That matchup of rookie point guards — Jonny Flynn and Brandon Jennings — fairly fizzled while Andrew Bogut asserted himself with a 17-point, 10-rebound, 4-assist game on a night when the Bucks denied Al Jefferson at every turn and the Wolves’ triangle offense stalled, perhaps trying too hard to get him the ball.
Al made just three of 12 shots and scored eight points (had eight rebounds, too).
Al Jefferson understands that Milwaukee defense, too. The Timberwolves’ chief offensive weapon was frustrated by the Bucks’ collapsing defense all night, an effort that resulted in a season-low eight points on 3-for-12 shooting. Jefferson grew so discouraged, he even missed four of his six free throws.
“As the point guard, that falls on me,” Flynn said of the energy talk. “Everybody is feeding off me. I need to be the example, the way I was in the fourth quarter.”
The Wolves trailed by 17 in the fourth quarter when Flynn led a rally by scoring nine of the team’s 11 points in a three-minute stretch. His jumper cut the Bucks’ lead to 77-67 with 4:23 remaining, but that’s as close as the Wolves would get.