National Basketball Association
Minnesota 109, Atlanta 106
When: 8:00 PM ET, Friday, April 12, 2024
Where: Target Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Officials: #48 Scott Foster, #51 Aaron Smith, #35 Jason Goldenberg
Attendance: 18024

Rudy Gobert scored 25 points and grabbed 19 rebounds as the Minnesota Timberwolves held on for a 109-106 win over the Atlanta Hawks on Friday night in Minneapolis.

Naz Reid added 19 points off the bench for Minnesota (56-25), which pulled into a three-way tie with the Denver Nuggets and the Oklahoma City Thunder for the best record in the Western Conference with one game to play in the regular season.

The Nuggets lost to the San Antonio Spurs on Friday, while the Thunder beat the Milwaukee Bucks.

Minnesota's Karl-Anthony Towns scored 11 points and dished eight assists in his first game since March 4. Towns had been sidelined due to a torn meniscus in his left knee.

Trae Young scored 19 points and distributed seven assists to lead Atlanta (36-45). Clint Capela recorded 13 points and 11 rebounds.

The score was even at 98-98 with 3:41 to go after Minnesota's Anthony Edwards sank two free throws.

Kobe Bufkin quickly answered with a basket to put the Hawks on top 100-98.

Towns stepped forward, sinking a go-ahead 3-pointer with 2:29 to go. Edwards increased the Timberwolves' lead to 103-100 by making a jump shot with 1:56 remaining.

Bufkin scored again to cut the deficit to 103-102, but Edwards answered with a jump shot to give the Timberwolves a 105-102 lead with 49.1 seconds left.

Again, Atlanta pulled within one point. A dunk by Bruno Fernando cut the deficit to 105-104 with 21.1 seconds left.

The Hawks sent Edwards to the line, and he calmly made two free throws to put Minnesota ahead 107-104 with 18.1 seconds to play.

Vit Krejci missed a 3-point attempt on Atlanta's next possession, and Gobert made two free throws on the other end to increase the Timberwolves' lead to 109-104.

Bufkin made a basket in the final seconds to finish the scoring before the buzzer sounded.

The score was even at 80-80 entering the fourth quarter.

The Hawks trailed by as many as 17 points in the third period. Edwards made a jump shot to put the Timberwolves on top 76-59 with 6:36 left in the quarter.

Atlanta closed the third on a 21-4 run to erase the deficit. That included a string of 14 consecutive points, capped by a 3-pointer from Young with 1:58 remaining.

The Timberwolves held a 56-47 lead at the half.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
Atlanta   Minnesota
Trae Young 19 Scoring Rudy Gobert 25
Trae Young 7 Assists Mike Conley 10
Clint Capela 11 Rebounds Rudy Gobert 19
Bogdan Bogdanovic 5 Free Throws Made Naz Reid 7
Clint Capela 1 Steals Mike Conley 2
Clint Capela 1 Blocks Rudy Gobert 5
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Atlanta 106 44.4 9-30 17-25 23 40 1 4 15
Minnesota 109 48.1 10-37 23-29 29 44 11 8 14
Upcoming Games
  • Minnesota will play their next game at home against Phoenix. The Timberwolves have a W/L % of .625 after a win and .840 after a loss.
  • Atlanta will play their next game on the road against Indiana. The Hawks have a W/L % of .528 after a win and .378 after a loss.