MILWAUKEE (AP) — It’s far too early to bestow star status on
Milwaukee Bucks rookie Jon Leuer.
He’s not off to a bad start, though.
The second-round pick out of Wisconsin converted a three-point
play with 1:17 left, helping the Bucks hold off the Minnesota
Timberwolves for a 98-95 victory in their home opener Tuesday
night.
Leuer was cheered loudly in pregame introductions, and it only
got better from there.
“That’s the Badger love, I guess, a little bit,” Leuer said.
“They were great fans for me my four years at Wisconsin, so I’m
glad I get to keep playing for them.”
Leuer finished the game with 14 points on 5 for 7 shooting and
had eight rebounds. Bucks center Andrew Bogut joked that he might
start losing some minutes.
“Jon was great,” Bucks coach Scott Skiles said. “I probably
should have played him more last night. He’s earned his minutes out
there.”
Brandon Jennings scored 24 points and Stephen Jackson added 16
for the Bucks, who were playing without forward Drew Gooden because
of a suspension and several other key players because of
injuries.
Kevin Love had 31 points and 20 rebounds, repeatedly finding his
way to the free throw line for the Timberwolves.
“We just dug ourselves a hole we shouldn’t have been in,” Love
said. “We turned the ball over too much and they made some
shots.”
Minnesota was without coach Rick Adelman, who was attending
funeral services for his mother-in-law. Assistant Terry Porter, a
former head coach in Milwaukee, filled in.
The Timberwolves were sloppy on offense at times, with 25
turnovers.
“We tried to do some things, go for the home-run passes a couple
of times,” Porter said. “We just didn’t do a good enough job
offensively executing our set.”
Timberwolves guard Ricky Rubio had six points, four assists,
three turnovers and three steals in 27-plus minutes.
“We were 20 down, so we started playing harder and trying to
control the game,” Rubio said. “And we did, but it was too
late.”
Milwaukee led by 10 after a pair of free throws by Jennings, but
Luke Ridnour hit a long jumper and Michael Beasley hit a 3-pointer
to cut the Bucks’ lead to 94-89 with just under three minutes
left.
Andrew Bogut fouled out with 2:08 left, sending Love to the
line. He hit one of two free throws to cut the lead to four.
After a miss by Jennings, Beasley hit a jumper to cut the lead
to two with 1:42 left.
On a chaotic possession for the Bucks, Leuer took a pass from
Jennings and went up strong to the basket.
The ball went in as Leuer was fouled, and the second-round pick
out of Wisconsin hit the free throw to complete the three-point
play and put the Bucks up 97-92 with 1:17 left.
“It’s good to have not only a rookie, but a center who can back
me up and we don’t lose too much,” Bogut said. “He shoots the ball
very well, he’s very efficient offensively. Defensively, he’s
always in the right spots.”
Free throws helped the Timberwolves cut the lead to 98-95, and
they had the ball with 7.2 seconds left. But Love missed a 3-point
attempt.
Milwaukee had a 20-point lead with just under seven minutes left
in the third quarter but went cold from there, and it began to look
as if they might blow the lead — just like they did in Monday
night’s season opener at Charlotte.
“We know we need to play better than that,” Skiles said.
The undermanned Bucks won despite a huge night from Love.
The Timberwolves’ big man made a living at the free throw line
against a depleted Bucks defense in the first quarter, drawing
whistle after whistle and forcing Skiles to keep rotating through
frontcourt players getting in foul trouble.
Love shot 15 free throws in the first quarter alone, hitting 13
— and drawing the ire of Skiles, who was called for a technical
foul with 1:22 left in the quarter after yet another call went
Love’s way.
“He’s a monster, definitely,” Leuer said. “But we contained him
enough the second half.”
Bogut said he was surprised to see Love draw so many calls.
“Yeah, definitely,” Bogut said. “Without getting a fine here, it
was tough. It was one of those games where nothing went our
way.”
The Bucks came into Tuesday’s game short-handed in the
frontcourt and expecting a handful from the Timberwolves.
Gooden was suspended for Tuesday night’s game after committing a
flagrant foul in the Bucks’ season-opening loss at Charlotte on
Monday night.
Beyond that, Bucks defensive stopper Luc Richard Mbah a Moute
remained sidelined by tendinitis in his right knee, while Carlos
Delfino (sprained right wrist) and first-round rookie Tobias Harris
(dehyrdation) also sat out Tuesday.
NOTES: Bogut had 15 points and nine rebounds before fouling out.
… The Bucks were 2 for 16 from 3-point range. … Minnesota
outrebounded Milwaukee 54-45.
Running low on time today, i’ll be back tomorrow hopefully with some more news.
The Milwaukee Bucks have assigned rookie guard Darington Hobson to the Fort Wayne Mad Ants (Indiana) of the NBA Development League (D-League), General Manager John Hammond announced today. Fort Wayne is led by Head Coach Joey Meyer, who previously coached the Bucks D-League affiliate in Tulsa. The Mad Ants host the L.A. Defenders on Friday, Dec. 30 at 7:30 p.m. (EST) before welcoming the Canton Charge to town on Sunday, Jan. 1 at 5:00 p.m. (EST).
NEW YORK, Dec. 29, 2011 – The Milwaukee Bucks assigned guard Darington Hobson to the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, the Bucks’ NBA D-League affiliate, it was announced today. The assignment mark the sixth time in the 2011-12 season an NBA player has been assigned to an NBA D-League affiliate. It marks the first assignment for Hobson this season.
