Timberwolves 124, Pelicans 112: Nikola Pekovic tallied 22 points and seven rebounds and Kevin Love added 21 points and six boards as host Minnesota rolled past New Orleans to get back to .500.

Kevin Martin scored 20 points and Ricky Rubio collected 14 points, nine assists and eight rebounds for the Timberwolves, who have won three of four. J.J. Barea scored 17 points to lead a 42-point output from Minnesota's reserves.

Ryan Anderson scored 25 points and Jrue Holiday added 19 to lead the Pelicans, who committed 18 turnovers. Tyreke Evans contributed 16 points and seven rebounds off the bench and Anthony Davis had 13 points, six boards and four blocks.

The Timberwolves broke it open early in the third quarter, rattling off a 19-2 run to open up an 82-53 lead. The 29-point margin prompted Minnesota to rest its starters for most of the final period.

New Orleans led for much of the first quarter, but Love scored the first three points of a quick 7-0 spurt and Minnesota led the rest of the way. Luc Richard Mbah a Moute's three-point play pushed the lead to double digits with 1:14 left in the half and Rubio drained a 3-pointer in the final minute to give the Timberwolves a 61-47 halftime advantage.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Minnesota scored 33 points in the first quarter, its 14th game with 30 or more in the opening frame, tied with Houston for the most in the league. … Anderson went 3-for-3 from the foul line, raising his NBA-best free-throw percentage to 96.6. … Pelicans SG Eric Gordon (hip) returned after missing three games and scored 12 points in 29 minutes, but C Jason Smith (shoulder) missed his second straight contest.