Final
  for this game

Timberwolves try for rare win over Hawks

Jan 8, 2013 - 3:36 PM (Sports Network) - The Minnesota Timberwolves will carry on without All-Star power forward Kevin Love on Tuesday night when they host the Atlanta Hawks at the Target Center.

Love re-broke the third metacarpal in his right hand against the Denver Nuggets on Thursday. He will out an extended period of time after missing a chunk of the beginning of the season with the same injury.

Love will consult with a hand specialist in New York, but he will be gone for several weeks.

"We don't have anything definitive yet. He'll still confer with the doctor in New York, but we don't have a game plan," said Wolves General Manager David Kahn.

In the first full game without Love, the T-Wolves fell, at home, to the Portland Trail Blazers on Saturday night, 102-97. Not only was Love on the sidelines, but Ricky Rubio missed his fourth straight game with back spasms.

Rubio practiced on Monday, but his return Tuesday night is questionable.

"I feel good, a little tired," Rubio said after practice Monday. "A week without practicing, but I don't have pain in the back or pain in the knee. So I feel good."

Six Wolves scored in double-digits against the Blazers, led by Nikola Pekovic. He had 21 points and 15 rebounds and Dante Cunningham, who started in Love's place, also registered a double-double.

There was a Derrick Williams sighting Saturday. The second pick in the 2011 NBA Draft netted 18 points in just under 18 minutes.

Times will remain tough for the Wolves. The Hawks have won 11 straight against Minnesota, but are coming in to Tuesday night's contest on the ropes a bit.

The Hawks have lost two in a row and three of their last four.

Their most recent setback came at home on Saturday night to the Boston Celtics, 89-81. The Hawks shot 41 percent from the field and 34.5 percent from the 3-point line. Atlanta was sloppy with the ball, turning it over 21 times.

The poor play prompted a team meeting on Monday.

"I didn't feel good going into the meeting, particularly because we lost the game, but after the meeting I felt so, so much better than I did after the game," said head coach Larry Drew. "It was a very productive meeting. We were able to talk about some things."

Including Tuesday, the Hawks play five of their next seven on the road.

The Hawks haven't lost to the Timberwolves since Apr. 9, 2006.