Bucks Lose MACC Fund Game as Skyles Prepares Team for Season Opener

By JB Bucks Fan | Posted Wednesday, December 28

Most of the Milwaukee Bucks starters were on the bench during the thirty-fifth annual MACC Fund game this year. The Bucks played the Minnesota Timberwolves at the Bradley Center, in one last preseason game. The game meant nothing in the standings, as the Bucks let an eleven point lead slip away in the final two minutes.

Ahead 84-73, with just over two minutes on the clock, Milwaukee looked like they were on their way to a win. Minnesota forward Kevin Love (who had his second double-double against Milwaukee on Wednesday,) took control of the game and scored ten unanswered points. This left his team down by just one with less than a minute remaining. A costly turnover by the Bucks Larry Sanders led to a foul, and Timberwolves forward Michael Beasley drained the last two points of the game at the line.

Scott Skiles Sees Improvement

That loss was the Bucks second straight. Both losses came at the hands of Minnesota. After the game, Bucks head coach Scott Skiles told reporters that he was excited to see improvement from his team. While the Timberwolves comeback was disappointing, it provided his guys with valuable experience going into the regular season. Skiles said during Love’s big comeback, had made a decision not to call a timeout. He wanted the team to find a way to stop a run like that if his team got in such a situation during the regular season. He acknowledged that while the team did not handle the scenario well, it would prove well worth effort, should they face a similar situation going forward.

The game also marked Skiles’ first chance to get a good look at veteran small forward, Stephen Jackson. Jackson didn’t play his best ball. He played fifteen minutes, scoring on just three of seven shots. Skiles would like to see Jackson improve his play in short order. Forward Luc Richard Mbah a Moute (who has also been working on his shooting accuracy,) improved from last week, going six of eleven from the field and scoring fourteen points. Mbah a Moute also managed get four rebounds and three steals.