Bucks 116, Timberwolves 101
MILWAUKEE -- Khris Middleton made eight 3-pointers and Giannis Antetokounmpo barely missed a triple-double in the Milwaukee Bucks' 116-101 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves Friday night at the Bradley Center.
Middleton finished with 32 points, crossing the 30-point mark for the third time in four games, while making 11 of 16 shots from the field and eight of nine from beyond the arc.
He is the first Bucks player to hit eight treys in a game since Carlos Delfino accomplished the feat on March 18, 2011. Ray Allen still holds the top mark in franchise history, making 10 against Charlotte on April 14, 2002.
Middleton made four in the second quarter alone, as Milwaukee erased a six-point deficit by going 13 of 26 from the field and scoring 16 off 10 Timberwolves turnovers.
Up six at the break, the Bucks blew things open in the third quarter, going up by as many as 27 with 14 points coming off eight Timberwolves turnovers.
But Minnesota's bench had its way against the Bucks' lackluster second unit and turned a 17-point deficit into a seven-point game with five minutes to play.
The Timberwolves' run forced Bucks coach Jason Kidd to go back to Antetokounmpo, Middleton and Jabari Parker to close it out.
O.J. Mayo stopped the surge with a 3-pointer to put Milwaukee back up, 10 and the Bucks outscored the Timberwolves 14-6 the rest of the way.
While Middleton was burning the nets, Antetokounmpo added 27 points with 12 rebounds and nine assists. Parker continued his solid run following the All-Star break, chipping in with 16 points, six rebounds and four assists, while Greg Monroe came off the bench and hit six of six shots to finish with 14 points and nine rebounds.
Karl-Anthony Towns led Minnesota with 21 points while Zach LaVine added 10.
Shabazz Muhammad scored 17 off the bench for the Timberwolves, who gave up 41 points on 26 turnovers while shooting 48.3 percent from the field.
NOTES: A sore left knee forced Milwaukee PG Michael Carter-Williams to sit out for a third consecutive game. Carter-Williams has yet to return to practice. ... SG O.J. Mayo remained in the Bucks' starting lineup despite his recent scoring struggles. In nine games since returning from a hamstring injury, Mayo is averaging just 4.9 points on 36 percent shooting from the field. ... Minnesota head coach Sam Mitchell was an assistant with the Bucks from 2000 to 2004. ... C Karl-Anthony Towns began the day second among NBA rookies with a scoring average 17.3 points per game, the second highest on the Minnesota roster. ... The Timberwolves have lost three straight games to the Bucks, including two in a row at Bradley Center.