The Milwaukee Bucks cruised to another preseason win Sunday, topping the Minnesota Timberwolves 125-107 at Hilton Coliseum in Ames, Iowa. Giannis Antetokounmpo led the way, scoring 21 points in 26 minutes with 10 rebounds, two assists and two steals. Khris Middleton, Malcolm Brogdon, Christian Wood and first-round pick Donte DiVincenzo also reached double figures for the Bucks. Milwaukee jumped out to a 33-23 lead late in the first quarter and never looked back, pushing their lead to 21 points mid-way through the fourth quarter. The Bucks take on the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday in their third preseason game, then host a rematch with the Wolves in their preseason finale.<doc-sep>It’s almost that time folks! Time for game two of the preseason, as the Milwaukee Bucks and Minnesota Timberwolves both rumbled down to Iowa for tonight’s game. There’s little at stake here, particularly since there won’t be any video footage for us fans, but at least it’s a chance to hear some brief Bucks coverage to round out this lengthy day of Wisconsin sports. Here’s a link to the preview and all the game information is below.<doc-sep>Spoiler alert! Nobody was able to watch this game. Not me, not you, and not anybody else who wasn’t inside the 14,000 seat Hilton Coliseum. Thankfully, it’s a preseason game, so we won’t have to subject ourselves to our own imaginations when the contests start to count for real. Here are the facts: the Milwaukee Bucks beat the Minnesota Timberwolves, and no Milwaukee player suffered any injuries. A few guys (Thon Maker, Ersan Ilyasova, Matthew Dellavedova, D.J. Wilson, and Trevon Duval) didn’t suit up as a precaution, but that’s precisely what coaches ought to do when the stakes don’t exist. Beyond that, all we have are a handful of eyewitness reports and the numbers. For a preseason game, that’s all you need. Three Numbers Pointers There are a myriad of reasons why Bucks fans are excited about Mike Budenholzer taking over for Jason Kidd and Joe Prunty, but chief among them is the embrace of the long ball. The NBA used to be built on mid-range jumpers, but bricks from that era laid the foundation of the games’ elevation over the past 15 years. The Kidd Era Bucks fought against the current, while Bud’s Bucks is racing to stay ahead of it. If nothing else, this preseason game mattered to fans who wanted to be certain that the inaugural three-point bombing of the Chicago Bulls wasn’t just a fluke. In 3PA/game over the past four years, the Bucks have ranked 26th (18.3 in 2014-15), 30th (15.6 in 2015-16), 24th (23.7 in 2016-17), and 25th (24.7 in 2017-18), and one game isn’t enough to prove that the habits are changed. Two games, to be clear, shouldn’t be enough either, but from what we’re seeing from historic non-shooters... Giannis with a pull-up 3. Smooth, confident, nothing but net. He's got 21 points in 26 minutes. — Matt Velazquez (@Matt_Velazquez) October 8, 2018 John Henson just swished a 3. There's no video, but I swear it happened. — Matt Velazquez (@Matt_Velazquez) October 8, 2018 The Bucks are not just talking the talk when it comes to shooting threes, but they’re walking the walk. With 36 tonight and 41 against Chicago previously, the Bucks have a 0.397 3PAr, a full ten percentage points higher than their mark last season. Not only that, but the share of the three-point pie is growing larger: everybody gets a seat at the table. In tonight’s game, 13 players took the court, and only one (Tyler Zeller) did not attempt a three. Against Chicago, 16 saw playing time and again, only one (Shabazz Muhammad) ended the game without an attempt. Giannis Antetokounmpo is taking (and making) pull-up threes. John Henson is taking (and making!) corner threes. Everybody is shooting from deep this year, and something tells me that this is just the new normal. Bonus Bucks Bits Beef Presenting, without further comment, the online back-and-forth between longtime play-by-play announcer Jim Paschke (@Paschketball) and the newly-arrived sideline reporter Katie George (@Katie_George05): @Paschketball was too tired to call the game tonight. — Katie George (@Katie_George05) October 8, 2018 So not true! Starting to tire of Katie actually! https://t.co/lLEeaFTdC6 — Jim Paschke (@Paschketball) October 8, 2018 Firing shots after being severely wounded. https://t.co/uATSLi7N2i — Jim Paschke (@Paschketball) October 8, 2018 While I’m over here just picking up the pieces. The pieces of my broken heart https://t.co/e42oYYstmI — Katie George (@Katie_George05) October 8, 2018 I have to white flag this frivolity. Katie has to come up with two post-game questions (and my phone power is exhausted) https://t.co/SvHoGmLjlA — Jim Paschke (@Paschketball) October 8, 2018 Oh, how convenient Jimmy Boy. You can borrow my phone charger if you’d like. https://t.co/AZPYBvNBQG — Katie George (@Katie_George05) October 8, 2018 Meanwhile, my Dad is sincerely concerned about my working relationship with @Paschketball. pic.twitter.com/j2eccnbhww — Katie George (@Katie_George05) October 8, 2018 If you’re wondering if there was collateral damage, let me assure you that there was indeed an innocent bystander who got caught in the crossfire: Who you betting on? — Katie George (@Katie_George05) October 8, 2018 Smart guy. — Katie George (@Katie_George05) October 8, 2018 This was the highlight of the game, folks. It was glorious, and it wasn’t confined to regulation either!