Limping to All-Star break, Timberwolves hope Hawks can cure ills

The Minnesota Timberwolves have two games left before the NBA All-Star break.

That's not much time to snap out of weeklong slump.

Minnesota will try to bounce back on short rest when it tips off against the Atlanta Hawks on Monday night in Minneapolis. The Timberwolves are coming off a 115-96 loss at home against the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday afternoon.

The setback marked the Timberwolves' third loss in the past four games. Rudy Gobert called out the team's effort level on defense after a recent loss, and coach Chris Finch told reporters he addressed the topic internally and regretted that Gobert had made it public.

For his part, Timberwolves top scorer Anthony Edwards said the team's latest loss did not seem to be the result of a lack of effort.

"I felt like we had good energy (Sunday)," said Edwards, who averages 29.8 points per game. "I felt like the offense just wasn't going for us, especially for myself. I have nothing to say about our defense. I thought we did a pretty good job (against the Clippers), it's just, we couldn't score the ball."

Minnesota will try to bounce back against a Hawks team that has won two of its past three games but is coming off a 126-119 home loss against the Charlotte Hornets on Saturday.

Jalen Johnson finished with 31 points, nine rebounds and eight assists for Atlanta. He leads the team at 23.4 points per game on 50.2% shooting from the field in 49 games this season.

Johnson said he always looks for a way to get involved in the game, even if the first half does not always go the way that he wants.

"I might miss my first couple shots in the game, and other guys might have it going, so that opens up for me to play-make," Johnson said. "Obviously, when the time is right, I pick my spots. I'll be aggressive when I need to be, and that approach has helped me to stay even keel when I'm not shooting the ball well to start the game."

This is the second and final meeting between the Timberwolves and Hawks during the regular season. The first game took place Dec. 31 in Atlanta, where the Hawks rolled to a 126-102 win thanks to Johnson's game-high 34 points on 15-for-22 shooting.

Finch said he has confidence the Timberwolves can find a way to win on their home court. He said a key ingredient to success would be moving the ball on offense and finding the open man.

"We've got to get our offense going," Finch said. "We had a lot of turnovers (Sunday). We've got to get some kind of rhythm and speed to our offense.

"Guys are kind of not getting included in the offense enough. I think we get some connectivity from that. We don't have a great spirit about us right now; we've got to pick it up. Try to finish these last two games strong before the break."