Hawks drop a close one to the Timberwolves 99-95

In a game that was much closer than their first contest in Atlanta, the Hawks narrowly lost to the Timberwolves in Minnesota by a final score of 99-95.

The Atlanta Hawks did not have Kent Bazemore or Tiago Splitter Wednesday night. The Hawks showed great ball movement in the first quarter, getting some good, open looks at the basket both from 3-point range and inside the arc. Minnesota's youth showed in the first quarter a couple of times, getting to some balls and rebounds simply just being quicker than the Hawks.

Kyle Korver knocked down a pair of threes for the Hawks in the first quarter, as he continues to raise his percentage after starting off the year slow by his standards. Mike Muscala also made quite an impressive block on Kevin Martin, and followed it up with a fastbreak follow up from a Dennis Schroder layup. The Timberwolves led at the end of the quarter 27-23. Paul Millsap had eight points and three boards for the Hawks, and Andrew Wiggins had seven points for the Timberwolves.

Shabazz Muhammad was called for a flagrant one after official review on Tim Hardaway Jr., who knocked down both free throws. Hardaway was driving to the basket, and Muhammad pushed him out of the air. Hardaway appeared to limp, but seemed to be alright.

The second quarter belong to Jeff Teague and Paul Millsap. Teague got started off with a quick 10 points in just under six minutes. Millsap went on a 12-point tear in the quarter, where he also received a technical foul for arguing a no-call with the referees. Andrew Wiggins kept the Timberwolves on par with 11 points and four rebounds in the quarter, keeping the Timberwolves just above the Hawks on the scoreboard, at 50-48.

The third quarter was pretty even in terms of scoring distribution for the Hawks. Teague and Millsap once again carried the load in that department for the Hawks. The Timberwolves shot just 27 percent on the quarter, but were somehow only outscored by six points by the Hawks. Atlanta took a 74-70 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

Minnesota was able to claw their way back into the game and took the lead with a Damjan Rudez three pointer to give the T-Wolves a one point lead with just over eight minutes remaining in the game. Another triple by Rudez forced a Hawks timeout, after it appeared the game might slip away.

After consistently maintaining a lead for around five minutes, the Hawks were able to tie the game after a Jeff Teague steal and alley-oop to Al Horford with just over two minutes remaining in the game. But after tying, Rudez hit a pair of free throws, and Andrew Wiggins made a tough shot that was contested by Paul Millsap, after he missed a shot underneath the basket on the other end.

After getting it back down to a three point deficit, the Hawks had one final chance, where Jeff Teague got a wide open look, but it came up short. The Hawks lost by a final score of 99-95.

Jeff Teague and Paul Millsap both had 22 points apiece for the Hawks. Millsap had 10 rebounds to go along with his 22, giving him a double double. Al Horford also had a double double, with 12 points and 12 assists. Zach LaVine led all Timberwolves scorers with 18 points, while phenom Andrew Wiggins had 15. Gorgui Dieng had 10 points and 11 rebounds.

The Hawks will try to regroup on Thanksgiving, and get a win in Memphis on Friday.