Minnesota was slow out of the gates for the second straight contest Monday in Atlanta.

And it simply doesn’t have the firepower to overcome that, or any other deficiency.

The Timberwolves fell 117-104 to the Hawks, marking their third straight defeat. For the 14th straight game, Minnesota failed to score 110 points in regulation.

The offense doomed Minnesota down the stretch Monday.

The Wolves (14-14) led by two after a Naz Reid layup with 10 minutes, 44 seconds to play.. They then proceeded to score nine points over the next nine-plus minutes while the Hawks rained down triples, the last of which came on a runner from Trae Young — who finished with 29 points and seven assists — to put Atlanta up 117-100 in the final two minutes.

Wolves coach Chris Finch noted Minnesota blew a couple switches in the closing minutes defensively that allowed Young to get loose.

The Hawks (15-15) entered the night as losers of three straight, and they certainly didn’t play a clean game against Minnesota. Atlanta turned the ball over 23 times. But the Wolves committed 21 giveaways of their own to even the scales. And all Minnesota was able to do when Atlanta was at its worst was pull even after a rough start.

The Wolves were trailing 27-9 after the first 10 minutes of play as the starting five continues to fail to set a positive tone on a night-to-night basis. Finch said “everything is on the table” when asked about potential changes to the starting lineup, but added all lineup combinations will continue to be analyzed.

The Wolves clawed back to take a 55-52 lead into the break. But offensive success continues to be sporadic for this team.

Minnesota found offense in the form of second-chance points (19) and points off turnovers (26). Success in the half-court offense was fleeting. A continued theme for Minnesota continues to be missed open shots. The Wolves did generate those, particularly in the second half. But Minnesota shot just 32 percent from 3-point range, going 1 for 8 from deep in the final frame.

“We couldn’t finish around the rim again, turned it over at a high level to start the game, got down,” Finch told reporters. “We start the fourth, and it just became a shot-making contest. We missed about five wide-open shots, and they made theirs at the other end of the floor, and then turnovers hurt us late.”

Finch also cited little plays coming back to bite Minnesota, such as when the Wolves got a fastbreak layup with 1.2 seconds to play in the third quarter to go up five, only to allow the Hawks to execute a full-court pass for a layup to answer on the other end at the buzzer.

Those types of lapses are inexcusable. But they’re also amplified right now at a time when Minnesota’s offensive struggles have left it with little to no margin for error.

Julius Randle finished with 19 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists, but also had seven turnovers. Anthony Edwards continues to be sans any type of rhythm. He went 7 for 20 from the field with five turnovers of his own.

The Wolves head into a Christmas Day showdown with Dallas with no momentum and many questions. The search for answers will continue Wednesday on a national stage.

Briefly

Edwards was fined $75,000 for criticizing the officials after Minnesota’s loss to Golden State on Saturday, with the NBA also citing the excessive profanity included in his postgame comments.

Trae Young #11 of the Atlanta Hawks drives against Nickeil Alexander-Walker #9 of the Minnesota Timberwolves during the first quarter at State Farm Arena on Dec. 23, 2024 in Atlanta, Georgia. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)