Chris Paul came close to a triple-double in his return after missing eight games because of a sprained ankle, and Devin Brown had 19 points in the New Orleans Hornets' 98-89 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday night.

Paul finished with 16 points, 15 assists and a season-best eight steals, one off his career high, while playing a game-high 38:32.

The Hornets turned a 63-61 deficit into a 75-65 lead with a 14-2 run at the end of the third quarter and led by at least five points the rest of the way. David West put them ahead for good, 65-63, with a basket after blocking a shot by Kevin Love.

West and Emeka Okafor each had 17 points.

Al Jefferson had 20 points and 14 rebounds for the Timberwolves, who have lost 17 of 18 since beating New Jersey in their opener. Ryan Gomes added 15 points.

Brown's layup at the third-quarter buzzer gave New Orleans its first double-digit lead. Minnesota went more than 4 minutes without a basket and shot 7 for 22 in the quarter.

The Timberwolves pulled within six points five times in the fourth quarter but did not get closer until Love sank a 3-pointer to make the score 87-82. Paul responded immediately with a 3 to get the lead back up to eight.

Minnesotas last chance ended when Love stepped out of bounds just before converting a layup and getting fouled as the Timberwolves trailed 94-84 with less than 3 minutes left.

Paul, cleared to play for the first time since hurting his ankle on Nov. 13, made nice passes to Emeka Okafor and Peja Stojakovic for layups early in the first quarter, but he was not at full speed early. With a chance to drive to the basket on a fast break, he pulled up and missed a flat-footed 6-foot shot. He was slow getting up the court on a few possessions and missed his first four shots.

Minnesota led 11 points in the first half after going on a 10-0 run early in the second quarter. Wayne Ellington and Sasha Pavlovic hit 3-pointers to bookend the spurt, but the Timberwolves gave almost all of the advantage away in the final minute.