On January 20, Beijing time, the NBA regular season continued, and the Eagles faced the Timberwolves. The Timberwolves scored 42 points in the first quarter, creating a huge 16-point advantage, but then Beverley withdrew due to injury, Edwards was expelled with a disgruntled penalty, Towns' whistle ball was also blown off, and added malicious fouls and technical fouls. The Hawks won 45-20 by 25 points in the third quarter, and the Timberwolves' mentality completely collapsed, and finally the Hawks staged a big comeback, beating the Timberwolves 134-122.
【Statistics】
The Timberwolves Towns had 17 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists, Edwards had 20 points and five rebounds, Russell had 31 points and five assists, Beasley had 16 points and Vanderbilt had 10 points, nine rebounds and four steals.
Hawks Trae Young had 37 points and 14 assists, Collins had 17 points, 12 rebounds, Hunter 22 points and five rebounds, Okongu had 17 points, eight rebounds and five blocks, Hult had 12 points and six assists, and Gallinari had 15 points and five rebounds.
【Contest Review】
In the first quarter, Edwards, Vanderbilt and Russell combined to play a 7-0 small climax, Hunter hit a three-pointer, and then counter-attacked to take the points to help the Hawks catch up. But the Timberwolves' firepower was too fierce, Towns forced the basket, Russell dunked, Edwards also hit two three-point shots, and the gap between the two sides was gradually widened. At the end of the first quarter, the Timberwolves led by 16 points at 42-26.
In the second quarter, Gallinari hit a three-point shot and then sent a dunk, and his excellent performance helped the Eagles quickly chase the gap into single digits. Russell's three-point shot stopped the bleeding, Edwards also hit a retreat jumper, Trae Young made a three-point free throw, and then assisted Collins in the air dunk. But Edwards again made a three-point shot, and Towns ate the pie under the basket and broke Trae Young in the final attack. At halftime, the Timberwolves still led by 12 points at 73-61.
In another game, Trae Young hit two three-pointers in a row, followed by assisting Hunter's three-point shot, and the Hawks directly hit a 9-0 attack wave. Although Russell hit a jump shot in a hurry, he still couldn't wake up the Timberwolves. Huert and Collins went on consecutive dunks, Trae Young hit another three-pointer and assisted in Okongu's air connection. The leak came in the rain overnight, Edwards complained that the referee was still expelled, Trae Young scored consecutive free throws, and Okongu blocked Downs and attacked 2+1. The final attack, Downs, was whistled, but was blown malicious foul, he was dissatisfied with the penalty and also ate a technical foul, the Hawks consecutive free throws, the end of the third quarter, the Hawks 106-93 lead 13 points.
In the final quarter, the Timberwolves were distraught, Reid came up and made a mistake, Wright grabbed a quick dunk, and Gallinari made a three-point shot. Collins hit a quick dunk, Beasley and Russell each hit a three-pointer, Buttree Young also made a long-range shot, and Okongu also hit the basket. Although Towns and Russell struggled to cut points, the Eagles did not give the Timberwolves any more chances to eventually defeat their opponents.
【Both sides start】
Timberwolves: Beverly, Russell, Towns, Vanderbilt, Edwards
Eagles: Hunter, Trae Young, Collins, Okongu, Hult