Minnesota Timberwolves rookie Jonny Flynn went toe-to-toe with New Orleans Hornets All-Star Chris Paul for 47 minutes, 56 seconds Wednesday night.

It was the final 4 seconds that gave Flynn trouble.

Paul streaked past Flynn on an inbounds pass to hit a layup with 1.4 seconds left, lifting the Hornets to a 97-96 victory over the Timberwolves.

Paul finished with 15 points and 14 assists and one more lesson taught to the youngster. Trailing by one point with 3.9 seconds to go, Paul threw an inbounds pass to David West. As Flynn turned his head, Paul raced to the basket and took a backdoor feed from West for the win.

“We should have got this win tonight,” said Flynn, who had 14 points and a career-high nine assists. “I’ll take some of the blame on that last backdoor cut.”

Wolves coach Kurt Rambis said Flynn and veteran Damien Wilkins shared the blame for allowing the easy bucket.