Trae Young on Monday had 29 points and 11 assists, while Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot scored 23 points, as the short-handed Atlanta Hawks beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 121-110.
Danilo Gallinari scored 20 points off the bench for the Hawks, who were without injured wings Cam Reddish, Bogdan Bogdanovich, Solomon Hill and De’Andre Hunter on the second night of a back-to-back.
Luwawu-Cabarrot had a career-high seven three-pointers, shooting seven of 14 as the Hawks set a franchise record with 25 makes on a season-high 49 attempts from beyond the arc. Young was four of nine shooting from the three-point line, while Gallinari completed four of six.
Photo: Bruce Kluckhohn-USA TODAY
“Keep shooting them,” Young said. “They keep going in, keep shooting them. We were getting good looks, and we were making the right play and right read. It was just going in. It was one of those nights.”
Karl-Anthony Towns had 31 points and 16 rebounds for Minnesota in his return, after missing one game with a tailbone contusion, while Anthony Edwards added 20 points for the Timberwolves, who were also short-handed, without starting guards D’Angelo Russell and Patrick Beverly.
“Our urgency to contest shots was not there,” Minnesota coach Chris Finch said. “As the game went on, we just kept stopping short and stopping short. The ball movement — we knew it was going to be there. We knew what we were trying to do. We didn’t run shooters off the line.”
Minnesota’s improved defense has been susceptible to three-pointers, but has benefited from opponents’ poor shooting.
Atlanta came out firing from the three-point line and never stopped.
The Hawks, who started the day second in the NBA in three-point shooting at 37.8 percent, hit eight of their first 12 from beyond the arc. Their nine three-pointers in the first quarter marked their season high in any quarter and they tied it in the third quarter.
“It’s a relief,” Luwawu-Cabarrot said. “We all feel good, I would say, and satisfied. It’s satisfying passing the ball like that, finding someone open and just making. We have to keep playing like that.”
Atlanta started the day tied for the fifth-fewest attempts from the three-point line in the league, averaging 32 tries per game, despite the team’s robust percentage.
“Ball movement,” Hawks coach Nate McMillan said, referring to the increased attempts from the three-point line on Monday. “We shoot three-pointers that are open. We don’t want to come down and just jack a contested three-pointer. If our offensive action can create those opportunities, the pick-and-roll or traps with good ball movement, you can get those shots.”
“When we have moved the ball, tonight it was playing to our second and third option, we were getting wide-open looks and our guys were knocking those shots down,” McMillan added.
Over the past four games, the Hawks have averaged 17 completed three-pointers per game on 47.7 percent shooting.
Also on Monday, it was:
‧ 76ers 127, Hornets 124
‧ Clippers 102, Trail Blazers 90
‧ Warriors 126, Magic 95
‧ Pacers 116, Wizards 110
‧ Bucks 112, Cavaliers 104
‧ Thunder 114, Pistons 103
‧ Grizzlies 105, Heat 90
‧ Bulls 109, Nuggets 97
‧ Suns 108, Spurs 104
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