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MINNEAPOLIS (AP) _ Elden Campbell was catching a break on the bench when he noticed something that would be the Minnesota Timberwolves' undoing.

``I sat on the bench in the second quarter and I thought they looked a little tired,'' said Campbell, whose 22 points lifted the Charlotte Hornets to a rare road victory, 92-87 over the Wolves, despite the absence of Derrick Coleman.

With their second-leading scorer and rebounder out with a sprained right ankle, Hornets coach Paul Silas turned to Campbell and Eddie Jones (17 points) early and late and the bench in between.

``I think our young guys gave us a boost tonight,'' Jones said. ``Eddie Robinson, Ricky Davis, Baron Davis. We call those guys `High-voltage.' ''

And they charged up the Hornets, who snapped a three-game losing streak.

``I just told the young guys we wanted to use their energy to trap,'' Silas said.

And they used their veterans' savvy to win for just the ninth time in 27 road games, and with Coleman, who was injured Monday night, in street clothes, no less.

``I knew it had to be me. It couldn't have been anyone else,'' Campbell said after scoring 22 points _ 10 above his average. ``In the past few months, he has been playing really well. I felt it was really my job to pick up his scoring.''

And also his clutch play down the stretch, which Campbell also copied.

Campbell scored three points in the final minute and played stingy defense along with Anthony Mason, who flustered Kevin Garnett into turnovers and misfires.

The run-down Wolves went cold in the final five minutes after erasing an 11-point second-quarter deficit. They lost for the first time in five games.

Garnett (21 points) hit a shot with 4:49 left for an 85-84 lead. After Jones tied it at 85 with a foul shot with 4:20 left, both teams went cold until Campbell hit an 18-foot jumper with 1:32 left.

He added a free throw 29 seconds later for an 88-85 lead.

Garnett's turnaround jumper pulled Minnesota to 87-85, but Garnett grabbed Jones and was whistled for a foul with 25 seconds left. Jones, who scored 17, sank both shots for a 90-87 lead, and David Wesley stole the ball from Garnett on the ensuing possession, was fouled and sank both free throws.

``Our defense has really been good the last five games we'd lost,'' Mason said. ``We just couldn't put the ball in the basket. We've been holding teams way down, point-wise. If we can combine that with putting points on the board in the fourth quarter and making some plays, then it works. The last few games, we've been playing good D, but we might give up a shot or an offensive rebound.

``Tonight, down the stretch, we got all the boards and all the loose balls,'' Mason said. ``It makes a difference.''

Campbell and Jones each had 10 quick points, prompting Wolves coach Flip Saunders to joke, with his team up 23-22: ``If we had been able to trade Googs for Campbell and Jones, they'd only have two points.''

Before last year's truncated season, the Wolves passed on an opportunity to sign and trade Tom Gugliotta to the Lakers for Campbell and Jones.

Notes: The Wolves, who have had trouble getting to the line because they rely so much on outside shooting and don't have a player who can penetrate the lane and break down defenses, were outscored 26-14 from the line. Minnesota didn't shoot a single free throw in the fourth quarter. ... Bobby Jackson, who had played just 11 minutes during the Wolves' previous four games, all victories, got into the game with 1:38 left in the first half to a big applause. But he drew Saunders' ire anew with an unsuitable foul and for rushing a buzzer-beater with about five seconds still left before halftime.