LaMelo Ball scored a season-high 34 points as the Minnesota Timberwolves beat the Milwaukee Bucks 112-100 on Monday night at Target Center. Ball led six Minnesota players in double figures as the Timberwolves improved to 5-3 and handed Milwaukee its sixth loss in seven games.
Ball made 12 of 21 shots, including six three-pointers, and scored 13 of Minnesota’s first 17 points. Listed as questionable with a right wrist contusion before the game, he finished with six rebounds and three assists.
His 24 first-half points matched his previous season high for an entire game. Ball also became the fastest player in NBA history to reach 1,000 career three-pointers, accomplishing the feat in 311 games with his third make from beyond the arc.
Ayo Dosunmu contributed 19 points and a season-high 12 rebounds, while Jaden McDaniels added 13. Minnesota pulled away in the fourth quarter, opening the period with an 11-3 run to turn a 80-79 lead into a 91-79 advantage.
Ball’s sixth three-pointer extended the margin to 96-81 midway through the quarter. Minnesota had entered the game with four victories, each by more than 20 points, but finished with season lows in points and field-goal percentage, shooting 42.7%.
Tyler Herro led Milwaukee with 21 points, while Jaime Jaquez Jr. scored 19. AJ Green and Myles Turner added 13 points apiece, and Brayden Burries had nine points in his first start for the Bucks, shooting 4-of-15.
Milwaukee shot a season-low 38.4% from the field and fell to 1-6. The Bucks were without another heavy defeat, however, as this was the first of their six losses in which they conceded fewer than 127 points.
Minnesota remained without Anthony Edwards, who is recovering from knee surgery, and Terrence Shannon Jr., who missed the game with a left hip contusion.
The Bucks visit the Boston Celtics on Wednesday, while the Timberwolves travel to face the Houston Rockets that night.
