February 1, 1998
The sad thing about Kevin Garnett’s early career is that his teams usually weren’t very good. That wasn’t quite true in 1998, when despite his incredible performance against the Bucks, the Wolves lost by eight at home to Ray Allen and Glenn Robinson‘s Bucks. The Bucks were actually nine wins worse than the Timberwolves that year, but it didn’t stop Milwaukee from winning that night.
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KG’s statistics from a lot of these games are almost unbelievable. Garnett posted 26 points, 12 rebounds, seven assists, three steals and a block in 37 minutes of action against the Bucks. He had an offensive rating of 153!
Minnesota was down by just one point heading into the final quarter, but the Bucks were the better team that game and they proved it. Even if KG was the best player in the game, he just didn’t have the support necessary to overcome Big Dog, who dropped 29 points on the Timberwolves.
The Wolves made the playoffs that year, but in what was the typical routine for them back then ended up losing in the first round. Milwaukee finished 10 games below .500, and ended up hiring George Karl in the offseason.