Wolves record: 17-33
The Hornets played without injured Chris Paul and Tyson Chandler and then lost All-Star forward David West when he was ejected for a flagrant foul on Mike Miller in the second quarter.
Al Jefferson led Minnesota with 25 points and 14 rebounds, but had to be helped off the court inside the final 30 seconds with a right knee injury.
“I just came down wrong on it. I felt it pop,” Jefferson said, adding that he hoped it wasn’t serious. “I don’t want to think about it until I get my X-ray tomorrow.”
The Hornets escaped with the victory only because they got the best performances they’ve seen from Marks, acquired in the offseason, and point guard Antonio Daniels, who arrived in a trade after the season began.
A feisty New Orleans bench overtook the Wolves, and Al Jefferson was lost in the final seconds to a right knee injury. New Orleans won 101-97 to hand Minnesota its sixth loss in the past seven games…
Minnesota (17-33) still had a great chance at the end of the game to seal it without Jefferson. New Orleans’ Devin Brown was driving on Telfair with the Wolves up by one. Telfair swiped at the ball, wresting it out of Brown’s hands, but Marks ended up with the ball and a free dunk for a 97-96 Hornets lead with 7.9 seconds remaining…
Telfair missed a connection with Mike Miller on a cross-court pass, and from there, the Hornets (30-18) wrapped up the victory at the free-throw line.