Anthony Edwards #5 of the Minnesota Timberwolves goes up for a shot against the Milwaukee Bucks in the first quarter at Target Center on February 23, 2024 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. ((Photo by David Berding/Getty Images))
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - If the Minnesota Timberwolves are going to earn the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference and make a playoff run, they’ll need a much better effort than what they gave in a 112-107 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks Friday night at Target Center.
Most of the team had a week off with the NBA All-Star break, and it showed as the Timberwolves looked rusty. They led 57-51 at the half, but got out-scored 36-13 in the third quarter and committed six turnovers in the frame, one of their worst of the season.
The Timberwolves fall to 39-17, and 19-6 at Target Center this season. They did not look ready to play from the opening tip.
"Our offense collapsed in the third quarter of course, 13 points. We missed some good shots, but we didn’t have a lot of movement. That led to turnovers. We’ve just got to be better," Timberwolves coach Chris Finch said after the loss. "We played with good hustle, but we weren’t very sharp. We started the third quarter really soft."
Anthony Edwards led the Timberwolves with 28 points, but shot 10-of-26 from the field and turned on the scoring in the fourth quarter. Karl-Anthony Towns had 22 points and 14 rebounds, and Rudy Gobert had 14 points and 19 rebounds.
"It happens. Probably came out in the second half a little too comfortable. We all missed a bunch of shots tonight, so blame that," Edwards said. "They dominated the third quarter, and we didn’t. We didn’t do it on the defensive end, and we damn sure didn’t do it on the offensive end."
Giannis Antetokounmpo led the Bucks with 33 points, 13 rebounds and five assists. Damian Lillard added 21 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds, and hit ridiculous shots in the fourth quarter to lift Milwaukee to the win.
The Timberwolves finished with 13 turnovers, and had just 23 assists on 43 made shots.
"I thought we fought the game a lot tonight, we really fought it," Finch said.
The day started with the Timberwolves being featured on ESPN’s All-Access most of the day. It ended with just their 17th loss in 56 games, and only their sixth at home.
There’s no time to feel sorry for themselves. The Timberwolves host the Brooklyn Nets on Saturday.