Dosunmu scores 26 as Timberwolves beat Pelicans 115-109, move to 2-0 in NBA Cup

Ayo Dosunmu scored 26 points and the Minnesota Timberwolves pulled away late to beat the New Orleans Pelicans 115-109 on Friday night. The win keeps Minnesota unbeaten in NBA Cup group play at 2-0, runs its winning streak to three games and lifts its record to 7-3. It also ended a four-game winning streak for New Orleans, which fell to 4-5 and 0-1 in Cup play.

The game swung midway through the fourth quarter. Dejounte Murray hit a 3-pointer that put New Orleans up 89-87 with 7:55 left. LaMelo Ball answered with five straight points, which started a 10-2 Minnesota run and a 97-91 lead the Wolves never gave back, according to the Associated Press report. Ball finished with 22 points and Jaden McDaniels added 23. Minnesota outscored New Orleans 38-30 in the fourth quarter and went 27 of 37 at the line, per the Yahoo Sports box score. ESPN had the Pelicans up 30-27 after the first quarter before Minnesota took the lead with a 30-21 second.

Dosunmu shot 8 of 14 overall and 4 of 6 from 3-point range. Timberwolves On SI reported that he has averaged 20.8 points on 53.2 percent shooting since moving into the starting lineup. The same outlet said Minnesota was 23 points better than New Orleans in Ball's season-high 35 minutes and 17 points worse in the 13 minutes he sat. The rest of the team shot poorly from deep, going 12 of 39 on 3-pointers and 3 of 16 from the corners.

The defense made up for the shooting. Jeremiah Fears led New Orleans with 24 points and Saddiq Bey scored 17, but Zion Williamson managed a season-low 13. SI noted that was his lowest total in 12 career games against Minnesota, where he had averaged 28.5 points. Jonathan Kuminga was his main defender. Earlier this season, coach Chris Finch said of Kuminga, "We'd be lost without him right now," according to SI. Trey Lyles went 0 of 4 from deep but finished with 13 rebounds and three steals.

The 7-3 start has come with Anthony Edwards available for only four of the 10 games, SI reported.

What it means for Utah

Minnesota comes home Sunday to face the Utah Jazz. It is 7-3 overall and 4-2 on the road, and its three-game streak includes wins at Houston (117-107) and New Orleans and a home win over Milwaukee (112-100). At Target Center the Wolves are 3-1, with wins over Toronto, the Clippers and Milwaukee and a 119-114 loss to Golden State.

The numbers back up the record. Through 10 games, Minnesota is averaging 118.4 points and giving up 107.7, a margin of plus-10.7 a game. Four of the wins came by 22 points or more. None of the three losses was by more than 10, and two were by five points or fewer: 127-125 at Cleveland and the Golden State game. One issue to watch Sunday is how much the second unit can hold up after Friday's split between Ball's minutes and the rest of the game. Follow the season on our Timberwolves team page.