Oct 23, 2015; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Minnesota Timberwolves guard Tyus Jones (1) plays defense on Milwaukee Bucks guard Rashad Vaughn (20) in the fourth quarter at Target Center. The Minnesota Timberwolves beat the Milwaukee Bucks 112-108. Mandatory Credit: Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports
Pre-season games don’t often come more entertaining than that. Unfortunately for the Bucks, they ended up on the short end of a 112-108 decision to the Minnesota Timberwolves in the pre-season finale.
Khris Middleton flashed moments of offensive brilliance. He spent a lot of time in iso and had no trouble putting the ball in the basket out of those sets. That’s obviously a good thing for Bucks faithful.
He finished with 19 points on 6-11 shooting in just 25 minutes. Efficient, effective destruction.
Middleton’s future-owning partner, Giannis Antetokounmpo, had himself a nice ball game as well. He flew around the court as if propelled by a rocket pack en route to leading the team in most major statistical categories.
His 23 points, seven rebounds, two steals, and three blocks led all Bucks players.
With Michael Carter-Williams getting the night off, Jerryd Bayless stepped in seamlessly and scored 18 points in 31 minutes before fouling out.
His replacement, Greivis Vasquez, was able to add 11 points–the most impressive of which coming on a teardrop three-pointer to end the third quarter.
The Timberwolves’ Andrew Wiggins scored 24 points (including 3-4 from three) and Karl-Anthony Towns added 18 as the T-Wolves used a late 13-2 run to pull away from the visitors.
All is well in Bucks land, however–Giannis and Middleton both looked great. And while Greg Monroe had a ho-hum game (5 points on 2-12 shooting) that’s nothing to sell the farm over.
No one savors losing…but the bite hurts much less when: A) Your top players look good, B) The game counts for less than a used napkin, and C) The T-Wolves are fun to watch too.
Let’s take a more in depth look at the positives and negatives of this (hallelujah!) pre-season finale.
Next: Reactions: The Good