Atlanta had won seven in a row going into the contest, but Andrew Wiggins’s equalled a career-high with 33 points as Minnesota held on for the win after nearly blowing a 34-point lead. Sure, it was just one game in November, but the Timberwolves (4-2) showed that folks won’t be able to sleepwalk against them any more.
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The Timberwolves had lost 12 straight in Atlanta since recording a 103-93 victory on November 20, 2002.
The Hawks scored as many points in the third quarter (42) as they did in the entire first half and cut a 30 point lead down to just nine entering the final quarter. Atlanta then kept up the comeback. With the win, Minnesota improved to 4-2 on the season and a flawless 4-0 on the road.
Closing free throws by Ricky Rubio and Towns clinched the victory after Towns did his part with blocked or altered shots and vital defensive rebounds.
72 percent in the third, with Teague going 6-for-8 and Millsap making all four of his shots.
The Wolves finished the game with a 57.5 field goal percentage – still impressively high. The Wolves compiled a 40-27 rebounding advantage.
The Wolves had scored 72 by halftime and shot 63.8 percent in the half while building a lead as big as 32 points before intermission.
Blake Griffin also contributed 24 points and 12 rebounds for the home side, while Zach Randolph was the game’s top scorer with 26 points in defeat for Memphis, who lost for the third game in a row.
G Kevin Martin, averaging a team-best 18.8 points off the bench, was back with the Timberwolves on Monday after missing Saturday’s win in Chicago and three practices while attending to a family matter.
The Timberwolves will head back to Minnesota on Monday night as they will gear up for a date with Al Jefferson and the Charlotte Hornets tomorrow.
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In ATS trends, the Hornets are 4-0-1 ATS in their last five games against a team with a winning record and 3-1-1 ATS in their last five games overall, while the Wolves are 3-7 ATS in their last 10 games following a win and 1-9 ATS in their last 10 home games. Or, look at it this way: When Mirotic has been on the floor this season, the Bulls have outscored opponents by 9.6 points per 100 possessions, when he sits they get outscored by 7 per 100.
