Wolves stay perfect at Summer League, Jaylen Nowell, defense lead the way

Nowell, the third year guard out of Washington, finished with 26 points and six rebounds, while the defense once again shined in a win over Milwaukee.

August 14, 2021 at 12:04AM
Minnesota Timberwolves guard Jaylen Nowell (4) dribbled the ball past Memphis Grizzlies guard Tyus Jones (21) in the fourth quarter. ] ANTHONY SOUFFLE • anthony.souffle@startribune.com
Jaylen Nowell, shown here playing for the Wolves last season, finished with 26 points Friday at the NBA Summer League. (Anthony Souffle, Star Tribune/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Jaylen Nowell scored 26 points and the Timberwolves held the Bucks to 27.9% shooting as they continued their perfect start in Las Vegas at the NBA Summer League with a 91-64 win over Milwaukee.

Nowell, who was drafted in the second round of the 2019 NBA Draft, shot 11-for-22 from the field to go along with six rebounds, three assists and two steals for the Timberwolves (3-0). Jaden McDaniels added 17 points — on 7-for-12 shooting — five rebounds, three assists and two steals.

"I wanted to make sure that I could lead this team both on the defensive end and the offensive end, starting with defense, because you know I think that's what has been winning us games," Nowell said in an on-the-court interview for NBA TV after the game. "I wanted to make sure we came out, got like the first three stops, and after that we thought the offense was going to come this way, and it did."

Champlin Park's McKinley Wright IV did a little bit of everything for the Wolves with seven points, five rebounds, four assists and two steals. Jared Brownridge scored 12 points and went a perfect 4-for-4 from three.

After holding the Chicago Bulls to 59 points on 25% shooting Thursday, the Wolves Summer League team once again shined on defense. The Bucks made just 19 of 68 field goal attempts.

"Even when we have good defensive games, every day before out next game you know every off day we're watching film and seeing what we did wrong," Nowell said. "You know when you're winning a lot of times you think you're doing everything right. But when you watch that film and you correcting the mistakes, every single game it gets better and better."

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