A Lopsided Preseason Opener, Two Rookies, and Early Foul…

By the Bucks Nightly Desk · Tuesday, October 6

The Bucks opened their preseason schedule with a 116-97 loss to the Timberwolves on Monday, trailing by as many as 11 points. Rookies Brayden Burries and Nate Ament both played, and Ryan Rollins fouled out in just 14 minutes.

Bucks Nightly artwork — Illustration by Hoops Nightly.

Monday, Oct. 5

Milwaukee opened its preseason schedule at home and lost to Minnesota, 116-97, trailing by 11 at the game's largest gap. The Timberwolves led 31-20 after one quarter and 60-48 at halftime. Rollins led Milwaukee with 15 points in just 14 minutes before fouling out; Ware added 14 points and 12 rebounds off the bench.

Second half

Jenkins opened the second half with Herro, Rollins, Jaquez, Turner and Kuzma as his starting five. Of the four players who arrived from Miami in the Antetokounmpo trade, only Jakucionis sat out the first half; Ousmane Dieng was a full DNP, along with rookies Ament and Bogoljub Markovic.

Third quarter

Nate Ament made his first appearance for Milwaukee in the third quarter, checking in for Kuzma with the Bucks down 72-66. Brayden Burries, already playing since the first half, returned with under two minutes left in the third, putting Milwaukee's two lottery picks on the floor together. Rollins fouled out at the 2:53 mark after playing 14 minutes, a quicker exit than his preseason game against Detroit a year ago, when he lasted 15 minutes before his sixth foul.

This week

Milwaukee visits Oklahoma City on Wednesday, Oct. 7, then continues its preseason slate at Charlotte on Oct. 11 and home against Chicago on Oct. 14, before closing the exhibition schedule at Indiana on Oct. 16. The regular-season opener is set for Oct. 21 at Washington.

Still open

The NBA's inquiry into Milwaukee's deal for Trent Jr., first reported Sept. 23 by Joe Vardon, has produced no finding or timeline since that report. Trent scored 11 points off the bench in the opener, hitting 3 of 8 from three-point range.

Next Milwaukee plays its second preseason game Wednesday, Oct. 7, on the road against Oklahoma City.

Did Ryan Rollins foul out of the Bucks' preseason opener?

Yes. Rollins fouled out at the 2:53 mark of the third quarter after playing 14 minutes, finishing with 15 points.

Who made their Bucks debut in the preseason opener against Minnesota?

Rookies Brayden Burries and Nate Ament both played in the 116-97 loss, with Ament entering for the first time in the third quarter.