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MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 33 points and 13 rebounds to help the milwaukee dollars emerged from the All-Star break with a 112-107 victory over the minnesota wolves Friday night.
Minnesota tied Oklahoma City for the lead in the Western Conference at 39-17. The Thunder Washington defeated 147-106 the previous Friday.
Anthony Edwards hit three 3-pointers in the final 1:58 to give the Wolves one last chance after falling behind by 17 points late in the third quarter, but Damian Lillard iced the win for the Bucks with a 21-foot-10 shot. 3 seconds left. for the advantage of five points.
“You can’t get too caught up in mistakes. I knew they were going to go down eventually,” said Lillard, who had 21 points, 10 assists and a season-high nine rebounds to eclipse an 8-of-23 shooting night and help the Bucks (36-21) improve to just 4 -7. under new coach Doc Rivers.
Malik Beasley scored all 14 of his points in the third, as the Bucks outscored the Wolves 36-13.
“We have to be better,” coach Chris Finch said. “We were trying hard, but we weren’t smart.”
Karl-Anthony Towns (22 points, 14 rebounds) and Rudy Gobert (12 points, 19 rebounds) helped the Wolves build a 32-14 point lead on second chances, but their sloppy third quarter was too much to overcome.
“We had great energy,” Bucks center Brook Lopez said.
With two All-Stars on each side and both coaching staffs representing each conference in the league’s midseason showcase this past weekend, ESPN picked up this game for a national broadcast in the late-night window. The crowd, including many Bucks fans, seized the moment.
Beasley, the corner sharpshooter who spent two-plus seasons with the Wolves before going to Utah in the Gobert trade two summers ago and changing teams twice more, didn’t take a single shot in the first half. Rivers even held up the stat sheet in the locker room to emphasize that issue, and ball movement was the key to the play. Beasley hit four 3-pointers in the third, fueling a 23-4 run in a 4:41 stretch and striking a pose after the fourth with a backflip to punctuate the 87-70 lead.
“That opens the door to perform well down the stretch, where guys aren’t expected to take a random shot,” Lillard said.
The Bucks, while still solidly in third place in the Eastern Conference, are trying to find your balance under Rivers after the surprising mid-season change. Three-time All-Star Khris Middleton missed his sixth straight game with a sprained left ankle, further hampering the effort.
Lillard, who was the All-Star Game MVP and champion of last weekend’s three-point shooting contest, has yet to find his groove alongside Antetokounmpo on his new team. He entered the night shooting 34.1% from 3-point range, the second-lowest rate in his 12 NBA seasons, and was just 2-of-8 in this game.
Lopez, who finished with 16 points, hit all four of his 3-pointers in the first quarter to give the Bucks an early spark. Antetokounmpo started in the second. Beasley then took over the third.
“You have to be able to lean on your defense down the stretch and our guys are starting to believe that,” Rivers said.
The Wolves, playing their first of seven straight home games, showed the dreaded post-break rust for most of the game.
“I think I probably came out too comfortable in the second half,” Edwards said.
UNTIL NEXT TIME
Bucks: Visit Philadelphia on Sunday. Rivers coached the 76ers the previous three seasons.
Timberwolves: Host Brooklyn on Saturday.
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NBA AP: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA
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