Milwaukee opened its preseason slate with a 116-97 loss to the Timberwolves on Oct. 5, trailing by as many as 11 and never leading by more than two. Ryan Rollins carried the best plus-minus on the floor before fouling out, and the bench outscored the starters 55-39 on a night that gave Jenkins his first real look at the rotation.
Last season
Rollins fouled out of the preseason opener against Detroit in 15 minutes a year ago. He beat that mark this time, picking up his fifth foul with 2:53 left in the third after 14 minutes on the floor. Milwaukee closed last season at 32-50, missing the playoffs for the first time since 2016-17, with a defense that ranked 26th in the league and a net rating of -6.1.
Oct. 5
Minnesota opened on a 31-20 first quarter and never trailed. Milwaukee's biggest lead was two points, Minnesota's reached 11, and the two sides traded the lead twice with one tie. The Bucks won the third quarter 28-21, but a 35-21 fourth from the Timberwolves put it away, 116-97 final.
Late in the third
Nate Ament checked in for Kyle Kuzma at the 4:42 mark, his first appearance in a Bucks uniform. Brayden Burries followed under two minutes later, putting Milwaukee's two lottery picks on the floor together for the first time. Ament finished with 8 points in 14 minutes; Burries added 7 points, 2 rebounds and 5 assists in 16, with 3 turnovers.
Postgame grades
Rollins earned the best mark of the night: 15 points on 6-of-12 shooting, a steal, a block and a plus-9 in 14 minutes before his fifth foul. Kel'el Ware added 14 points and 12 rebounds off the bench in 24 minutes, though his minus-10 reflected Minnesota's fourth-quarter pull away. Herro shot 3-of-9 with four turnovers and a minus-11 in 19 minutes, a rougher first look.
Around the league
Trent scored 11 points off the bench, going 3-of-8 from three. Behind the Buck Pass wrote that he "failed to clear his name" in the opener, a nod to the NBA's still-open probe into his contract, first reported Sept. 23 by Joe Vardon with no finding made public since.
Why did Ryan Rollins foul out against the Timberwolves?
Rollins picked up his fifth personal foul with 2:53 left in the third quarter after 14 minutes on the floor, a tougher stretch than the 15 minutes he lasted in last year's preseason opener against Detroit.
Who scored for the Bucks in the loss to Minnesota?
Ryan Rollins led with 15 points, Kel'el Ware added 14 points and 12 rebounds off the bench, and Trent and Herro each scored 11 in the 116-97 defeat.
