MINNEAPOLIS _ The Timberwolves' game against Atlanta on Wednesday was, perhaps for a lack of a better word, about opportunity.
As in, anyone in uniform was likely to get an opportunity to play.
The game came in between news of a roster-altering trade and its actual announcement, which should come Thursday. So all of those players heading out were gone, but new ones hadn't arrived. That meant some interesting lineup combinations due to a very short bench.
So, opportunity.
That was the word Wolves coach Ryan Saunders used prior to the game, which began with both Kelan Martin and Josh Okogie in the starting lineup and a bench filled with players as familiar with Des Moines as they are Minneapolis. As in: "A lot of young guys will get some opportunities tonight," he said. "And that's one of the greatest things in professional sports."
Well, not always.
A limited roster and a lack of defense resulted in a 127-120 loss to the Hawks (14-38), who entered the game tied for the worst record in the Eastern Conference. It was the 13th straight loss for the Wolves (15-35).
The Wolves never led. They were down 12 after the first quarter, within eight at the half, but down 19 entering the fourth quarter.
The Hawks got 38 points from Trae Young, 27 from John Collins and 14 from center Damian Jones.
The Wolves got 24 points from Andrew Wiggins, who led five players in double figures. Okogie had 23, Karl-Anthony Towns 21.
It was another difficult day on defense for the Wolves. The Hawks shot 52.4% overall and made 13 of 32 3-pointers (40.6 percent).
Down 11 late in the fourth, the Wolves mounted a comeback. Wiggins scored, then Towns had a three-point play with 1:25 left to pull the Wolves within 122-115. After a Hawks miss, Okogie scored on the break with 48.4 left and the lead was just five.
Out of a timeout the Hawks moved the ball until Vince Carter _ playing in his last game at Target Center _ hit a corner 3 with 34.1 seconds left to end the threat.
The Hawks got points from eight players in the first 12 minutes, making two-thirds of their shots in the first quarter, which ended with Atlanta up 12.
Collins had eight points, Young seven. Jeff Teague, making his first return to the Target Center since his trade, thanked the crowd for its warm welcome by blocking Wolves guard Jordan McLaughlin's dunk attempt. Atlanta ended the quarter on a 10-2 run to push a four-point lead with 3 minutes left in the quarter to 12 entering the second.
The Wolves were able to cut into that lead a little in the second quarter, thanks mainly to rookie Naz Reid, who scored 10 of the Wolves' 32 points in the quarter. He hit two 3-pointers and had a block in 7 minutes of playing time.
The Wolves were down 55-44 late in the first half, but Reid had eight points over the final 3:33 of the half as the Wolves cut the Hawks lead to 64-56 at the half.
Defense continued to be optional in the third quarter. The Wolves pulled within 67-60 on Jarrett Culver's basket early in the quarter. But the Hawks responded with an 18-5 run to push the lead to 85-65 on Jones' basket with 5:59 left in the quarter, forcing Saunders to call his second time out in 2 { minutes.
It didn't do much good. That lead grew to 96-77 by the end of the third quarter.
