Timberwolves explode in third-quarter, dominate Bucks 129-105

MILWAUKEE – In Thursday’s 129-105 win over the Bucks, the Timberwolves looked more like the team they were in the opening months of the season than the team they had become of late.

They had a good defensive gameplan that they executed almost perfectly on Giannis Antetokounmpo, who had just 17 points, 14.1 below his season average.

While the night would have been more difficult had either Damian Lillard and Khris Middleton (both out because of ankle injuries) suited up, the Wolves (36-16) couldn’t help that. Like other nights earlier this season, they took advantage of the schedule luck in facing a shorthanded opponent and dominated.

“A lot of it was paying attention to our game plan and executing that,” point guard Mike Conley said. “There’s been nights where we come in with one thing and we get out there and we don’t communicate well and we give up easy buckets to the best player. I thought we made it a point tonight.”

They also had made it a point in the opening months of the season to crush teams in the third quarter, a trait that reappeared Thursday. The Wolves, who made the trade for Monte Morris official during the game, beat the Bucks 39-22 in the third to open up a 27-point lead. Building a lead and maintaining it, something the Wolves have struggled with of late, prevents the need to run late-game offense, something that has also given them fits.

In fact, according to the statistical website Cleaning the Glass, this was the Wolves’ most efficient night of offense on the season. They averaged 145.1 points per 100 possessions in non-garbage time minutes, besting their previous high of 136.

“It was really just being selfless,” Conley said. “Guys just moving the ball just to move it sometimes. But then understanding why we’re moving it. … That stuff we’ve just kind of been missing out on.”

Conley helped that effort by hitting 6-for-7 from three-point range for 18 points. Or to put it another way, Conley was “cash” according to center Naz Reid.

“That’s what he do,” Reid said. “Especially off the little sidestep screen. Cash.”

Almost everybody got in on the fun. Karl-Anthony Towns, who the league announced will take part in this year’s three-point contest, had 19. Rudy Gobert had 16 points on 8-for-9. Reid had 17 off the bench. Anthony Edwards led the way with 26 points and nine assists.

“It was pretty much just trying to find my teammates,” Edwards said. “Because if they making shots and I’m finding them, I know how their man think. ‘I don’t want my man to keep scoring. I got to get a little closer.’ "

BOXSCORE: Wolves 129, Milwaukee 105

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Then that opens up driving lanes for Edwards, who will be in All-Star Weekend’s Skills Competition, to do his thing off the dribble. It all worked seamlessly against a much-maligned Milwaukee defense, which ranked 18th in defensive efficiency coming into the night.

On the other end, Edwards had high praise for the defense of Towns, who took the challenge of guarding Antetokounmpo one-on-one at times.

“KAT, he took the challenge tonight. We’ve seen what he can do and it was impressive. He looked fantastic tonight on both sides of the ball. … He can move them big 20s. He’s strong enough to stand a post player up. He’s versatile.”

The Wolves also featured plenty of double teams on Antetokounmpo, but they were on string to rotate and recover to prevent too many open looks for Milwaukee. Former Wolves guard Malik Beasley, for instance, was 1-for-13. Jaden McDaniels, who exited late because of a left index finger sprain, even blocked him twice on one possession. Everything was finally going right in ways it hasn’t recently.

“I think the stat sheet doesn’t do justice to how well we played together as a team,” Towns said. “I think that what I really was impressed with, and that fans of the Wolves will be impressed by, when you see us playing today, you didn’t see any ego or anything like that. It was just about winning the game.”