Atlanta star center Dwight Howard deemed his tight back muscles better at this morning's shootaround at Philips Arena, but apparently not good enough.
He will miss his second consecutive game because of back tightness.
The Hawks went small without him on Monday at Oklahoma City, playing Paul Millsap at center and Kyle Korver as power forward in a game when Atlanta outlasted the Thunder at the end.
Tonight, the Hawks will start either Korver or Minnesota's Mike Muscala instead, depending on whether Atlanta coach Mike Budenholzer decides to go small or big.
The Wolves will go with their usual starting five.
The last time the Wolves played here in Atlanta, they led by 34 points early in the third quarter, trailed by a point with 3:41 left and then won the game with Andrew Wiggins and Karl-Anthony Towns leading the way during an 11-0 run that both ended and won the game.
When asked if he remembers the last time these two teams played in Atlanta, Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer said, "No, what happened?"
The Wolves led by 34 before the Hawks came roaring back, he was told.
