In a five-game stretch in which the Milwaukee Bucks play the top four teams in the Western Conference, they got off to the worst possible start, losing at home to the Minnesota Timberwolves by nearly 40 points. Giannis was a dim bright spot for the Bucks, scoring 25 points, grabbing eight rebounds, and dishing out five assists, but he also had seven turnovers. Julius Randle had 29 points to lead all scorers, while Bones Hyland had 23 points off the bench.
Game Recap
It was a rough start for the Bucks offensively. They went just 3/8 from the field and 0/2 from three in the first five minutes of the game, allowing the Timberwolves to get out to an early 12-6 lead. After Jaden McDaniels finished off a lob, Doc Rivers called for a timeout. That seemed to stabilize the Bucks, as they took advantage of some Timberwolves turnovers to bring the game back within three points. Giannis checked out with 4:39 left, and it went about as expected when the Bucks have been without Giannis. They ended the period -15 with him out, and found themselves down by 18, 20-38, after the first quarter had expired.
Minnesota kept up their high-percentage shooting to begin the second quarter. They started the frame going 6/8 and expanded their lead to 22 before Doc called another timeout. Even with Giannis playing the entire second quarter, it didn’t matter, as the Bucks had no answer on either end of the court for the Timberwolves. Minnesota had their way with the Bucks, whether it was from three (5/8) or from the paint (11/17). Julius Randle had 24 points at halftime on 10/14 shooting, leading the Timberwolves to a 31-point lead, 76-45.
The Bucks tried to recreate some of the magic they had the last time they hosted the Timberwolves. After trading baskets early, the Bucks went on a 10-1 run, inching the game closer as they trailed by 22 points. Milwaukee was able to get it under 20 for a moment, but that’s as close as they got in the frame. The Bucks trailed by 20 with 5:56 left when they subbed Giannis out for a rest, as he’d played 18 straight minutes. In the three minutes Giannis was out, the Bucks were a -7, falling behind by 27 points. Things didn’t shift much once Giannis re-entered for the final 2:45 of the quarter, as the Bucks went into the final quarter of regulation down by 28 points, 106-78.
The game was far out of reach, but the Bucks left Giannis for around the first three minutes of the final frame to see if they could get something going. Minnesota slammed any chance of a comeback down quickly, going 4/6 early to put their lead back up to 31 points. That was it from the normal rotational players for the Bucks, as Doc threw in Amir Coffey, Cole Anthony, Andre Jackson Jr, and Pete Nance as the clean-up crew. Thanasis joined them shortly after that, bringing a rare cheer from the crowd, which had been mostly joyless for most of the game. AJax did have a nice dunk in garbage time, one of the few “good things” to happen tonight.
Stat That Stood Out
-22. That’s what the Bucks were when Giannis was off the floor prior to real garbage time. Granted, the Timberwolves shot incredibly well from the floor in the first three quarters, but being a -22 in 7:50 without him on the floor is unacceptable. They weren’t good with him on the floor either, as Giannis ended the night -11, but that was in 31 minutes of action.
