Timberwolves at Hawks
The Atlanta Hawks have quietly been doing the same thing they did last season – cruising to wins and grabbing the top spot in the Eastern Conference. The Hawks will try to pick up their eighth straight victory when they host the Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday.
Atlanta dropped its season opener to the Detroit Pistons but has not lost since and made a statement with a 39-point fourth quarter in a 114-99 win over the Washington Wizards on Saturday. The Hawks scored 73 points in the second half of that triumph and have seamlessly moved small forward Kent Bazemore into the starting lineup to cover over the biggest loss of the offseason – DeMarre Carroll leaving for the Toronto Raptors in free agency. The Timberwolves are coming off an impressive victory as well after holding the Chicago Bulls scoreless in the extra period of a 102-93 overtime victory. Minnesota has yet to suffer a road loss and showed off the future on Saturday when rookie Karl-Anthony Towns and reigning Rookie of the Year Andrew Wiggins both had big games.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, FSN North (Minnesota), FSN Southeast (Atlanta)
ABOUT THE TIMBERWOLVES (3-2): Wiggins was 1-of-9 from 3-point range in the first four games and had yet to shoot even 40 percent from the field in a contest before breaking out for 31 points on 11-of-27 shooting, including 4-of-5 from beyond the arc, in Saturday’s win. Towns, the No. 1 overall pick in last June’s draft, picked up his third double-double with 17 points and 13 rebounds to go along with four blocked shots in the win, but it was another rookie frontcourt player drawing attention on Saturday. Nemanja Bjelica enjoyed the best game of his young career with 17 points and 11 rebounds and earned himself crunch time minutes alongside Towns in the frontcourt.
ABOUT THE HAWKS (7-1): Bazemore is still trying to find some consistency in his expanded role and topped out at 10 points in three straight games before scoring 25 on 10-of-15 shooting in Saturday’s win. The 26-year-old went 4-of-7 from 3-point range in the contest and is connecting at a 55.6 percent clip from beyond the arc. The Atlanta offense relies on rapid ball movement to find the best shots, and the Hawks collected 37 assists on 43 made field goals in Saturday’s win to boost their average to 26.5.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Hawks PG Jeff Teague is 9-of-32 from the field in the last two games.
2. Minnesota PG Ricky Rubio is 8-of-34 from the floor in the last four contests.
3. Atlanta took both meetings last season by an average of 12 points.