Mo Williams Sets Timberwolves Single-Game Scoring Record: Stat Line and Reaction

The Minnesota Timberwolves have played so poorly of late that it looked like they'd need a miracle to get back in the win column. That miracle came Tuesday night in the form of Mo Williams' locked and loaded right arm, as the veteran guard poured in an NBA season-high 52 points in Minnesota's 110-101 win over the Indiana Pacers.

The win snaps a 15-game losing streak for the Timberwolves, who are a full six games behind any other Western Conference team in the win column. They've won only once since early December.

The losing ways were nowhere to be found Tuesday night, with Williams morphing from solid to cyborg in the second half.

After an otherwise nondescript 14-point first half, Williams became at times the Timberwolves' sole source of offensive production. He made seven of Minnesota's nine field goals in a 16-point third quarter and topped that by going for 21 in the fourth, knocking down an array of jaw-dropping shots.

For the entire night, Williams made 19 of his 33 shot attempts, including a sterling 6-of-11 mark from beyond the three-point line. He was responsible for nearly half of the Timberwolves' 41 made field goals on a night they dominated one of the NBA's stingiest defenses.

Williams discussed his big game, per The Associated Press, via ESPN.com: "You are just in a zone, you don't really see anybody. You just go back to the places when you are in the gym by yourself with your own trainer. You are just shooting shots and it doesn't matter where the defense is at."

In addition to it being the greatest individual scoring performance of 2014-15, Williams' outburst broke the Timberwolves franchise record of 51, set by former franchise face Kevin Love and later matched by the recently departed Corey Brewer. It's the first 50-point game since LeBron James went for 61 against the Charlotte Hornets (then Bobcats) on March 3, 2014.

Williams' previous career scoring best was 44, set when he was receiving passes from James as a member of the Cleveland Cavaliers. Tuesday was the first time the aging guard even scored as many as 30 points in a game in nearly three full calendar years.

Given the way he shot Tuesday and the way Minnesota's season is going, Flip Saunders might opt to put Williams on permanent heat-check status going forward. At the very least, it'll give people a reason to watch a team nosediving straight for the most ping-pong balls possible.

Follow Tyler Conway (@tylerconway22) on Twitter.