Anthony Edwards scored 32 points in his hometown, Kyle Anderson had his third career triple-double, and the Minnesota Timberwolves cruised to a 136-115 victory over the Atlanta Hawks on Monday night.
Trae Young finished with 41 points for the Hawks, who dropped to 3-5 under new coach Quin Snyder and have lost four of six. Atlanta went 4 for 22 beyond the arc and handed out 17 assists compared to 39 for Minnesota.
Edwards, a former No. 1 overall draft pick who starred at Georgia and grew up in Atlanta, dazzled with several dunks, one of which put the Timberwolves up 91-67 midway through the third. The lead soon swelled to a game-high 28 on a layup by Mike Conley, who finished with 21 points.
Anderson scored 12 of his 14 points in the third and had 12 assists and 10 rebounds for Minnesota, which snapped a two-game skid. Jaden McDaniels scored 19 points.
Atlanta went on a 19-7 run to trim the lead to 13 with 7 minutes to go, but Edwards hit an alley-oop layup to push the lead back to 17 at the 6:19 mark, and the Hawks never closed within single digits.
Edwards had a pair of 3s late in the fourth quarter to close out his third straight 30-point game.
This matchup of 34-34 teams was all but decided early as the Timberwolves went on a 19-4 run to take a 31-17 lead in the first on Edwards’ layup at the 3:33 mark. Due in part to six Atlanta turnovers, Minnesota had a 13-0 advantage in fast-break points that early in the game. The Hawks gave up 40 points in the first quarter and trailed 51-31 on Jordan McLaughlin’s 3 early in the second.
The Timberwolves led 76-52 at halftime after the Hawks let the shot clock expire on their last offensive possession, and Edwards hit two of three free throws with 1 second to go.
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