Wolves drop third straight as rally against Hawks gets quashed in fourth quarter

Minnesota was outscored 35-19 in the final frame of the loss to Atlanta Monday night.

Minnesota Timberwolves forward Julius Randle (30) is defended by Atlanta Hawks forward Zaccharie Risacher in the first quarter at State Farm Arena in Atlanta on Dec. 23, 2024. / Brett Davis-Imagn Images

It was a script the Timberwolves have too frequently followed this season. They fell into a big deficit early as the offense struggled. They found their rhythm and worked their way right back into the game. But they ran out of gas in closing time.

The end result Monday night was a 117-104 loss to the Atlanta Hawks at State Farm Arena in Atlanta.

The loss is Minnesota's third straight.

After overcoming a 19-point first-quarter deficit to take a halftime lead, the Wolves (14-14) and Hawks (15-15) played to a dead heat in the third quarter. But the last basket of the third frame — Jalen Johnson got out in transition for a layup in the final second of the quarter — was perhaps indicative of where the game would be headed in the fourth quarter.

Garrison Matthews drilled a pair of 3-pointers as the Hawks opened the quarter on a 13-4 run. The Wolves routinely lost Matthews along the 3-point line, and he drilled seven from long range on his way to 25 points off the bench for Atlanta.

Minnesota was never able to get itself back in the game after the early fourth-quarter run from the Hawks.

The Hawks won the fourth quarter 35-19, the exact same margin they won the first quarter by.

Trae Young, who finished with a game-high 29 points and seven assists, got the Hawks going early and helped them take a 19-point lead in the first quarter. The Wolves were able to completely turn the tide in the second quarter, with big efforts from Naz Reid and Nickeil Alexander-Walker, who each scored 11 first-half points, as they outscored Atlanta 36-17.

Minnesota led 55-52 at the halftime break.

The Wolves got a strong effort from their bench. Reid scored a team-high 23 points, though Alexander-Walker didn't score again after the halftime break. Josh Minott played 13 meaningful minutes and tallied four points, four rebounds, three assists and two steals. Minnesota got 50 points from its reserves overall, but Atlanta got 52 points off the bench.

Anthony Edwards was held relatively quiet once again, finishing with 16 points on 7-for-20 shooting. Julius Randle nearly had a triple-double with 19 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists, and Mike Conley had 11 points and six assists.

But despite some strong individual efforts — like those of Reid and Randle — the collective couldn't find a way to close, which has been a recurring problem for the Wolves. It was a similar story to Saturday's loss to the Golden State Warriors.

A good Christmas present would be finding an answer. That's when their next opportunity will arise as the Wolves visit the Dallas Mavericks on Christmas Day for a 1:30 p.m. tipoff.