MILWAUKEE � Las Vegas couldn't make Bucks much heavier favorites than they were entering Wednesday's game.
The Wolves were down six significant contributors against a relatively healthy Bucks squad, with Jeff Teague joining Karl-Anthony Towns, Andrew Wiggins, Noah Vonleh, Jake Layman and Treveon Graham on the shelf for this game.
The Bucks were a heavy favorite, around 18 points depending where you looked, and anyone who follows the NBA was ready for the Bucks to escort the Wolves out to I-94 West and give them a swift kick back to Minnesota.
But playing with a heavy contingent from Iowa and the depths of their bench, the Wolves gave the Bucks all they could handle in a 106-104 loss at Fiserv Forum.
The Wolves' only chance was to muck up the game, and that they did, angering both Lopez brothers in the process.
After a Gorgui Dieng free throw cut the Bucks lead to 106-104 with 46.2 seconds remaining, the Wolves got a stop, and called timeout with 13.9 seconds remaining. But the Wolves had trouble setting up their final shot, and Dieng missed a long two from about 20 feet that would've tied it.
Giannis Antetokounmpo was his usual handful, scoring 32 points to go with 17 rebounds. He was also 3 of 7 from three-point range. Shabazz Napier led the scoring in the gritty effort from the Wolves with 22 points. Dieng finished with 15 while five other Wolves finished with double figures.
The severely undermanned Wolves started the game by scoring the first seven points. It helped that Shabazz Napier carried over his strong play from Monday's game against Brooklyn. Napier had 12 of the Wolves' first 16 points to give the Wolves a 16-8 lead.
The Bucks weren't sharp from the outside, and the Wolves did the best they could to exploit the Bucks allowing them open shots from the corner. Milwaukee would cut the Wolves lead to 18-16, but the Wolves kept it a rock fight through the end of the first quarter and led 23-19 after one.
Milwaukee kept chopping away at Minnesota's lead throughout the second quarter, finally getting its first lead 30-29 as Antetokounmpo found some success driving to the basket. The Wolves would get some threes from its G-League contingent in Kelan Martin and Naz Reid while Dieng also hit a pair of threes and the Wolves kept pace with the Bucks in a higher-scoring second. The Bucks would take a 52-51 lead at the half.
The Wolves defense took a hit early in the third quarter when Dieng went to the bench with his fourth foul. After he went out at the 9:35 mark, the Bucks began to make their move. The would go on a 11-2 run over the next 2:50 to take a 10-point lead, their largest lead of the night to that point.
But the Wolves wouldn't fold, getting contributions from Josh Okogie and Jarrett Culver, who overcame an 0-for-6 start to get six points in the quarter, and the Wolves trailed 77-71 entering the fourth.
Culver kept it up into the fourth, at one point dunking on Robin Lopez and then drawing a technical for taunting as Lopez jawed back at him. His brother Brook would earn a technical minutes later arguing a foul. At one point, the Wolves had to be pinching themselves. Playing a bunch of rookies and G-League mainstays, they were within 87-87 with just over seven minutes left. But after Antetokounmpo earned a three-point play opportunity, he missed the free throw and the Wolves couldn't secure the rebound, leading to a Khris Middleton three and a six-point Bucks lead. The Wolves would keep it close down the stretch. Robert Covington buried a three with 1:04 to play to cut that lead back to three, 106-103. The Wolves had their chances in the last minute, but couldn't execute one more play.