<doc-sep>After an impressive pummeling of the Chicago Bulls yesterday, Milwaukee looks to double up on wins in border battles with tonight’s game against the Minnesota Timberwolves. Unfortunately it won’t be broadcast on television. They moved the game to Iowa, and my working theory is they literally couldn’t get enough television crew members to volunteer for an assignment in that corny state. Alas, it means our Riley Feldmann will also miss out on an opportunity to watch the Bucks play nearby. Bummer all around, but thank goodness for Ted Davis providing radio coverage tonight. Bucks Update Chicago came to the Fiserv Forum and got served a heaping helping of humble pie as Bud’s new offense looked like an unstoppable buzzsaw. Miles of space gave Giannis plenty of room to work within the arc, and Milwaukee’s role players got plenty of threes launched from deep. 45 of them to be exact. I could get used to that. Player to Listen For: Donte DiVincenzo If Donte continues to struggle shooting, as he did last game, it’s gonna be tough for Bud to feel comfortable running him out there regularly. His game flashed far more against Chicago from a passing and rebounding aspect, which is tougher to appreciate via radio. Thus, I’ll be keeping a close ear on whether his solid-looking stroke finally starts to fall. Timberwolves Update The neighbors to the north already have three preseason games under their belt, the lone win coming against the Warriors in their first game out. On Friday, they fell to the Oklahoma City Thunder, 113-101. Andrew Wiggins also scored just 4 points in that contest, I guess? Minnesota is in a troubling spot with Wiggins tied to a mammoth deal and the Jimmy Butler situation remaining unresolved. Player to Listen For: Josh Okogie or Keith Bates-Diop Nothing is more fun than watching other rookies in preseason and putting your team on blast for not picking them. Please don’t actually do that, but both of these fellas were players I feel like a few draftniks had the Bucks poking around at. Bates-diop’s fall remains a mystery to me, but we’ll see how these two do in tonight’s game. Happy listening and here’s all the game information. Don’t forget it’s on 94.5 KTMI tonight.<doc-sep>
If an NBA preseason game is played in Iowa, but there’s no televised feed (and only spotty connections to the radio broadcast), did it actually happen? According to the NBA, it did, as the Milwaukee Bucks waxed the Minnesota Timberwolves, 125-107. If you were following the game on Twitter, well, this is a taste of the scene you witnessed: Is anyone actually at this game?? If so send pictures over as proof! — Brew Hoop (@brewhoop) October 8, 2018 Wow. KAT just went for a slam and Giannis met him at the summit. Ended with the ball flying off the back heel of the iron and the whole arena letting out an audible, OHHHHHHHHHH! — Matt Velazquez (@Matt_Velazquez) October 8, 2018 Jim Paschke is faux-beefing with the team's new sideline reporter on a Sunday night in Ames, Iowa. God bless the NBA. https://t.co/tsqCdN80OB — Riley Feldmann (@RileyFeldmann) October 8, 2018 We did at least manage one Giannis Antetokounmpo highlight, courtesy of the Bucks’ official Twitter feed: In all seriousness, folks, this was still a preseason basketball game. Giannis ended his night with 21 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, and a block. Khris Middleton (13 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists) and Malcolm Brogdon (12 points, 2 assists) were notable contributors from the starting lineup, and Tony Snell (9 points) returned to life from the bench early on. John Henson apparently (9 points, 4 boards, 3 assists, and 2 blocks) did normal things...like hitting a three-pointer?! Donte DiVincenzo (12 points on 12 shots) hit his first NBA regulation three, and Christian Wood (14 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists) emerged from the bottom of the pack to make his mark. For the Wolves, Karl-Anthony Towns was nigh unstoppable, with 33 points, 12 rebounds, and 1 block. Fellow first overall pick Andrew Wiggins (6 points, 5 rebounds, 4 turnovers) was...not that. Minnesota shot well from deep but (as Bucks fans are delighted to have moved on from) their frequency was unimpressive. Equally unimpressive were the contributions from the rest of Minny’s rotation; no one else matched the members of the Bucks’ supporting cast’s outputs, and that quickly became the theme of the game. It took until garbage time for Gorgui Dieng (13 points), C.J. Williams (12 points), and Tyus Jones (10 points) to break double figures. Stat That Stood Out 57 fouls called (combined). Fifty-seven! That’s a lot of fouls! That’s more fouls than you might see in the Las Vegas Summer League! John Henson fouled out in 15 minutes! I would imagine that the fine people in Ames, Iowa wouldn’t have expected to see that many stoppages in the action...but given the way that the video evidence simply doesn’t exist, I suppose there’s no way for us to share in their experience. Alas!