Down multiple horses, Milwaukee gets one of the best wins of the season
The ultra-shorthanded Milwaukee Bucks somehow, some way eked out a 103-101 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves. Gary Trent led the way for the Bucks with 21 points on 3/5 from three. For the Wolves, it was Anthony Edwards who starred with 28 points, four assists, and seven rebounds.
Game Recap
All told, the Bucks got off to quite a solid start. They generated decent looks at the rim and forced the Wolves into a whopping 12 turnovers. Brook led the squad early with seven points at the first timeout as the Bucks led 14-10. Anthony Edwards started to get going a little for Minnesota, but the Bucks responded with threes from Prince and Trent to expand the lead to eight at the next timeout. Trent knocked down another three, and Kuz got to the rim once more to give the Bucks a 36-24 edge after one.
The second quarter began with Trent flaring out off a pin-down screen, followed by a KPJ mid-range jumper. Both teams went cold for a few minutes before Wolves rookie Terrence Shannon Jr. got out in transition for his seventh point, which reduced the Bucks lead to 12. The Bucks then stopped moving the ball and went completely cold on offence, which is a trend that has happened a fair bit this year. Minnesota made them pay for it going on an 11-0 run. Finally, Lopez broke the drought with a wing jumper, and Kuz attacked the rim for free throws. It was an incredibly ugly quarter for the Bucks where they only scored 15 points but somehow led 51-50 at the main break.
The Bucks came out of the break on a 12-6 run behind two AJax buckets (including a pullup jumper!?) and two Prince threes. The offence from both teams was truly hilarious for a bit there, with the Wolves unable to make anything, while the Bucks resorted to running high pick-and-roll with Taurean Prince, LOL. The Bucks were then forced to go back to the lineup that really struggled in the second quarter, which did slightly better this time (there were still a bunch of mindless TOs). Bucks up 70-69 after three.
Milwaukee was able to unearth some offence between the couch cushions early in the fourth via buckets from Green, Trent, and Portis to give them a five-point lead heading into the first timeout. KPJ then hit his first three as a Buck and old friend Joe Ingles responded with a triple of his own. Jaden McDaniels and Anthony Edwards kept making crucial plays to keep the Wolves close, but the Bucks kept answering. Trent was massive down the stretch, showing zero fear. The Bucks then got multiple opportunities with a numbers advantage to score in the final minutes but couldn’t convert, only up one point with less than a minute to go. Naz Reid, of course, hit the go-ahead three, but Porter nailed the mid-range shot to tie it up. The Bucks got a stop on the next possession, and Brook got downhill for two free throws to put them up two. Then the Bucks got a crucial final stop and PULLED IT OUT. YEAH!
Stat That Stood Out
With Dame and Giannis out, the Bucks were going to need The Others to step up into primary roles. Luckily, Gary Trent Jr. and Kevin Porter Jr. were up to the task with a combined 32 points off the bench on 12/21 shooting.
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