Wolves Wrap: Hawks use big third quarter to beat Wolves
By Ben Beecken
The Wolves gave it a shot tonight, playing the NBA’s best team tough throughout the first half before succumbing to the Hawks’ beautiful, synergistic offense in the third quarter and ultimately falling by the final score of 117-105.
Minnesota actually led by a point with five seconds left in the opening frame before the Hawks’ Mike Scott drained a corner three-pointer to give Atlanta a 32-30 lead headed into the second quarter. The Wolves stayed close into halftime, too, trailing 57-53 at the half after Nikola Pekovic‘s turnaround jumper at the buzzer was originally counted but then disallowed after an official review.
The Hawks came out on fire in the third quarter, pulling ahead by 11 points just a couple of minutes into the half, also getting the Wolves into the bonus in short order. After the home team brought it back down to single digits a couple of times, the Hawks finally decided to assert themselves.
Things went downhill quickly for Minnesota as Atlanta went on a 13-3 run and built an 84-66 lead with a couple of minutes left in the frame. The game was effectively over at that point, although Minnesota fumbled around and cut the deficit to fourteen going into the final quarter, and pulled within twelve early in the fourth.
The distance between the two teams hovered between 14 and 18 points for much of the fourth quarter. Even though the game was effectively over after the third quarter run by Atlanta, it was good to see the Wolves continue to compete and hang around a respectable margin for most of the late stages of the contest.
Star of the Game
DeMarre Carroll (26 points on 9-13 FG, 6-6 FT, 2-3 3PT, 4 rebounds, 3 steals)
An unlikely star stole the show for the Hawks. Paul Millsap had a damaging 19 points, 9 rebounds, and 7 assists and Al Horford had 28 points, but Carroll’s deadly efficiency and solid defense on the Wolves’ wings were huge. Kevin Martin had just ten points until virtual garbage time in the fourth quarter, and Andrew Wiggins started hot but didn’t do much at all in the second half.
For the Wolves, Shabazz Muhammad managed 16 points and 7 rebounds off the bench, including a flurry in the first half that kept the Wolves close to the Hawks at the time, but the Atlanta spent a little more time paying attention to him in the second half and a repeat wasn’t in order.
Tweet of the Night
3rd Quarter:
— Alan Horton (@WolvesRadio) February 10, 2015
ATL 29pts 44% FG (10/10 FT)
MIN 19pts 33% FG (5/8 FT)
ATL 86 MIN 72
Stat of the Night
The Atlanta Hawks shot 10 of 21 from three-point range tonight — that’s 47.6%. Every single player that saw the court tonight prior to garbage time except for Al Horford and Elton Brand attempted a three-point shot. That’s insane, and it’s a clear product of Atlanta head coach Mike Budenholzer’s former boss Gregg Popovich’s system.
Playing against a team like the Hawks only makes it more obvious how archaic Flip Saunders’ offensive system appears, and how depressing it is that there are three or four players on the Wolves’ roster that have proven to shoot threes at a league-average or better clip.
Notable Lines
Ricky Rubio: 8 points (3-11 FG, 1-1 FT, 1-3 3PT), 5 assists, 2 steals, 1 rebound, 4 turnovers
Shabazz Muhammad: 18 points (7-14 FG, 3-6 FT, 1-4 3PT), 7 rebounds, 3 turnovers
Kevin Martin: 21 points (7-13 FG, 4-4 FT, 3-5 3PT), 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 turnover
Who’s Got Next?
The Wolves are going from facing the now 43-win Hawks on Monday night to the 41-win Golden State Warriors on Wednesday. It should be a great game, if the Wolves’ effort against Atlanta and overall play of late is any indication.