Field Level Media
Oct 30, 2023
Dejounte Murray matched his career high with 41 points, including 22 in the third quarter, to help the Atlanta Hawks overcome a 21-point deficit and stun the visiting Minnesota Timberwolves 127-113 on Monday.
Murray shot 17-for-24 from the field and made his first 11 field-goal attempts of the second half. Murray was 3-for-5 on 3-point attempts and added seven rebounds and five assists as the Hawks won for the second straight night.
Atlanta's Trae Young added a season-high 24 points with eight assists, De'Andre Hunter scored 16 and Clint Capela blocked five shots.
Anthony Edwards led the Timberwolves with a season-high 31 points and seven assists. Minnesota also got 16 points and 10 rebounds from Karl-Anthony Towns plus 14 points and 13 rebounds from Rudy Gobert.
The game was tied 23-23 in the first quarter, but back-to-back 3-pointers by Naz Reid gave Minnesota the momentum it needed to take a 42-35 edge at the end of the period. The Timberwolves made 10 3-pointers in the first quarter, four of them by Edwards.
The Timberwolves led by 21 after an alley-oop pass from Towns to Reid with 1:23 left in the second quarter and enjoyed a 79-60 lead at halftime. Edwards scored 20 in the first half.
The Hawks began to shoot their way back into the game in the third quarter. Murray was 8-for-8 from the field and made a pair of 3-pointers, including one with 4.2 seconds remaining that tied the game at 98-98.
Atlanta scored the first nine points of the fourth quarter and subsequently pulled out to a 107-98 lead. The Timberwolves never got any closer than seven points the rest of the way.
Gobert picked up two technical fouls but was not ejected because the second one was for hanging on the rim, which is not grounds for ejection.
Both teams have home games on Wednesday. The Hawks host the Washington Wizards, while the defending NBA champions Denver Nuggets play at Minnesota.
--Field Level Media