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Tuesday, Dec. 14 7:30pm ET
Mutombo perfect from the field | |||||
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ATLANTA (AP) -- Dikembe Mutombo was perfect from the field and pervasive under the boards. Mutombo shot 11-for-11 and had 27 points and 29 rebounds -- the most rebounds in an NBA game in almost two years -- in the Hawks' 105-94 win over the reeling Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday night.
"I was frustrated with the way I played over the weekend," said Mutombo, whose rebound total was the highest in the NBA since Dennis Rodman grabbed 29 for Chicago against Atlanta on Dec. 27, 1997. "I really didn't have patience with my performance -- especially the game in Cleveland. I told them tonight would be different, but this game was special. It's hard to believe." Mutombo's effort offset an outstanding night by Kevin Garnett, who had the sixth triple-double of the NBA season with 22 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists. Garnett, who did not take a foul shot, was coming off a horrible outing Saturday in which he missed 14 consecutive shots and committed eight turnovers. Asked if he thought of a possible quadruple-double after finishing with seven steals, Garnett shrugged. "With Mutombo going 50-for-50? Hell no," said Garnett, whose club lost its sixth straight game. "He played a super-duper game. Jimmy Jackson -- seems like he didn't miss a jumper all night. And then Isaiah (Rider) doing his thing, it's hard. "I don't think a quadruple-double would have saved the night." In recording the seventh 20-20 game of his nine-year NBA career, Mutombo upped his league-high rebounding average to 14.8. He had a career-high 31 against Charlotte in 1996. The Timberwolves were coming off a 104-76 defeat in which their 21-point second half matched the second-worst output in league history. Jackson added 23 points for the Hawks, who broke a two-game skid and won for the sixth time in their last eight games. Alan Henderson finished with 17 points. Rider, who entered as the NBA's fourth-leading scorer at 23.5 points per game, contributed 16 points -- all coming in the second half. Rider's first basket, a 3-pointer with 9:04 left in the third quarter, provided a 55-53 lead for the Hawks, who never trailed again. Mutombo, who had 10 points and 10 rebounds in the first quarter, helped the Hawks outrebound the Timberwolves 60-39. Rider finished with nine rebounds, and 11 of Mutombo's 29 boards came on the offensive end. "There were a couple of games there where he went flat. He works so hard you expect that from time to time," Atlanta coach Lenny Wilkens said of Mutombo, who scored a total of 14 points in the Hawks' two previous losses. "But he really came back. He came back with a vengeance -- every rebound it seemed like he got." All five of Minnesota's starters scored in double figures, led by Garnett, Terrell Brandon, who finished with 16 points, and Anthony Peeler, who had 15. After a layup by Peeler cut the Hawks' lead to 64-61 with 5:38 left in the third, Atlanta pulled away. The Timberwolves trailed by at least eight points throughout the fourth quarter. "Chemistry sort of has to harden, so to speak," Garnett said. "We're lacking in chemistry. It just hasn't jelled yet. We're struggling right now -- going through a time where it's not easy."
Game notes | ALSO SEE NBA Scoreboard Minnesota Clubhouse Atlanta Clubhouse RECAPS Utah 101 Washington 80
Atlanta 105
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