NBA Game Summary - Minnesota at Atlanta

04.5.2006

Atlanta, GA (Basketball News) - Josh Childress converted a layup at the buzzer, lifting the Atlanta Hawks to a 101-99 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Joe Johnson led Atlanta with 24 points, five rebounds and five assists. Josh Smith had 17 points and a team-high 15 rebounds in the victory, while Tyronn Lue added 16 points. Zaza Pachulia chipped in with 15 points for the Hawks, who snapped a three-game slide.

"It was a total team effort and a great win for us," Lue said. "Hopefully we can continue to play this way."

Ricky Davis paced Minnesota in defeat with a game-high 33 points on 13-of-21 shooting from the floor. Kevin Garnett added 27 points and 15 rebounds, as he extended his double-double streak to 32 games. Rashad McCants tallied 14 points, as the Timberwolves dropped their 13th straight game on the road.

With the Hawks ahead 99-97 with six seconds remaining in the fourth quarter, Childress missed the second of two free throws which was rebounded by Garnett. After a Minnesota timeout, Davis took the ball to the hoop and made a layup with 2.1 seconds left to tie the game at 99-99. With no timeouts left for either team, Atlanta got the ball to Childress, who connected on a layup at the buzzer for the victory. Childress scored nine of his 10 points in the fourth quarter.

"It was confusing to be honest, whatever you want to call it," Davis said of the last play of the game. "I think everybody was surprised they didn’t call timeout. I don’t even know if they had any timeouts. You’ve got to know that coming into the game like that."

The Timberwolves opened the game with a 16-6 run and held a 32-19 lead at the end of the first quarter. Garnett scored 12 points on 5-of-6 shooting from the floor in the period.

The Hawks simply dominated the second quarter, as they used a 26-4 run to overcome a 15-point deficit and take a 47-40 lead into the break. Minnesota made just 3-of-16 shots from the field in the frame.

In the third quarter, Minnesota fought back and behind a Davis layup with two seconds left it was able to grab a slim 67-65 lead heading into the final frame.

Minnesota is now 3-26 in its last 29 games on the road...The Timberwolves have not won a road game since upsetting Phoenix on February 6th...Atlanta has now won three straight over Minnesota at home...The eight points allowed by the Hawks in the second quarter for a franchise low for that quarter...Al Harrington sat out the game for the Hawks with a strained chest...The two teams will meet again on Sunday.

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