Rookie power forward Kevin Love dunked, Rashad McCants and Mike Miller knocked in three-pointers and the Minnesota Timberwolves routed the Bucks, 117-79, before an announced crowd of 9,873.
McCants led the Timberwolves with 22 points, and center Al Jefferson added 18 points and eight rebounds. Love, the former UCLA star and No. 5 overall pick obtained by Minnesota in a draft-day trade with the Memphis Grizzlies, finished with 13 points. Miller, the former Memphis guard, and second-year forward Corey Brewer each had 12.
On Monday, against a Bucks team missing half of its regular rotation, Jefferson scored the Wolves’ first 10 points and left late in the third quarter of a runaway victory with 18 points, eight rebounds and two blocked shots in less than 19 minutes on a night when his team led by as many as 45 points.
“More my lungs than my knee,” he said afterward, referring to any pain he might have felt. “But putting the ball in the basket? That’s kind of like riding a bike.”
The Wolves shot 58.2 percent from the field and held the Bucks to 33.8 percent…
The Wolves, meanwhile, started Al Jefferson alongside veteran Mark Madsen in the frontcourt, and he looked like he had never been away, except for when he was searching for air to breathe.
* Kevin Love is going to be fine, more than fine. He was the first fellow off the bench and played neary 23 minutes. Shot 6 for 10, was 1 for 2 from three-point range, had five rebounds, a couple of turnovers and a block and an assist. One of his misses was an airball. A dunk attempt got stuck between the rim and the backboard. “I got everything out of the way on the first night,” he said.
*Rashad McCants is looking mighty confident: 22 points in 19 minutes off the bench, including 12 free-throw attempts (made 10 of them). He even had three steals!
*All 15 healthy players (Brian Cardinal, Calvin Booth and of course Jason Collins were out) played at least three minutes each. Wittman said he wants to play no more than 10 guys on a given night and then rotate the time among other players the next time out. But the nature of Monday’s game got everybody on the floor, evein if Kevin Ollie (three minutes), Blake Ahearn (eight minutes), Rodney Carney (seven) and Rafael Araujo (four) played only fleetingly.
From Colin Fly/AP Sports:
Jefferson, who’ll still provide the bulk of the scoring, dominated inside despite wearing a brace on his right knee to protect a sprained ligament that’s limited him the last three weeks. The Bucks, without most of their regulars, couldn’t contain the smooth jumpers by Miller or Love, either.
Wittman kept pulling Love aside for a little extra advice on the defensive end. He didn’t need any help on offense, knocking down a shot high off the glass and hitting a 3-pointer as Minnesota took a 60-37 halftime lead that reached 45 points in the second half.
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