The Timberwolves began the week with a healthy roster and three-game winning streak, a development so jarring that it made one fear a forthcoming apocalypse.

So brace yourself.

Flip Saunders welcomed this unusual circumstance by scheduling a Monday morning shootaround, a rarity for his team on the second leg of a back-to-back.

Saunders wanted to get his troops up and moving in anticipation of a visit by the Atlanta Hawks, the surprise team of the NBA's first half and owners of the league's best record.

Speaking of that apocalypse …

"That shows you the respect we have for them," guard Mo Williams said.

A three-game winning streak ended Monday to a Hawks team that's chasing Golden State for the NBA's best record.
Video (02:51): Wolves Daily: A 117-105 loss to Atlanta

The Wolves needed more than extra prep time to slow down that red-hot crew. In the absence of a true superstar, the Hawks roll out a collection of All-Stars and very good players that share the ball as unselfishly as any team in the NBA.

The Wolves made it competitive for one half, but the Hawks put on a clinic in offensive efficiency after halftime to school the Wolves 117-105 at Target Center.

Officially, the Hawks were credited with 26 assists. Felt more like 50.

"You're playing against a well-oiled machine that's been going for four months," Saunders said.

Conversely, the Wolves have been together for about four days, which is precisely what this portion of their season is all about: See what they can do now that they have a full complement of players for the first time since early November. (Apologies to injured 11th man Robbie Hummel.)

Prosperity remains a fleeting concept for this organization so something as small as a three-game winning streak should be embraced, even if it annoys those who buy into the silly notion of tanking.

Those who favor sustained losing in order to improve draft position voiced their displeasure/sarcasm once the Wolves began to show signs of life in the past week: Why start winning now? Why mess up a chance at more lottery ping-pong balls?

Why? Because winning still matters. Winning especially matters for a team that has tested fan patience to immeasurable depths and desperately needs to demonstrate that it is building toward something.

Sure, the tanking slogans are catchy:

"Stink more for Okafor!"

"Don't hustle, get Russell!"

"Tank for Towns!"

How about this one instead: "Win because winning beats losing and the Wolves aren't guaranteed to land the No. 1 pick with their terrible luck and cursed history anyway!"

Besides, have you checked the Wolves' daunting schedule coming out of the All-Star break? Fans shouldn't get carried away with the "winning-too-much" talk.

Anyway, barring more injuries, Saunders can evaluate his roster to figure out what works and what doesn't, who should be part of the nucleus moving forward and who needs to be replaced. That was an impossible task when injuries left Saunders with a patchwork lineup that didn't include Ricky Rubio, the team's motor.

"We want to compete every game," Rubio said. "The record doesn't mean anything when you step on the court."

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Timberwolves guard Ricky Rubio and forward Andrew Wiggins sat on the bench in the closing minutes of the Wolves' loss to Atlanta Monday night at Target Center.

Rubio was referring to his team's mindset when facing elite opponents, but that sentiment applies to the Wolves, too. The balance of the season revolves around trying to identify this team's potential.

The final two games before the All-Star break present a humbling litmus test — the Hawks on Monday and the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday. The best team in the Eastern Conference and the best team in the West, two squads that already have eclipsed 40 victories.

The Hawks won 19 consecutive games at one point (fifth-longest in NBA history) and put three players in the All-Star Game (Al Horford, Paul Millsap and Jeff Teague). As they demonstrated in the second half, they reside in a different class than the Wolves right now.

"It's one of those games in the season when you just run into a really good team that will expose everything you do wrong on the defensive and offensive end," guard Kevin Martin said.

Next up: The Warriors, the NBA's highest-scoring team.

The Wolves might get exposed further in that game too, but at least they have their full team available. They need to see how they measure up.

If they happen to win more games now and possibly hurt their draft lottery position, so what? Figure out what they have with this current roster and worry about the rest later.

Chip Scoggins • chip.scoggins@startribune.com