Fifteen. 15.
Much of the Wolves' latest loss didn't exactly resemble a matchup of a team on a franchise-record 15-game win streak and one that lost 15 in a row earlier this season. Minnesota (7-36) did a lot of things right, keeping it interesting in front of 18,049 fans at Philips Arena during the fourth quarter against the NBA's hottest team.
But by the end of the night, the Wolves were back in a familiar spot against the Hawks (37-8), who won their 16th consecutive game.
1 big moment: Andrew Wiggins' turnaround jump shot with 5:17 left in the fourth quarter cut the Hawks' lead -- which once stood at 18 -- to 98-92. But, largely because of back-to-back 3-pointers by DeMarre Carroll and Kyle Korver, Atlanta outscored the Wolves 14-8 the rest of the way.
2 top performers: All five Hawks starters scored in double figures, led by power forward Paul Millsap with 20 points, five rebounds, six assists and four steals. That negated a staunch night from Minnesota's own four-man -- Thaddeus Young had 26 points, six boards and seven helpers.
3 key stats: The Wolves shot 52.1 percent from the floor, 37.5 from 3-point range and made 20 of 25 free throws -- one of their best all-around shooting nights this season. But their defense continues to fail them; Atlanta made 56.3 percent of its floor attempts against the league's worst shooting defense.
Minnesota has lost 12 games in a row in Atlanta dating back to Nov. 30, 2002. Its 4-18 road mark is the league's second-worst behind New York.
Zach LaVine (left elbow sprain) and Anthony Bennett (sore left knee) both missed practice Saturday and played sparingly Sunday. LaVine had two points and an assist in 7:08, while Bennett played for just 12 seconds.
Seen: Forward Robbie Hummel broke his right hand in the third quarter. He said he'll miss 4-6 weeks with a "clean break."
The Timberwolves announced he'd suffered a non-displaced fracture of the fourth metacarpal in his right hand and would be out "indefinitely."
Said: "We competed. . . . I think it took us almost a half to understand how good they really were. They're the best combination, offensive and defensive team that we've played." -- Saunders
Next: The Wolves completed a back-to-back Monday at Oklahoma City. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.
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