Anthony Edwards struggles, Timberwolves lose to Bucks 103-101

Chris Hine, The Minnesota Star Tribune on Feb 12, 2025

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MINNEAPOLIS — The Timberwolves have two games in two days prior to the All-Star break. They will welcome Western Conference leading Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday, so getting a win against the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday was important to prevent a losing streak and some bad vibes before the break.

The night should have been easier when the Bucks came to Minnesota without Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard on the floor.

But the Wolves and Anthony Edwards couldn’t hit much on offense all night, and they threw away a winnable game with a 103-101 loss to the Bucks.

The Wolves shot 38% for the night, 23% from 3-point range.

With the Bucks ahead 99-98 with 59.1 seconds to play, Milwaukee challenge and out-of-bounds call that would have resulted in their own turnover. After a lengthy review, officials said there was no conclusive evidence to overturn the call on the floor, and the Wolves got the ball.

That led to a Naz Reid 3 for the Wolves, and a 101-99 lead with 46.6 seconds to play.

Kevin Porter Jr. hit for the Bucks to tie the score while Edwards missed a midrange jumper with just over 31 seconds left.

Rudy Gobert fouled Brook Lopez as Lopez drove to the rim with 10.9 seconds to play, and Lopez buried both free throws.

Coach Chris Finch opted not to call a timeout, and Edwards missed a potential winning three at the buzzer to cap a 10 for 33 night. He had 28. Kyle Kuzma had 19 for Milwaukee while Minnesota Gary Trent Jr. had 21 off the bench.

One of the silver linings of an otherwise ugly night for the Wolves was the performance of rookie Terrance Shannon Jr., who had 11 points, six assists and five rebounds.

Slow start

The Wolves came out playing like they could smell the All-Star break coming, and were unfocused in the early minutes. They had five turnovers and Reid got in early foul trouble with two as Milwaukee had a 14-10 lead five minutes into the game. Edwards got off to a good start scoring with 13 points, but the Wolves struggled to generate offense outside of him. He was 4 for 9 in the first quarter and the rest of the team was 5 for 18 as the Bucks led 36-24 after one quarter. The Wolves finished the quarter with six turnovers while the Bucks shot 58%.

Wolves settle in

The Wolves needed help off the bench in the second quarter with Reid in foul trouble and Rob Dillingham and Jaylen Clark struggling to score; they were a combined 1 for 8. Terrence Shannon Jr. provided some offensive pop with seven points in eight minutes while Joe Ingles provided some organization to the offense that was missing with Mike Conley out another game because of a dislocated finger. Ingles didn’t score in his nine first-half minutes, but he had four assists and four rebounds and was a team-high plus-13 headed into the locker room.

The Wolves also tightened the screws defensively and held the Bucks to just 15 points in the second. This allowed them to cut Milwaukee’s lead to 51-50 by the half, even as Edwards struggled to shoot 1 for 7 in the quarter. The Wolves had 11 second-chance points in the half.

Close through the 3rd

Edwards came out cold in the second half and missed his first five shots of the third quarter. This enabled the Bucks to re-establish a small lead against the Wolves starters. Again, Shannon provided a spark off the bench as Gobert continued to provide steady minutes (16 points and 12 rebounds through three) to help the Wolves overcome Edwards’ shooting troubles. He was 7 for 25 through three and the Wolves as a team were just 33% from the floor, but they trailed 70-69 entering the fourth.

A 9-0 Wolves run late in the third gave them their first lead since it was 8-7. The Wolves were just 5 for 34 from 3-point range through three quarters. Jaden McDaniels hadn’t hit a shot while Reid, who was scorching from outside the last month and a half, was 0 for 5.

Nip and tuck finish

But McDaniels picked it up in the fourth quarter and hit four of his next six shots while Edwards hit a 3 and had a 3-point play to give the Wolves a 92-91 lead with under five minutes to play.

Bucks led as much as 99-94 with 2:53 to play before Reid scored the next four for the Wolves to pull within 99-98 with 1:50 to play.

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