Hawks get back on track with 117-105 win over Minnesota

The Atlanta Hawks bounced back from a rare loss Monday night with a 117-105 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Early on the game was reminiscent of the first meeting in Atlanta where the Hawks didn't have any problems scoring but were lacking intensity on the defensive end of the floor. After struggling in Sunday's loss in Memphis, Paul Millsap came out firing scoring 13 of his 19 points in the first quarter. Atlanta shot 58 percent from the field but could only manage a 32-30 lead at the end of the first.

The Timberwolves forged ahead in the second quarter and used a 9-0 run to take a seven point lead and forced a time out from Hawks head coach Mike Budenholzer. Atlanta would answer and scored seven of the final 10 points of the half to take a 57-53 lead into the intermission.

The Hawks made their move in the third quarter and it unsurprisingly started on the defensive end of the floor. Atlanta outscored the Timberwolves 29-19 in the period with the Hawks holding Minnesota to just 33 percent shooting. DeMarre Carroll scored 11 of his career-high 26 points in the third quarter as the Hawks pushed the lead to as many as 18 points.

Al Horford took charge in the fourth scoring 15 of his season-high 28 points in the period. Minnesota wouldn't threaten again and Atlanta cruised home for the victory.

Atlanta finished the game at 51 percent shooting and knocked down 10-21 three-point attempts. That helped offset  a 50-36 rebounding advantage for the Timberwolves.

Kevin Martin finished with 21 points to lead Minnesota while Shabazz Muhammad added 18 off the bench.

The Hawks improve to 43-10 and will close out the first half of the season in Boston on Wednesday before heading into the All-Star break.