NBA: Banged-up Minnesota annihilates Milwaukee by 33 points

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

No Anthony Edwards, no problem.

On Jan. 14, 2026, the Minnesota Timberwolves shocked the Milwaukee Bucks despite missing Edwards and starting center Rudy Gobert, winning 139-106 during an interconference NBA regular-season matchup.

Edwards had to sit out the highly anticipated showdown due to right foot injury management, while Gobert is still serving a suspension for a flagrant foul he committed against the San Antonio Spurs.

Even without their contributions, the Timberwolves traveled on the road as if it were the Target Center, decimating the Bucks on their home floor in front of 17,341 fans at Fiserv Forum.

Disaster quickly struck Milwaukee as the red-hot shooting of Minnesota turned the brief mano-a-mano affair into a one-sided beatdown.

From exchanging baskets in the first four minutes of the opening quarter, the duo of Julius Randle and Jaden McDaniels heated up midway through the frame, ballooning the Timberwolves’ lead to 18 points, 38-20, after the first 12 minutes of action.

Randle kicked off Minnesota’s offensive clinic with an unconscious shooting display from downtown, backstopped by McDaniels, who led the charge in the closing three minutes of the pivotal quarter.

Owning the opening canto was the key to Minnesota’s consistent and dominant outing, as Milwaukee never pulled to within single digits until the final buzzer sounded.

The Bucks tried to feed Giannis Antetokounmpo underneath at the start of the second quarter, but his personal heroics couldn’t match Minnesota’s balanced firepower, as Bones Hyland and Donte DiVincenzo joined the party off the bench to add to Milwaukee’s woes.

It was pretty much over when the Timberwolves mounted their biggest lead of the game—41 points—forcing Milwaukee head coach Doc Rivers to pull all members of his starting unit with eight minutes still left to play in the fourth period.

The Timberwolves torched the Bucks from three-point territory, 22-13, and outrebounded them 54-41, which helped them control the pace and tempo of the ballgame.

Despite committing 16 turnovers, Minnesota made up for it with efficient offensive execution, finishing the convincing dub with 37 total assists and 20 second-chance points.

Randle spearheaded the Minnesota avalanche as the seasoned power forward tallied a game-high 29-point performance built on an efficient 12-of-18 shooting from the field.

Aside from his stellar scoring clinic, Randle also did the intangibles and nearly recorded a triple-double with eight rebounds, six assists and a steal.

McDaniels was also huge in the absence of Edwards, as his 17-point outing sparked Minnesota’s first-quarter attack, alongside six boards and five dimes.

On the other hand, Antetokounmpo powered the Bucks with 25 points in just 30 minutes but needed more help offensively, as their bench mob logged only nine points before garbage time ticked in the fourth.