Atlanta Hawks 95
Minnesota Timberwolves 99
The Minnesota Timberwolves held off the Atlanta Hawks Wednesday night at Target Center, picking up a 99-95 victory to sweep the season series between the teams.
1. Wolves bench rises up
On a night when Andrew Wiggins and Kevin Martin combined to shoot 8-of-29, the Wolves bench took it to the Hawks.
Damjan Rudez and Zach LaVine turned it on in the second half. LaVine finished with a team-high 18 points, while Rudez was 3-of-4 from the three-point line to finish with 13.
Rudez came into the game averaging 0.8 points per game. He had just 5 points all season before tonight (11). #TWolves
— Tyler Mason (@tylermason21) November 26, 2015
I'm baffled going back to the summer how Rudez can't earn many minutes for the Croatian national team. He's got enough game. #twolves
— Darren Wolfson (@DWolfsonKSTP) November 26, 2015
Gorgui Dieng had his first double-double of the season with 10 points and 11 rebounds.
Earlier in the night it was Adreian Payne who made some big plays. Payne knocked down a couple threes of his own and finished with eight against his former team.
2. Rubio leaves the game with a cast on his leg
Ricky Rubio scored five points and dished out six assists in 21 minutes Wednesday night. Things were going along nicely until early in the second half, when Rubio was visibly limping on the floor.
After leaving the game he was spotted on the bench with a cast on his leg.
Ricky Rubio with cast on left leg. Looks done for night & not surprised if longer. #Twolves #SongRemainsTheSame pic.twitter.com/HMAROgrWZS
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) November 26, 2015
He left the game with a sore left ankle.
3. Red hot start for both clubs
Wolves coach Sam Mitchell had talked recently about the team’s need to score more points. Minnesota started Wednesday night’s game doing just that.
#Twolves starting 6-for-8 from the field but #Hawks already have three three-pointers to take 14-13 lead after Millsap three.
— Marcus R. Fuller (@Marcus_R_Fuller) November 26, 2015
Tweet of the Night:
LaVine had something to be thankful for as he hit this shot as the shot clock expired.
The Wolves offense is… Not pretty. Look at LaVine's face after that shot pic.twitter.com/dA1ooVz1Sm
— CJ Fogler 🫡 (@cjzero) November 26, 2015
Up Next:
The Wolves (7-8) hit the road for a Friday night tilt at Sacramento.
