CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Kemba Walker is carrying the Charlotte Hornets, and they are one of the hottest teams in the NBA as a result.

The Hornets beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 108-103 on Monday night for their fourth straight win and the 10th in their last 12 games, and Walker was spectacular again.

He scored 34 points, his third straight game of 30 points or more and his 11th 30-point outburst of the season. Included were six 3-pointers, five of which came in the third quarter when he erupted for 21 points.

"He's just in a zone, you can see it in his eyes," teammate Al Jefferson said. "You tell him to take over the game and he takes over the game. It doesn't surprise me at all. That's something I saw a long time ago in him. But he's just coming into his own now, and we're all riding his back."

Walker has now averaged 31.0 points during the winning streak, with 30 against Philadelphia, 33 against Indiana and now 34 against Minnesota in his last three games.

He was 12 of 20 from the field and 6 of 9 from 3-point range, and also had seven rebounds and six assists.

"I'm having a lot of fun," Walker said. "Winning is always fun and we're playing well together. We're out there doing the things we need to do to win these games."

The Hornets (34-28) needed everything Walker could supply against a young Minnesota team that had stretches of brilliance Monday night.

Charlotte pulled out to a 16-point first-half lead but the Timberwolves responded with a 14-0 run and eventually led at halftime. Walker's outburst propelled Charlotte to a 35-point third quarter, and the Hornets built the lead back up to 15, but they could never fully put the Timberwolves away.

"They're a talented team," Hornets coach Steve Clifford said of the Timberwolves. "They can beat anybody in this league on any given night. So this was a good win. It was a struggle at times, but we made enough plays to win the game."

Walker's third-quarter explosion included three 3-pointers on consecutive possessions over a span of 1:15, which turned a three-point deficit into a four-point lead.

"That's the thing about the three," Clifford said. "That's nine points and it just changes the game. His confidence level, when they're going under (defensively), to step back and make that shot, it's just changed his whole game."

Jefferson added 20 points in 26 minutes off the bench, going 9 of 14 from the field. The Hornets also got 15 points from Marvin Williams and 11 points from Nicolas Batum.

Minnesota (20-44) lost for the fourth time in its last five games.

Rookie Karl-Anthony Towns had a monster game with 28 points and 14 rebounds. Andrew Wiggins scored 25 points, Gorgui Dieng scored 12, and Ricky Rubio had 10 points and 10 assists. Towns, Wiggins and Rubio were all plusses in the plus-minus, but the Timberwolves lost huge chunks when they rested. Minnesota's bench didn't score in the first half and was outscored by the Hornets' bench 38-9.

"Our bench play wasn't very good tonight," interim coach Sam Mitchell said. "They have to give us more. We're playing those five guys (starters) into the ground. We need energy. We need more than nine points."

Wiggins gave the Hornets credit.

"I think we played well," Wiggins said. "The thing that got us was we had times we weren't scoring and we weren't playing defense. If we're not scoring, then we've got to play defense. Then Kemba and Jefferson started making tough shots."

NOTES: The Hornets earned their fifth consecutive win in the series. They beat the Timberwolves 104-95 in Minneapolis on Nov. 10. ... Timberwolves C Karl-Anthony Towns leads all NBA rookies in scoring at 17.6 points per game and in rebounding at 10.2 per game. He ranks in the top 10 among rookies in eight statistical categories, which is everything except 3-point percentage. ... The Hornets have had 10 players foul out already this season, including C Cody Zeller on Monday. They had only one disqualification all of last season. ... The Timberwolves outscored Charlotte 54-36 in the paint. ... The Hornets are now 17-1 when scoring 100 or more points at home. ... The Timberwolves will return home to host San Antonio on Tuesday, completing a stretch of four games in five nights. ... The Hornets will host New Orleans on Wednesday.