Timberwolves deliver resounding response with win in Milwaukee

Oct. 28—"Get a bucket, Ant."

That was the thought running through Anthony Edwards' mind. With 20 seconds to play, the defending champs were closing hard. Minnesota's 20-point lead — which was still 14 with just five minutes to play — had been whittled down to two points in Milwaukee, where the Bucks rarely lose.

The Wolves hadn't scored in five minutes. It was go time.

The ball was in Edwards' hands. D'Angelo Russell — the Wolves traditional closer — came toward him, but Edwards signaled that he had it.

"I got it," Edwards thought. "Let me be a closer, too."

And close he did.

this young man is so, so special pic.twitter.com/lNblTUJfRY

— Minnesota Timberwolves (@Timberwolves) October 28, 2021

Edwards went right at Bucks all-star Khris Middleton with his left hand, got to the rim and finished through contact to put Minnesota back up four with 15 seconds to play. And when Giannis Antetokounmpo went right down and dunked, Edwards got the ball back, was fouled and knocked down the ensuing two free throws to put the game on ice.

The Wolves went on the road and knocked off the defending champs 113-108. It was Minnesota's first win in Milwaukee since 2013, and it snapped the Wolves' seven-game losing streak to the Bucks.

Most important, it showed a bit about Minnesota's mettle.

Teams are going to deliver clunkers. They're going to get stagnant offensively. They're going to lose games they should win. Even the best squads do that at times throughout an 82-game season.

But then they respond.

That's why Wednesday's contest in Milwaukee was so intriguing. Minnesota delivered two disappointing performances in its two-game home set against New Orleans, including a loss Monday. That wasn't a rarity for this franchise. Minnesota has looked success in the face, turned the other way and instead embraced failure many times. And rarely had it responded.

That's what made the aftermath of Monday's loss feel different. Edwards called out himself and others in the immediate aftermath. Players thought Tuesday's practice would be more of a walkthrough, but Edwards said the team got up and down. Timberwolves coach Chris Finch described the session as "testy," as players got on one another. They were all the responses of a team that didn't want to settle for a lack of success.

Minnesota expected it all to translate to the floor Wednesday.

And it did.

"I think that's one of the things we're most pleased with," Finch said. "When they closed the gap coming out of half, we pushed back, pushed it back up. We felt that we left a lot of money on the table tonight, too. Didn't close quarters particularly well, kind of started bleeding the clock a little too early in the fourth, got static.

"But nonetheless, we're proud of our guys and everything that they were able to do and closed out that game, no matter what it took."

Minnesota's big three of Edwards, Russell and Karl-Anthony Towns combined for 79 points.

Russell got going early against Milwaukee's drop-coverage pick-and-roll defense, which left him to feast on one open mid-range jumper after another. He finished with 29 points.

Milwaukee is playing without a center at the moment, which freed Towns from having to bang down low against another big. That left Towns cooler, calmer and more collected. It was the key to the big man delivering an efficient and dominant performance, with 25 points on 9-for-13 shooting.

Jarred Vanderbilt was inserted into the starting lineup to increase Minnesota's size and physicality. He dominated on the glass, finishing with 10 points and 13 rebounds.

"He played a complete game. He really did," Finch said. "Particularly in the first half, he was really active finding the gaps in their defense. He goes after every single shot and he gets them. It's not just like the ones he gets. It's pretty inspirational because he comes in, saves a big possession."

Milwaukee (3-2) isn't at full strength. The defending champs are without starters Jrue Holiday and Brook Lopez. Still, it's a big win for the Wolves, and a massive response to the first sign of adversity.

Antetokounmpo certainly got his — tallying 40 points, 16 rebounds and seven assists in 35 minutes — but Minnesota (3-1) stopped the rest of the Bucks. Milwaukee's other players combined to shoot just 33 percent from the field.

Yet again, the Wolves are winning with defense.

"We lock up, man," Edwards said. "I don't care what nobody say about us, we play the best defense in the league. I'll stamp that."

And he wasn't done there.

"We going to have two or three people on the all-defense teams, know what I'm saying? And I might be on one of them," he said. "But nah, we definitely been winning games on the defensive end. Everybody boxes in elbows, make them make the next pass. That's what it was about tonight. Don't let Giannis beat us. I mean, he still went for I think like 40, but we won, so the game plan worked, for sure."

But Edwards told his teammates after the game that Wednesday's effort has to be backed up by a similar performance Saturday against Denver.

"We can't come out playing like this versus the defending champs, and then play Denver and don't play with the same energy," he said. "As long as we play with the same energy every game, we're going to be a hard team to beat."

How can he make sure that energy becomes the norm?

"Talk my (stuff) before the game," he said. "Put Lil Baby on, rap the lyrics. That gets everybody hyped. We up. It's time to go."