New Orleans 80, Minnesota 87

Kevin Love scored a season-high 34 points and had 15 rebounds, leading the Minnesota Timberwolves to an 87-80 win over the host New Orleans Hornets on Friday night.
 
Ricky Rubio, making his first career start, hit two free throws with 1:46 remaining to break a 78-78 tie. Rubio scored 12 points and had nine assists for the Timberwolves (4-7).
 
Love missed one free throw in 18 attempts and was 8 of 17 from the field. He scored 15 points in the third quarter when Minnesota built a double-digit cushion.
Love hit 8 of 34 shots from the field in the previous two games.
 
New Orleans (3-8) trailed by 10 points early in the fourth quarter, but tied the game on Marco Belinelli's 3-pointer with 2:01 remaining. Minnesota made 9 of
10 free throws down the stretch and finished 33 of 38 from the foul line.
 
Belinelli scored 20 and Emeka Okafor added 16 points for New Orleans, which has yet to reach 100 in a game this season. The Hornets have lost eight of nine.

• New Orleans will play their next game on the road against Memphis. The Hornets have a W/L % of .500 after a win and .143 after a loss.
• Minnesota will play their next game on the road against Atlanta . The Timberwolves have a W/L % of .250 after a win and .429 after a loss.