Khris Middleton had 27 points, eight rebounds and seven assists in three quarters, as the Milwaukee Bucks breezed to a 130-105 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday. Brook Lopez added 18 points and eight rebounds, Jrue Holiday pitched in 15 points and three steals, and the Bucks built a lead as big as 30 points early in the fourth quarter on the way to their second consecutive blowout. After losing six of nine games, the Bucks beat Orlando 124-87 on Sunday.
The Bucks played without the two-time reigning NBA Most Valuable Player award winner, Giannis Antetokoumpo, because of left knee soreness for the sixth straight game. They’re 3-3 without him in this stretch. The Bucks scored 45 points in the third quarter, and that allowed coach Mike Budenholzer to rest Middleton, Holiday and Lopez for the final period with a back-to-back game against Atlanta. The Bucks did get PJ Tucker back into the lineup today, which was a very good sign. He has only played 3 games with the Bucks since acquiring him from the Rockets.
Milwaukee, which is in control of the No. 3 seed for the playoffs, entered the evening with a three-game deficit behind Brooklyn and Philadelphia. The conference co-leaders were set to play on Wednesday night.
This game was supposed to be played during the night but was moved up because of the protests going on in Minneapolis. This is happening because of the tragic shooting of Daunte Wright. The Bucks wore shirts saying with liberty and justice for all in warmups today. We are all in this fight together.