Milwaukee Bucks Lose First Game of 2011-12 Season

By Bucks fan Brigham | Posted Wednesday, December 21

The Milwaukee Bucks lost their first preseason game against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday at the Target Center. The Timberwolves topped the Bucks 117-96 in the first of two exhibition games between both teams. The next game will be at the Bradley Center on December 21, just five days before the Bucks season opener against the Bobcats.

The Timberwolves home crowd saw a lot of new faces on the court on Saturday. New head coach Rick Adelman now leads a team that includes second-round draft pick Derrick Williams and newly signed guards J.J. Barea and Ricky Rubio. The trio gave fans new hope for a successful season, as all three scored in double digits, and contributed to a team total of fifteen three-pointers. Minnesota's veteran forwards Kevin Love and Michael Beasley both finished the game with a team-high 21 points, while Rubio topped the charts with seven assists and six rebounds. Love shut down the Buck’s center Andrew Bogut for the entire game. Three consecutive three-pointers from Love started of a run of twenty unanswered points from the Timberwolves. Bogut was slow to react all evening, and should consider the beat down something that will come his way on a regular basis. If he doesn’t step up his game immediately. Bogut, for his part, was held to just nine points in twenty-six minutes of play.

Bucks Bench Scores Big In First Game

The Australian wasn't the only Bucks player having a tough evening. Starting forward Drew Gooden scored just two points over eleven minutes of play while recent pick-up Luc Richard Mbah a Moute played just five. Stand-out point guard Brandon Jennings was held scoreless in the first half, and ended the game just three-for-nine. On a positive note, rookie Jon Leuer led the team with eighteen points in his debut game. Guard Mike Dunleavy Jr. came a close second with seventeen points on the night.