Brook Lopez sank a pair of free throws with 10.9 seconds to go, and the Milwaukee Bucks held on for a 103-101 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday night in Minneapolis.
Gary Trent Jr. finished with 21 points off the bench for Milwaukee, which bounced back from a loss against the Golden State Warriors on ?. Kyle Kuzma registered a double-double with 19 points and 13 rebounds.
Anthony Edwards scored 28 points but missed 23 of 33 shots for Minnesota, which lost its second straight. Naz Reid (22 points, 13 rebounds) and Rudy Gobert (20 points, 14 rebounds) each recorded a double-double.
Milwaukee shot 44.3 percent (39 of 88) overall and 40 percent (12 of 30) from beyond the arc. Minnesota shot 37.9 percent (39 of 103) from the field and 22.7 percent (10 of 44) from 3-point range.
Reid made a 3-pointer to give the Timberwolves a 101-99 lead with 47.6 seconds remaining.
On the next possession, Kevin Porter Jr. drove toward the rim for a floating jump shot to tie the score at 101-all with 38.4 seconds left. Porter Jr. finished with 11 points in his second game since joining Milwaukee.
Edwards missed a 3-pointer on the next possession and Kuzma grabbed the rebound. The ball went to Lopez, who was fouled and calmly sank his two free throws.
Milwaukee played without its top two scorers. Giannis Antetokounmpo remained out because of a calf strain, and Damian Lillard joined him on the sidelines because of a sore hamstring.
The Timberwolves trailed 70-69 at the end of the third quarter.
Edwards made a layup to put Minnesota ahead by four with 1:09 remaining in the third quarter. A.J. Green buried a 3-pointer to trim the Bucks’ deficit to one point with 36.3 seconds to play in the period.
The Bucks led 51-50 at halftime.
Milwaukee led by as many as 16 in the first half. Trent Jr. drained a pull-up jump shot to put the Bucks on top 44-28 with 9:12 remaining in the half.
Reid made a driving layup 15 seconds later on the next possession to cut the deficit to 44-30. That sparked a 22-7 run for Minnesota to finish the first half.
