Timberwolves Wrap: Wolves Sweep Season Series Against Hawks
99. 86. Final. 95. 125
The Timberwolves were able to capture their second home win this season, and swept the season series with the Atlanta Hawks in the process.
As was the case in the first match-up the Wolves hot shooting was the story in the first quarter. Despite eight first quarter points from Paul Millsap, the Wolves were able to hold a 30-23 lead after one quarter. After one the Wolves were behind in the rebounding column, but their early lack on turnovers was able to keep the Wolves in front.
The second quarter saw the Wolves cool off just a bit as the second unit came in. Jeff Teague was able to exploit some holes in the Wolves second unit defense, and pulled the Hawks closer as halftime approached. With the Wolves starter’s back in Teague went on to score ten straight points and en route to a Hawks lead mid-way through the quarter. However before the half ended with the Wolves regained the lead on the heels of a few buckets by Damjan Rudez. At the half the Wolves were up 50-48 on 47.5 percent shooting.
Both teams remained a little chilly as the second half began. This kept the game close in score as the third quarter wore on. The score was tied mid-way through the quarter. The Wolves were able to get some offense from Adreian Payne, who seemed to pace the offense when the second unit came in. The Hawks then found a little groove on offense near the end of the quarter, by quarters end, the score was 74-70 in favor of the Hawks.
The fourth quarter commenced and the Wolves and Hawks continued their shooting woes as the second units for both teams were unable to find any rhythm on offense. The first half of the fourth quarter was borderline hard to watch honestly. Damjan Rudez was able to hit back-to-back three’s which gave the offense some momentum going forward. The Wolves second unit was then able to get some offense going, and they kept the Wolves in front going into the home stretch.
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Sam Mitchell kept Karl-Anthony Towns off the floor all quarter and rode his second unit throughout crunch time. This second unit finished out the game for Minnesota, and with a little help from Andrew Wiggins, they were able to get the Wolves the win.
Despite being out-rebounded by Atlanta all night, the Wolves were able to get the win. Both teams did not shoot the ball particularly well, but the Wolves were able to make enough shots to gut it out.
Also credit needs to be given to the Wolves defense, they got some timely stops that aided the Wolves in getting the win. In an ugly game like this, it was the Wolves second unit that was the hero of the game, this is something that has not been said so far all year. Their 58 points is gave the Wolves the offensive boost they needed to win.
In other news Ricky Rubio left the game because of an ankle injury, let’s just hope it was only a precautionary measure.
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Damjan Rudez– 13 points(4-5 FG, 3-4 Three-point FG, 2-2 FT), 1 rebound, 17 minutes.
The Croatian-born Rudez saw his minutes increase with the injury to Nemanja Bjelica, and he made the most of them. In a fairly stagnant fourth quarter, the Wolves were looking for some offensive life from their second unit. Rudez’s back-to-back three pointers were able to give them a huge spark which gave the offense the momentum to take the game. Credit to Rudez for making the most of his minutes, and perhaps we may see more Rudez as time goes on.
Other Notable Lines
- Zach LaVine– 18 Points(7-13 FG), 6 assists, 5 rebounds
- Andrew Wiggins– 15 points(5-17 FG), 4 rebounds, 3 steals
- Gorgui Dieng– 10 points, 11 rebounds, 3 blocks
- Jeff Teague– 22 points, 5 assists, 5 rebounds
Up Next
The Wolves have another day off for the Thanksgiving holiday tomorrow. They’ll travel west to take on the Sacramento Kings on Friday. The Kings are coming off a win tonight against the Milwaukee Bucks, and the Wolves will have DeMarcus Cousins to deal with. That game will be the first of two in California for the Wolves.