Anthony Edwards scored 30 points in just three quarters, but his strong individual performance did little to ease the frustration as the Minnesota Timberwolves were routed 126–102 by the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday night.
The loss marked Minnesota’s second lopsided defeat in three games. Edwards showed visible frustration when head coach Chris Finch pulled the starters with 7:52 remaining, tossing a towel into the air before heading to the weight room beneath State Farm Arena. Edwards declined to speak with the media after the game.
“Ant’s obviously frustrated with the performance, and rightfully so,” Finch said. “But he needs to stay out on the floor and root for his team.”
Atlanta snapped a seven-game losing streak despite playing without All-Star guard Trae Young. The Hawks dominated inside, scoring 64 points in the paint against a full-strength Timberwolves lineup and building a 27-point lead in the second quarter.
Minnesota fell to 21–13 on the season after also losing 123–107 to the Brooklyn Nets on Saturday. The Timberwolves had reached the Western Conference Finals in each of the previous two seasons, making the recent struggles more concerning.
Veteran center Rudy Gobert was blunt in his assessment of the team’s performance.
“Not like a team that wants to play for the championship,” Gobert said. “It didn’t seem like we had any type of energy or life. Offensively it felt like an individual sport, and defensively there wasn’t extra effort. I think the two are connected.”
For Atlanta, Kristaps Porzingis returned from a 10-game illness-related absence and contributed 16 points in 17 minutes. Jalen Johnson led the Hawks with 34 points on 15-of-22 shooting, along with 10 rebounds and six assists.
Minnesota will try to regroup ahead of a weekend back-to-back against the Miami Heat and the Washington Wizards.
“We’ve got another tough game coming up against a team that plays really hard and runs full court,” Finch said. “So we’ve got to regroup.”
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