Wolves can't overcome ugly start in loss to short-handed Bucks

It was an all-too-familiar start for the Minnesota Timberwolves playing at home against a short-handed opponent.

The Wolves started utterly flat and the energy at Target Center in Minneapolis was reciprocal. They fell into an early 16-point hole against the Milwaukee Bucks, one they ultimately couldn't overcome in a 103-101 defeat Wednesday night.

Despite the ugly start, the game came down to the last possession. After Brook Lopez made a pair of free throws to give the Bucks (29-24) a 103-101 lead with 10.9 seconds remaining, the Wolves pushed it back up the court, and Anthony Edwards got a good look at a potential game-winning 3-pointer as time expired. It just didn't fall, a theme on Wednesday.

Edwards scored a game-high 28 points but on a rough 10-for-33 shooting night. Even though nothing was falling, he continued to put up 3s, shooting just 4 for 17 from 3. Edwards said he didn't try to adjust his game despite being cold.

"I ain't been working for no reason," Edwards said. "... It's gonna go in, it just didn't go in (Wednesday). It'll be alright."

It was a cold-shooting night all around. Naz Reid was ice cold for most of the night before finally getting going in the last three minutes when he got to the rim for a pair of buckets before hitting the biggest shot of the night, a go-ahead 3 with under a minute remaining. But the Bucks tied it up the next possession and retook the lead on Lopez's free throws.

Reid finished with 22 points, 13 rebounds and two assists.

The Wolves shot just 38% from the field and a mere 23% from 3-point range.

The Bucks were without their two best players in Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard, who both missed the game due to injury. The Wolves remain short-handed themselves without Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo.

Gary Trent Jr. led the Bucks with 21 points off the bench.

It was a disastrous first quarter for the Wolves. They had more turnovers (six) than assists (five) and shot just 9 for 27 from the field. They trailed 36-24 after the opening frame, and they only reason they weren't down more was because of a hot start from Edwards, who posted 13 first-quarter points. Edwards later cooled off heavily, but the Wolves still got back in it.

"Certain guys seemed to be a little tired out there, but some of them found it," Timberwolves coach Chris Finch said. "Some of them never did find it. Turnovers I thought were more of an indicator of sloppy play than low energy."

Joe Ingles provided a much-needed second-quarter spark. While he didn't score, the ball movement was noticeably better once he took the court, and Ingles had four assists and four rebounds in an extended stint in the frame. Ingles was a driver of a second-quarter push that helped the Wolves (30-25) cut the 12-point deficit down to one at the half.

"We got the ball in (Ingles') hands, calmed things down a little bit. We need more from, certainly we need more from Rob (Dillingham) in that situation," Finch said. "Be more of a point guard, and now I think he's trying to search his offense too much, and he needs to search pace, search for the paint and search for the pass."

Terrence Shannon Jr. was also a spark plug, providing some needed offense in the second quarter and doing a little bit of everything in the third quarter. Shannon finished with 11 points, six assists and five rebounds in his best game of the year.

Rudy Gobert had a great all-around game with 20 points, 14 rebounds and four assists.

It's a quick turnaround for the Wolves, who host the Oklahoma City Thunder at 7 p.m. Thursday night.