It figured to be a matter of time before the Hawks started making 3-pointers.
That time was the third quarter.
The Hawks connected on four long-range baskets as part of a 38-point period, en route to a 120-113 victory over the Timberwolves Saturday night at Philips Arena.
The Hawks were 1 of 7 after one quarter and 2 of 11 after one half from 3-point range. However, Kyle Korver had three 3-pointers in the third quarter as the Hawks built a 16-point lead they were able to hold after a fourth-quarter Timberwolves rally.
“Hopefully, you could argue that the percentages are about flip on you,” coach Mike Budenholzer said. “If you are 2-for-11 then you should shoot even more because you are going to make them. Some nights that happens, some nights it doesn’t.”
The Hawks (25-21, 16-7 home) have won two straight and five of their past seven games. It was their 11th straight victory over the Timberwolves at Philips Arena.
Korver led the Hawks with 24 points. Paul Millsap had 20 points and 13 rebounds before fouling out in the fourth quarter.
DeMarre Carroll (19), Jeff Teague (19) and Mike Scott (14) also scored in double-figures for the Hawks. Carroll also had five rebounds, four assists and three steals as he scored in double-figures for the 11th time in the past 12 games. Korver extended his NBA-record streak to 115 games with a 3-pointer. Scott scored in double-figures for the 11 straight game off the bench.
The Hawks’ third quarter effort, in which they also held the Timberwolves to 21 points, was ignited by a fiery halftime speech by Budenholzer.
“Give coach credit,” Carroll said. “He did a good job of coming in here and getting on us because I think we were lackadaisical in the first half. …We came in here, coach got on us and we responded.”
The Timberwolves (23-24, 10-15 road) lost their second straight despite the one-man show of Kevin Love. The forward had a double-double by halftime and finished with 43 points and 19 rebounds. Love, who entered the game fourth in the NBA is scoring with a 25.1 points per game average, scored 21 of his points in a fourth-quarter rally.
The Hawks built a 16-point lead with the big third quarter. They used a 20-4 run in the middle of the period, keyed by the three Korver 3-pointers, to gain the margin.
“I got some good screens and just kept on moving,” Korver said. “We were really playing with pace and the ball was skipping around. We were just doing what we do but doing it with pace. Eventually, guys usually get tired and I was able to get some shots.”
The Timberwolves fought back and got as close as three points in the fourth quarter.
After Love pulled the Timberwolves to within 112-109, Gustavo Ayon scored in the paint with 43.8 seconds left for his only points of the game. Teague drew a foul after a steal and made two free throws with 33.6 seconds remaining. Scott pulled down a defensive rebound on the ensuing possession. Korver clinched it with a pair of free throws with 26.6 seconds to give the Hawks a 118-109 lead. Teague added two more free throws for the Hawks’ final total.
The Timberwolves took a 54-48 lead into the intermission after a back-and-forth first half. The Hawks led by as many as 11 points in the first quarter as Millsap scored 10 of the Hawks first 12 points. The Timberwolves answered with an 18-5 run near the end of the second quarter to lead by 11 points. Love had a double-double of 15 points and 12 rebounds through the first two quarters.
The Timberwolves late run was aided by a questionable clear-path foul called on Lou Williams on a long outlet pass to Kevin Martin with 1:31 left. He made both free throws and Love scored on the ensuing possession for a four-point swing.
“We just came out and played with some energy,” Teague said. “The pace was different. We came out in the first quarter and played well but in the third quarter we took it to another level.”
The Hawks next host the Pacers on Tuesday.
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