MINNEAPOLIS -- Jeff Teague had just shot two 3-pointers coming down in transition during Sunday's game and no one would have been surprised to see the Minnesota Timberwolves point guard pull up for another.

The Charlotte Hornets sure expected it.

Teague got the ball at the top of the key and faked a shot, even picking up one leg before driving around defenders to get into the paint and then dish back out Jimmy Butler for a wide-open 3. Teague was scoring and making life easier for his teammates on Sunday.

Teague had 18 points and 12 assists, Andrew Wiggins scored a team-high 20 points, and Minnesota coasted to a 112-94 victory over Charlotte.

"He's been playing his tail off," Butler said. "We need him to be like that. He's not only scoring, he's getting everybody else involved. Whenever he's playing at a high level like that, so, so much easier for everybody to follow."

Jamal Crawford provided a big spark with 15 points off the bench, and the Timberwolves were 26 of 30 from the free-throw line to win their fifth straight game, the first five-game winning streak for the franchise since Jan. 2-10, 2009.

Minnesota (7-3) cruised to a 112-99 win over the Dallas Mavericks a night earlier in the first game of the rare back-to-back home set.

Karl-Anthony Towns had 16 points and Jimmy Butler chipped in 13 on Sunday for the Timberwolves, who led by as many as 23 points for the second night in a row. Gorgui Dieng contributed 15 points and 11 rebounds.

"Still a work in progress; we're still trying to figure out each other, I think, all of us," Teague said. "We're playing well. We're just trying to win games, but it still can be a lot better. I think we all know that. We're starting to get in a little groove, but we got miles to go to be the team that we want to be."

Dwight Howard had 13 points and nine rebounds for Charlotte (5-5), which has lost two straight games and is 1-4 on the road this season. Cody Zeller led the Hornets with 16 points off the bench. Jeremy Lamb and Marvin Williams each had 13 points.

"I told them, you get missed offensively, there's frustration," Charlotte coach Steve Clifford said of his message to his team. "You miss an open shot, and there's frustration. And then we don't run back and defend. Yet there's no frustration when we are getting lined up one on one, or we miss a pick-and- roll rotation, or anything like that. For our team, that's not us."

While the acquisition of Butler certainly brought the biggest headlines for the Timberwolves in the offseason, Minnesota also made a big move in trading point guard Ricky Rubio to the Utah Jazz and signing Teague.

Teague's shooting was seen as a better fit to space the floor for the Timberwolves' offense that included Towns, Wiggins and Butler. Teague had a somewhat slow start to the season but now has scored in double-doubles in four of his past five games.

"Jeff is very unselfish," Minnesota coach Tom Thibodeau said. "He wants guys to get shots and he tries to make the right play. If he needs to score, I thought he had a good blend when the game was hanging in the balance in the second quarter. He hit three 3s that sort of opened it up. I think when he does that, it puts more pressure on the defense to come up, and then that opens up other things."

Teague's shooting was on display. He was 7 of 15 overall but 4 of 5 from 3-point territory. He came down on successive series and stopped for quick 3-pointers as Minnesota opened a big lead in the second quarter and settled in from there.

"Lack of concentration, really, from all of us," Williams said of the Hornets' defense. "You see how good we can be. I think we've showed that at times this session. There are times like tonight that you can see we can also be bad. I just think defensively we really have to get back to concentrating on trying to get stops. And execute on the other end."

A night after going 4 of 12 with 13 points in a loss to San Antonio, Hornets guard Kemba Walker was held to a season-low nine points, though he added nine assists. He was 4 of 15 from the floor and didn't make his first basket until 4:13 left in the first half.

NOTES: Charlotte G Michael Carter-Williams made his first appearance of the season, playing eight scoreless minutes. Williams, who has dealt with knee issues, was active for just the second time. ... The Hornets started the game leading the league in rebounding but were outrebounded 54-38. Minnesota is 6-0 this season when outrebounding opponents and had a season-best plus-17 rebounding margin a night earlier against Dallas. ... The Timberwolves' 68 first-half points were their most in a half this season.