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 Guard Andrew Wiggins scored 33 points, including eight down the
stretch, and the Timberwolves won 117-107 despite letting a 34-point
lead temporarily slip away.
"Those last minutes, Andrew was unbelievable," Minnesota interim
coach Sam Mitchell said. "We tried to get the ball in his hands, and
he was feeling it. ... He was amazing."
The Hawks (7-2) took a 107-106 lead on a basket by forward Paul
Millsap, but Wiggins converted a three-point play with three minutes
left, and the Timberwolves (4-2) pulled back away from there.
The Timberwolves had lost 12 straight in Atlanta since recording a
103-93 victory on Nov. 20, 2002.
Forward Kevin Garnett, in his 21st season, played in that game, but
more than a few of his present Minnesota team mates were in
elementary school at the time. It looked as if the Timberwolves'
inexperience might prove costly.
Minnesota led 81-47 before the Hawks closed the third quarter on a
37-12 run behind 14 points by guard Jeff Teague to pull within 93-84
going into the fourth. Atlanta then kept up the comeback.
"We got frazzled," Mitchell said.
Wiggins, though, pulled the Timberwolves through as they improved to
4-0 on the road.
The reigning NBA Rookie of the Year sank 15 of 22 shots and got
support from rookie center Karl-Anthony Towns, who finished with 17
points, 12 rebounds and three blocked shots.
"We stayed confident," Towns said. "We just had to weather the
storm."
Wiggins scored 31 points in an overtime victory at Chicago on
Saturday, and he wouldn't be denied with the game on the line again.
"He was a superstar who wanted to end the game on his terms," Towns
said when asked about Wiggins. "That's what I saw."
"He made plays after we were able to get up a point," Hawks coach
Mike Budenholzer said. "He did a little bit of everything."
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The Hawks, who scored 19 points off 10 Minnesota turnovers in the
third-quarter rally, shot 72 percent in the third, with Teague going
6-for-8 and Millsap making all four of his shots.
"They were shooting the ball so well that I knew it was going to be
tough to come all the way back," Teague said. "But we made it a
dogfight."
Teague finished with 24 points and a game-high nine assists. Millsap
added 22 points.
For the game, Minnesota shot 57.5 percent and Atlanta hit 51.2
percent from the floor. The Wolves compiled a 40-27 rebounding
advantage.
The Timberwolves shot 63.8 percent and beat the Hawks 22-11 on the
boards while building a 72-42 halftime lead.
"They came out playing very aggressively, and we came out without a
lot of energy," said Hawks guard Kyle Korver, who was held to five
points. "We're a team that has to play with a lot of energy, and we
finally responded in the second half."
Asked what the difference was, Korver had a simple answer.
"You just get mad once you're embarrassed," he said.
(Compiled by Peter Rutherford)
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