Timberwolves at Bucks
Minnesota looks to snap its three-game road losing streak when the Timberwolves travel to Milwaukee to face the woeful Bucks on Saturday. The Timberwolves ended a two-game skid with an impressive 120-98 home win over Washington on Friday. The Bucks had center Larry Sanders for Friday's 104-93 loss at Brooklyn on Friday - his first game since Nov. 2 - but they still lost for the seventh time in eight games.
The Timberwolves have struggled to a 5-11 road record - a big reason they're on the wrong side of the Western Conference playoff bubble at the moment - but they won in their only trip to Milwaukee last season. Milwaukee has been awful regardless of the venue and has lost five of its last six at home. With Sanders back along with 6-11 forward John Henson, the Bucks are one of few teams that can match up with the Timberwolves' duo of Kevin Love and Nikola Pekovic in the post.
TV: 8:30 p.m. ET, FSN North (Milwaukee), FSN Wisconsin (Milwaukee)
ABOUT THE TIMBERWOLVES (14-15): Love (25.9 points, 13.8 rebounds) leads the NBA with 26 double-doubles, and he and Pekovic (17.4 points, nine rebounds) are a difficult duo to defend in the post. Kevin Martin (19.9 points) has been relatively quiet lately, averaging 11.9 points over the past seven games, but the Timberwolves are starting to get more from their bench. The reserves chipped in 44 points against the Wizards with J.J. Barea (17) and Alexey Shved (13) leading the way.
ABOUT THE BUCKS (6-23): Milwaukee has an exciting young player in rookie Giannis Antetokounmpo, who recorded his first career double-double with career highs in points (16) and rebounds (10) against the Nets. That's about the end of the excitement for the Bucks, who have the NBA's worst record and are one of the least efficient offensive teams in the league. They haven't been very good at the defensive end, either, but Sanders' presence in the paint should bring about a dramatic improvement.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Minnesota is 0-8 in games decided by four or fewer points.
2. Bucks PG Brandon Knight and SF Khris Middleton each have scored in double digits in seven straight games.
3. Love has recorded 10 or more rebounds in 18 of his last 19 games.