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Chase Budinger scored a streaking, last-second layup to beat the Pacers, 96-94, at home Friday and keep the Timberwolves in sole possession of first place in the Northwest Division.
Budinger led Minnesota with 18 points off the bench and Nikola Pekovic chipped in 13 points and eight rebounds as the T-Wolves won another game without injured stars Kevin Love and Ricky Rubio. The Pacers were led by George Hill, who scored 29 points, including a three-pointer to tie the game with 3.8 seconds to play, and dished out seven assists. David West also had a big game for Indiana, scoring 19 points and grabbing 13 rebounds.
The Timberwolves have now won three in a row and, with only one loss, sit ahead of the second-place Thunder, who beat the winless Pistons, 105-94. The Nuggets sit in third place after stomping the last-place Jazz, 104-84, and the Trailblazers fell to fourth following a 103-90 loss to the Clippers.
In other league action, the Spurs beat the Kings, 97-86, the Grizzlies picked up a 93-85 win over the Rockets and the Lakers defeated the Warriors, 101-77, in their first game without fired coach Mike Brown .
Check out the NBA's full Friday scoreboard here.