LaMelo Ball scored 35 points on 13-for-22 shooting, including 7-for-14 from three. Miles Bridges went 10-for-12 from the floor and 4-for-4 from deep, finishing with 25 points, eight rebounds, and seven assists. The Charlotte Hornets beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 122-108 on Easter Sunday at Target Center in Minneapolis, and Charlotte is now 43-36 with four straight wins — half a game behind Atlanta for sixth place in the Eastern Conference.

A caveat first, because Beckett's register demands it: Minnesota played without Anthony Edwards, who has missed eight of the Timberwolves' last ten games with lingering right knee pain. They also remain without Jaden McDaniels, their defensive anchor, who is week-to-week with a left knee injury. Head coach Chris Finch said before the game he doesn't believe "there's any great concern for anything longer-term" with Edwards, but the Timberwolves without their best player and their best defender are a different team. They have lost four of five since McDaniels went down.

That said: Charlotte shot 48.9 percent from the floor, went 19-for-45 from three, and got contributions across the roster. This was not a shorthanded opponent masking a mediocre effort. This was a team playing well enough to beat anyone.

Bridges Was Perfect. Miller Was Not. Charlotte Won by 14.

The Bridges line is the one to frame. Ten-for-twelve from the field. Four-for-four from three. In 34 minutes, the man missed two shots. Ball's seven threes gave him a league-leading eighth game this season with at least seven three-pointers and his 20th with five or more. Ball also had eight assists.

Brandon Miller, meanwhile, had the worst shooting night of Charlotte's surge: 7 points on 3-for-15 from the field, 1-for-9 from three. And yet Miller finished with a team-high plus-22. Kon Knueppel had 11 points on 4-for-14 shooting. Neither starter found his range, and it did not matter. The Hornets won by 14 because Ball and Bridges carried the scoring load while the lineup as a whole — Moussa Diabaté had 9 rebounds and 4 assists, Coby White added 17 off the bench — kept the floor balanced.

Charlotte trailed 60-55 at halftime after Bones Hyland beat the buzzer with a three-pointer. The Hornets responded by outscoring Minnesota 34-19 in the third quarter and 33-29 in the fourth.

Julius Randle led the Timberwolves with 26 points. Hyland finished with 18 points, six rebounds, and six assists off the bench.

The Standings Have Flipped

The Eastern Conference picture as of Sunday night: Atlanta leads the Southeast Division at 45-33. Charlotte sits at 43-36, half a game back. Orlando is at 42-36, half a game behind the Hornets. Miami is 41-37.

The math has changed. Charlotte is 9-2 since mid-March and 39-22 since Thanksgiving. Two weeks ago, the question was whether the Hornets could avoid the 9-vs-10 elimination game. Now the question is whether they can lock up a top-six seed and skip the play-in entirely.

Sixth place means a guaranteed first-round playoff spot. No play-in. No elimination game. Three games remain.

Charlotte visits Boston on Tuesday night.