Bucks sink Timberwolves
MILWAUKEE -- Karl-Anthony Towns scored 35 points, but the Milwaukee Bucks pulled away late for a 102-95 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday night, extending their winning streak to a season-high six games.
Towns hit 14 of 21 shots from the field, including three 3-pointers, and grabbed 14 rebounds with two blocked shots in 40 minutes.
Point guard Ricky Rubio added 22 points and Andrew Wiggins finished with 11 for the Timberwolves, who shot 45.7 percent from the floor and went 5 of 13 on 3-pointers.
Tony Snell and Matthew Dellavedova both made four 3-pointers to finish with 19 and 16 points, respectively, for the Bucks.
Giannis Antetokounmpo added 18 points, four rebounds and seven assists and Greg Monroe contributed 12 points off the bench with six rebounds for Milwaukee.
The Bucks shot 46.3 percent from the field, made 8 of 20 3-point attempts and went 20 of 23 from the free throw line.
The Bucks made just one of their first eight attempts from the floor but overcame 39.1 percent shooting to take a 23-19 lead after one quarter.
Towns scored 10 of his 16 first-half points in the second quarter to tie the score at 48 heading into halftime.
Minnesota hit 10 of 18 shots from the field in the third quarter, including three 3-pointers, but Milwaukee closed out strong, getting a 3-pointer from Snell with 1:35 left to take a 76-75 lead through three quarters.
A 9-2 run to open the fourth quarter allowed Milwaukee to stretch the lead to 85-77. Minnesota clawed back, drawing within a bucket on a Rubio floater with 2:48 left. But the Timberwolves missed their next six shots and the Bucks closed it out by going 5 of 6 at the line in the final 22 seconds.
NOTES: Milwaukee was without PG Malcolm Brogdon (back) and F Mirza Teletovic (hamstring) for a second consecutive night. ... The Bucks have limited their last five opponents to fewer than 100 points, a season-long streak. During that stretch, the Bucks' opponents have shot 45.3 percent from the field and 27 percent from 3-point range. The Bucks are 18-4 this season when holding opponents to fewer than 100 points. ... Minnesota snapped a four-game losing streak to Milwaukee earlier this season with a 117-95 victory in Minneapolis. But the Timberwolves have lost two in a row in Milwaukee.