Wolves go cold after hot start in Milwaukee, lose 102-96 to Bucks

MILWAUKEE - Whatever the Timberwolves found late in Wednesday’s overtime home victory against Denver failed them Thursday in a 102-96 loss to the Bucks in Milwaukee.

Trailing all night by sometimes as many as 20 points, the Bucks overcame a Wolves team playing its third game in four night by outscoring them 27-12 in the fourth quarter.

On Wednesday, the Wolves beat the Nuggets despite finishing the game into overtime after Karl-Anthony Towns and Taj Gibson fouled out and starting point guard Jeff Teague left the game injured.

They couldn’t persevere like that again on Thursday.

The Bucks got themselves back into the game with a 36-16 run that end the third quarter and began the fourth. Then they finished the Wolves off late by scoring the game’s final 12 consecutive points after the Wolves had pushed back to take a 93-90 lead on Towns’ three-point shot with 4:19 left.

But the Wolves’ offense went scoreless until the final seconds while the Bucks took their first lead of the game on Eric Bledsoe’s three-point shot with 2:25 left and stretched that lead to 100-93 with 36.2 seconds left.

The Wolves played on without Teague, who was injured late in Wednesday’s overtime victory over Denver and on Thursday was diagnosed with a Grade 1 MCL knee sprain that was a relief to his coach and teammates.

Without Teague, Wolves coach Tom Thibodeau started backup Tyus Jones at point guard and played veteran Aaron Brooks four minutes in relief while Thibodeau turned to others, namely Butler, to handle the ball as well in Teague’s absence.

Jones went to the locker room with five minutes left in the game to get his left hand looked at by the team’s medical staff.

He returned to the game for the final two-plus minutes.

Without Jones out briefly, Thibodeau relied upon Butler and Jamal Crawford to run his backcourt, just as he said before the game that he might with Teague unavailable.

The Wolves led by as many as 20 points midway through the third quarter, but let it all get away during a 36-16 Bucks run that ended the third quarter and began the fourth.

Once trailing 74-54 with 7:13 left in the third quarter, the Bucks took their big run and turned it into a game tied at 90 midway through the fourth quarter before point guard Eric Bledsoe’s clutch three-point shot with 2:25 left in the game gave the Bucks their first lead of the night.

The Bucks trailed by only an 86-81 margin after they scored six of the fourth quarter’s first eight points to pull within 86-81 with 9:41 left in the game.

They got within those five points after Antetokounmpo Eurostepped his way past the Wolves last line of defense for a slam dunk.