The Minnesota Timberwolves (7-8) came up with an impressive 99-95 win over the top tier Atlanta Hawks (10-7) on Wednesday night in Minneapolis.
The Timberwolves produced strong first and fourth quarters in order to triumph over the Hawks.
Minnesota shot a poor 41 percent from the field as a team but managed to grind out a win nonetheless. Although coming off the bench, Zach LaVine led the way in scoring for the Timberwolves with 18 points, he also added six assists and five rebounds in 26 minutes. Andrew Wiggins kept up his strong play but struggled shooting, scoring 15 points on 5-17 shooting from the field. Damjan Rudez had strong showing, scoring 13 points on 4-5 shooting, including 3-4 from deep, in 16 minutes off the bench, while Grogui Dieng notched a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds in 25 minutes, also off the bench.
The Hawks managed to shoot even worse than the Timberwolves, going an abysmal 31-82 ( 37%) from the field, including 8-32 from deep. Paul Millsap led the way in scoring for Atlanta with 22 points, including making 9-11 free throws and made it a double-double with 10 rebounds. Big Al Horford also tallied a double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds. Jeff Teague finished with 22 points, five assists and five rebounds. Despite the strong numbers from their top players, Atlanta still looked disheveled as a team.
Next up for the Hawks is a visit to Memphis for a game Friday. The Timberwolves will be playing in Sacramento, also on Friday, in what will be a heat-check sort of game for the young Wolves.
