After a grueling week that included five games in seven nights and two back-to-backs, the Timberwolves got back to a normal scheduling rhythm as they kicked off the week against the Milwaukee Bucks. Minnesota took down Milwaukee in a preseason matchup as the Bucks have continued to try to find themselves in their post-Giannis era. They've had a lot of difficulty starting the season, including losing their last two games by 20+ points.
An already depleted Timberwolves roster was down another rotation player in Terrence Shannon Jr., due to a hip contusion, as the injury bug has found its way to the Twin Cities. The border battle clash always provides a little extra fuel, even when the teams are in opposing conferences.
Advertisement
LaMelo Ball, looking frustrated from his recent struggles, came out flame-throwing as the Bucks played drop and allowed him free rein to shoot behind physical Rudy Gobert screens. Ball drove the offense, hitting nothing but nylon on the majority of his shots. He drove the offense for the beginning of the game.
After a half-hearted defensive stretch led to some Bucks triples, Jaylen Clark and Joan Beringer came in and slammed the door. Minnesota kept the defensive intensity up but struggled to put the ball in the hoop after Ball went to the bench, but they maintained a 29-18 advantage after the first 12 minutes.
LaMelo Ball continued to drive the offense as he scored half of their first-half points while being aggressive in looking for his shot. Sloppy rebounding allowed Milwaukee to get back into the game as they closed the gap throughout the quarter.
Advertisement
There were a few stretches where Minnesota lost focus, and it allowed the Bucks to crawl their way back. The sloppiness persisted, and Tyler Herro hit back-to-back threes to close the second as the Bucks sliced into the double-digit Timberwolves advantage and cut the lead to one point.
The Bucks killed the Timberwolves on the glass and created second-chance points. They led that category 16 to 5 at the half.
LaMelo Ball scored 24 points while Jaden McDaniels trailed far behind as the next highest scorer with seven points. Dosunmu filled up the stat sheet in the other categories with seven rebounds and five assists.
Jaden McDaniels started the quarter off on the wrong foot as he got two fouls in the first 20 seconds of the third that sent him to the bench. Ayo Dosunmu took the baton from LaMelo Ball to start the quarter as he was bowling his way to the rim and finishing with feather-like touch. Tyler Herro matched that output as he stayed hot from his close to the second quarter, as the Timberwolves offense sputtered on the other end. The Bucks were getting too easy of looks as the game went back and forth during the period. Trey Lyles also left his mark, scoring 10 points in the third quarter.
Advertisement
It was a close start to the 4th quarter before Joan Beringer and Jaylen Clark gave the Timberwolves a shot in the arm. The Bucks were on a cold streak that Minnesota couldn't seem to shake for much of the game before this point. Those two helped to get some separation and grew the lead to double digits.
Milwaukee decided that they couldn't score with Rudy Gobert out there, nor were they able to stop the Timberwolves' offense, so they deployed the hack-a-Rudy strategy. That somewhat worked for them, as they were able to get Gobert out of the game, but Minnesota battened down the hatches and knocked down a few triples to close out the game for a 112-100 victory.
LaMelo Ball's Aggressiveness
The Timberwolves themselves were reeling after the Anthony Edwards injury as they did not know who was next up in the team's hierarchy. There were multiple quotes that emphasized this sentiment, but it was always clear who would need to step up with their pack leader sidelined: LaMelo Ball.
Advertisement
Ball struggled initially taking the reins of the team that needed him to have his playmaking take a step back so his shooting could take the shine. He struck that balance in this one. He came out of the gates against the Bucks scorching hot, and kept the pedal down for the entire game.
LaMelo had half of the team's points at halftime and found ways to get his shot off while also finding ways to beat his man off the dribble and take it all the way to the basket. He scored 34 points on 12/21 shooting while adding a 6/13 day from beyond the arc. The fouls almost caught up to him in the second half, but his shooting aggressiveness is exactly what this offense needed.
Ayo Dosunmu's Utility Duties
Ayo Dosunmu is a jack of all trades while being a master at diving at the rim and finishing with a soft touch. While LaMelo was focused on putting the ball in the hoop in this one, Ayo took his role as a facilitator, setting up his fellow Wolves with easy looks all around.
Advertisement
He scored 19 points, added 12 rebounds and 8 assists in a stat-sheet-stuffing night. He is the king of scaling his game up and down to fit whatever the team needs, and did that in the third quarter tonight. When LaMelo was struggling to get going, and the Bucks were fighting back, he calmly took the ball and used his patented straight-line driving and love tapping off the glass to stem the Milwaukee tide.
He is a key part of the Ant-less Timberwolves, and more games where he finds himself all over the court will do the Timberwolves well in this stretch.
Up Next
The Timberwolves travel south for a matchup against the rugged Houston Rockets (6-1). That game can be streamed on DAZN at 7:30 pm CST.
Game Highlights
