National Basketball Association
Milwaukee 95, Minnesota 85
When: 8:00 PM ET, Saturday, January 2, 2016
Where: Target Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Officials: #26 Pat Fraher, #23 Jason Phillips, #44 Eli Roe
Attendance: 14107

MINNEAPOLIS -- The Milwaukee Bucks got off to a cold start against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday night before the fiery O.J. Mayo got them going in a 95-85 win at Target Center.

The Bucks started the game 0 of 11 from the field, but when Mayo's fast-break layup attempt was blocked by Timberwolves center Karl-Anthony Towns with no foul called, Mayo let the officials know it.

His frustration boiled over in the form of two technical fouls and Mayo needed to be escorted from the court by coaches and security.

At the time of the blowup, Minnesota led 18-5. The Timberwolves led 22-5 before John Henson's layup ended Milwaukee's drought with 3:21 left in the first quarter -- the longest span without a field goal by an NBA team since New Orleans went without a basket until 2:42 remained in the first quarter against the Orlando Magic on Dec. 20, 2006.

"We stuck with it," Henson said. "You're going to have a bad quarter. You've just got to continue to fight and that's what we did tonight."

Milwaukee rolled from there, slowly chipping away at Minnesota's lead, eventually taking a two-point lead on a 3-pointer by guard Khris Middleton with 1:39 left in the first half, which capped a 20-6 run.

It was the first of two big runs by Milwaukee, which ended a four-game road trip with a 2-2 record.

"They started out with more energy and effort," Milwaukee assistant coach Joe Prunty said. "Our defense, I thought, was really, really good tonight after that start."

The Bucks led by two points after three quarters and started the fourth on an 11-0 spurt, eventually building a 14-point lead in the fourth quarter.

Bucks center Greg Monroe finished with 19 points and 10 rebounds as Milwaukee had four starters score in double figures. Henson had 15 points and guard Jerryd Bayless added 13 points, each off the bench.

Minnesota built its lead thanks to the leadership of forwards Kevin Garnett and Tayshaun Prince. Both finished with just four points, but interim coach Sam Mitchell credited the veterans with doing all of the little things correctly.

"They set screens, they move the ball, they make hard cuts," Mitchell said. "They understand what is a good shot and a bad shot. All the things we work on with our young guys on every single day."

Mitchell said that effort was lacking from his younger core, including Towns, who finished the game on the bench after making just 4 of 17 shots from the floor in 26 minutes.

Guard Andrew Wiggins led Minnesota with 19 points but was 7 of 17 from the field. Guards Zach LaVine and Tyus Jones each finished with six points, but LaVine had four turnovers.

Minnesota also had a long stretch of the fourth quarter without a field goal, not scoring more than a free throw until Wiggins' jumper with 5:28 remaining.

By then, the Bucks had an 85-71 lead and the game was all but over.

"We lost that game," Timberwolves guard Ricky Rubio said. "You've got to give Milwaukee credit, but we started the game very good, following the game plan. Then we played too cool. We think we need to be aggressive all the time. This league is for men and we weren't men tonight."

Rubio finished with 14 points, seven assists and six rebounds.

Minnesota has lost six of seven after back-to-back wins on Dec. 18-20.

"At the end of the day, you've got to win," Rubio said. "I know we're building something here and we have to be patient and that's not the way. When you're up 17, you want to win by 20 or 22."

NOTES: The Bucks have won three consecutive meetings against the Timberwolves and now trail Minnesota 29-22 all time, including 17-9 at Target Center. ... Minnesota F Damjan Rudez was a healthy scratch. ... Milwaukee returns home for a game against the San Antonio Spurs at the BMO Harris Bradley Center on Monday. Minnesota will play the Philadelphia 76ers the same night at the Wells Fargo Center.
Top Game Performances
 
Milwaukee   Minnesota
Greg Monroe 19 Scoring Andrew Wiggins 19
Michael Carter-Williams 6 Assists Ricky Rubio 7
Greg Monroe 10 Rebounds Karl-Anthony Towns 10
Greg Monroe 5 Free Throws Made Andrew Wiggins 5
Giannis Antetokounmpo 2 Steals Ricky Rubio 3
Michael Carter-Williams 3 Blocks Karl-Anthony Towns 3
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Milwaukee 95 42.7 8-16 23-28 20 48 5 7 13
Minnesota 85 39.3 3-14 16-24 19 47 6 10 16
Upcoming Games
  • Minnesota will play their next game on the road against Philadelphia. The Timberwolves have a W/L % of .462 after a win and .286 after a loss.
  • Milwaukee will play their next game at home against San Antonio. The Bucks have a W/L % of .462 after a win and .364 after a loss.