually and as a team, get a few wins and see where we can go”, said Lamb after his 20-point performance on 9-of-10 shooting in Charlotte’s 130-105 win over Chicago on November 3.

On the bright side, Karl-Anthony Towns was stellar once again.

Coming into the league, Lamb was selected 12th overall in the 2012 National Basketball Association Draft by the Houston Rockets but was shipped to Oklahoma City four months later along with Kevin Martin, two first-round draft picks and a second-round draft pick in exchange for James Harden and three other players.

“I came up short”, Towns continued, holding himself to the unbelievably high standards he sets.

Zach LaVine started in place of Rubio at point guard. LaVine turned it over eight times.

But for the second straight year, Rubio is being impacted by the injury bug after an ankle problem sidelined him for 60 games last season. The points, assists and rebounds all marked season highs for the sophomore.

Wolves finished 9-of-19 from three-point range tonight, led by Nemanja Bjelica off the bench with three triples. Payne added five rebounds and a steal in a season-high 20+ minutes.

The Hornets were outrebounded 48-34, but outscored Minnesota’s bench 57-23. Cody Zeller added 14 points and six rebounds. “A lot of times, you can nearly have two groups”.