Wolves Hold On To Beat Struggling Hawks 108-103

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Nikola Pekovic is bulldozing the paint and Ricky Rubio is ready to start ramping up his minutes, giving the Minnesota Timberwolves hope that they can withstand another long stretch without All-Star forward Kevin Love.

Larry Drew’s Atlanta Hawks have hit the skids after a superb start to the season, prompting the coach to label them “soft,” which never sits very well with professional athletes.

Pekovic had 25 points and a career-high 18 rebounds, Andrei Kirilenko added 21 points and the Timberwolves beat the Hawks 108-103 on Tuesday night.

Derrick Williams scored 17 points and Alexey Shved had 15 for the Timberwolves, who were missing coach Rick Adelman due to personal reasons and will be without Love for the foreseeable future while he deals with a broken right hand for the second time this season. Terry Porter filled in as coach and led the Wolves to their first victory over Atlanta since 2006, snapping an 11-game skid.

Josh Smith had 21 points and 13 rebounds and Al Horford had 19 points and 11 boards for the Hawks, who have lost three straight and four of their last five. They lost for the first time this year when Smith and Horford each get a double-double.

Rubio had eight assists, four steals and four points in 18 minutes in his first game back after missing the previous four with back spasms. He returned from a torn left ACL in the middle of last month and has had to deal with groin and back problems during his comeback. But he said he’s eager to see how his body responds on Wednesday night in Oklahoma City when he plays in games on consecutive days for the first time since his knee injury.

Lou Williams finished with 21 points and eight assists for the Hawks, who trailed by 14 to start the fourth but had a chance to tie the game in the closing seconds.

Dante Cunningham then stole the inbounds pass and Luke Ridnour knocked down two free throws to seal the win.

The Wolves have been the worst 3-point shooting team in the league virtually all season, but they hit 8 of 15 against the Hawks to get a big win before a four-game road trip.

While the Heat and Knicks grabbed all the headlines in the first two months of the season, the Hawks quietly put together a solid start that kept them right on their heels. They won 19 of their first 28 games, beating the likes of Oklahoma City, Indiana (twice), the Clippers and Memphis along the way. But they lost at Detroit and home against Boston in a back-to-back last weekend, scoring just nine points in the third quarter against the Celtics.

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