MINNEAPOLIS - The Indiana Pacers entered Saturday's game against Minnesota as one of the best 3-point shooting teams in the NBA. Through three quarters, though, they sure didn't look like it.

Thanks to a big fourth quarter that included six 3-pointers, the Pacers pulled away from the host Timberwolves en route to a 102-88 victory at Target Center. The long-range shooting helped Indiana turn a tight contest into a comfortable victory as the Pacers snapped a 3-game losing streak.

"Any time you lose two in a row or three in a row in this league, it feels like forever since you've won a game," Pacers coach Frank Vogel said. "We definitely needed it."

Monta Ellis had a team-high 22 points and Paul George scored 18 points - including eight in the fourth quarter - as the Pacers topped the Timberwolves for the second time this season. Indiana also beat Minnesota back on Nov. 13 in Indianapolis.

Rookie Karl-Anthony Towns led all scorers with 24 points and had eight rebounds for Minnesota. Andrew Wiggins chipped in 19 points and Ricky Rubio had 15 points and nine assists for the Timberwolves.

Saturday's game was close until a fourth-quarter push by Indiana, which went on a 16-2 run in the late third and early fourth quarters to take a 77-70 lead. Guard George Hill had five straight points during that stretch and former Timberwolves forward Chase Budinger capped the run with an emphatic dunk.

Budinger finished with 11 points in 16 minutes against his old club, punctuated by a seven-point fourth quarter.

"Any time you face your former team, you want to beat that team a little more," Budinger said. "I'm just happy we got the win tonight."

The Pacers had the fourth-best 3-point shooting percentage prior to Saturday but shot just 3-of-17 from 3-point range through the first three quarters.

Indiana was ice cold from downtown for much of the game but eventually shot 6-of-9 from beyond the arc in the fourth quarter to pull away from the Timberwolves.

"We're a good 3-point shooting team. We haven't shot the ball well of late, but we feel like that's going to come around as long as we're moving the basketball," Vogel said. "We got 25 assists, so we are trying to move it. We feel like the shots are going to go."

After falling behind by eight points in the fourth quarter, Minnesota climbed back in with an alley-oop dunk from Towns and a three-point play by Wiggins to trim its deficit to 82-79.

Minnesota later cut it to two on a 3-pointer by Rubio, but George and Indiana's Rodney Stuckey hit consecutive 3-pointers to thwart the Timberwolves' rally. George and Ellis each hit 3-pointers after that to seal the Pacers' 17th win of the season.

"The biggest thing was guys setting me up," George said. "I was just able to catch and shoot, make it easy on myself."

Towns, whose bobblehead was handed out to fans before the game, led all scorers in the first half with 14 points. He added five rebounds in the first two quarters as the Timberwolves took a one-point lead into the locker room at halftime.

The rookie continued his strong play into the second half. Towns scored eight points in the third quarter, giving him his eighth 20-point game of the season. Indiana held Towns to just two points in the fourth quarter.

"We're young. We've got a bunch of young guys on the floor," said Minnesota interim head coach Sam Mitchell. "They make mistakes. That's what they do."

Minnesota lost its third game in a row and has now lost 11 of 14 to drop to 11-19 on the season.

"It's a learning process, but we need to start winning games," Rubio said. "We controlled the game really well, then they went on a little run in the fourth quarter and we couldn't control. That's where we've got to lock in and know what to do."

NOTES: Indiana entered the game with the third-best 3-point shooting percentage in the league. After going just 4 of 18 early, the Pacers finished 9 of 26 from beyond the arc on Saturday. ... Timberwolves PG Tyus Jones returned to action Wednesday against the Spurs after playing six games with the Idaho Stampede of the NBA Development League. Jones had six points and two assists in 20 minutes against the Spurs. He averaged 24.7 points per game with Idaho. ... The first meeting between Minnesota and Indiana this season was Nov. 13. The Pacers won 107-103 in Indianapolis.