Ball's Season-High 34 Leads Timberwolves Past Slumping Bucks 112-100

LaMelo Ball produced his best scoring night of the season to lead the Minnesota Timberwolves to a 112-100 win over the Milwaukee Bucks on Monday night in Minneapolis. Ball finished with 34 points, hitting six three-pointers, and six players reached double figures for Minnesota, with Ayo Dosunmu adding 19 points and a season-high 12 rebounds and Jaden McDaniels contributing 13. Listed as questionable before tip-off with a right wrist contusion, Ball scored 13 of Minnesota's first 17 points and then took charge down the stretch. Six points from McDaniels opened an 11-3 Timberwolves run to start the fourth quarter, pushing the lead to 91-79, and a Ball three-pointer midway through the period stretched the advantage to 96-81. Minnesota finished with season lows in points and shooting percentage at 42.7 percent, but still won comfortably after each of its four previous victories had come by more than 20 points. Milwaukee, meanwhile, continued a miserable start to the season. Tyler Herro led the Bucks with 21 points, Jaime Jaquez Jr added 19, and AJ Green and Myles Turner each scored 13, but the Bucks shot a season-worst 38.4 percent and lost for the sixth time in seven games. It was, however, the first defeat in which they did not concede at least 127 points. Rookie Brayden Burries, the 10th overall pick in this year's draft, made his first start for Milwaukee and finished with nine points on 4-for-15 shooting. The Bucks visit Boston on Wednesday night, while the Timberwolves travel to Houston.