MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Giannis Antetokounmpo had 33 points and 13 rebounds to help. milwaukee bucks Exit All-Star break with 112-107 win minnesota timberwolves on Friday night.
Minnesota moved into a tie with Oklahoma City for the Western Conference lead at 39–17. thunder defeated washington 147-106 first Friday.
Anthony Edwards made three 3-pointers in the final 1:58, giving the Wolves a late chance after trailing by 17 points in the third quarter, but Damian Lillard tied it for the Bucks with a 21-foot pullup with 10.3 seconds remaining. Stopped it. For a five point lead.
“You can’t let yourself get caught up in mistakes. I knew eventually they would fall,” said Lillard, who had 21 points, 10 assists and a season-high nine rebounds, finishing the night on 8-23 shooting and leading the Bucks (36-21) to only Helped improve to 4-7. Under new coach Doc Rivers.
Malik Beasley scored all 14 of his points in the third as the Bucks defeated the Wolves 36–13.
“We have to get better,” coach Chris Finch said. “We were hustling, but we weren’t fast.”
Karl-Anthony Towns (22 points, 14 rebounds) and Rudy Gobert (12 points, 19 rebounds) helped the Wolves take a 32–14 second-chance points advantage, but their poor third quarter was very difficult to overcome.
“We had great energy,” Bucks center Brook Lopez said.
With two All-Stars on each side and both coaching staffs representing each conference in the league’s midseason showcase last weekend, ESPN caught this game for a national broadcast in the late night window. The crowd, including many Bucks fans, matched the moment.
Beasley, a streaky corner shooter who spent more than two seasons with the Wolves and changed teams twice before going to Utah in the Gobert trade two summers ago, didn’t take a shot in the first half. Rivers even kept a stat sheet in the locker room to emphasize that problem, and that ball movement was the key to the rally. Beasley made four 3-pointers in the third, a 23-4 run over a 4:41 period, and hit a layup with a backside wiggle to take an 87-70 lead after the fourth.
“It opens the door to performing well at a lower level, where guys aren’t just expected to make shots,” Lillard said.
The Bucks, however, are still in third place in the Eastern Conference. trying to find my feet After down the rivers Surprising mid-season switch, Three-time All-Star Khris Middleton missed his sixth consecutive game with a left ankle sprain, further hampering the effort.
Lillard, who was All-Star Game MVP And the winner of last weekend’s 3-point shooting contest still hasn’t found his place ahead of Antetokounmpo on his new team. He entered the evening shooting 34.1% from 3-point range, the second-lowest rate in his 12 seasons in the NBA, and made only 2 of 8 in the game.
Lopez, who finished with 16 points, made all four of his 3-pointers in the first quarter to give the Bucks an early spark. Antetokounmpo continued his drive in the second. Then Beasley took over third.
“You have to be able to rely on your defense and our guys are starting to believe that,” Rivers said.
Wolves, playing their first of seven consecutive home games, showed a fierce fight after the break for most of the game.
“I probably got a little too comfortable in the second half, I feel like,” Edwards said.
next
Bucks: Visit Philadelphia on Sunday. Rivers coached the 76ers the past three seasons.
Timberwolves: Host Brooklyn on Saturday.
,
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA
