Sunday was a letdown but not a loss.

And that’s a win for the Timberwolves.

On the heels of a dramatic victory Friday against Oklahoma City, which handed the defending champ only its third loss of the season, Minnesota predictably walked out of the gates against a Giannis Antetokounmpo-less Bucks at Target Center.

The Wolves were down six at the end of the first quarter and the deficit grew to as many as 14 at various points in the second and third.

Minnesota Timberwolves forward Jaden McDaniels (3) shoots as Milwaukee Bucks guard AJ Green (20) defends during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Sunday, Dec. 21, 2025, in Minneapolis. McDaniels left the game in the first half with hip soreness. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

Jaden McDaniels left the game in the first half with hip pain. Anthony Edwards went just 7 for 24 from the field. Julius Randle scored only 12 points. As a team, the Wolves shot just 31% from distance.

But Minnesota’s bench made up for the lack of starter production.

Mike Conley was active Sunday after a two-week absence due to Achilles tendinopathy. And while segments of the fan base thought Conley shouldn’t have a role in the rotation upon his return, Wolves coach Chris Finch believed otherwise.

And all Conley did in Minnesota’s 103-100 win over Milwaukee was tally six points, six assists and five rebounds in 24 minutes. The Wolves’ won Conley’s minutes by 16 points, a plus-minus that trailed only Naz Reid’s plus-17.

Finch told reporters Conley gave the Wolves “what he always gives us.”

“Great defense, get to the heart of the paint and make the right play. We didn’t shoot the ball that well from the 3-point line but some of the best rhythm we had was when he was out there and just getting us some clean looks,” Finch said. “That’s who Mike still is. I know we’ve only been playing him 15, 16 minutes, but he’s certainly capable of more, and it’s good to have him back.”

Reid had 12 points and six rebounds. Terrence Shannon Jr. knocked down three triples. Bones Hyland had nine points and four assists. Sunday’s game was won with the reserves.

“We have so many guys that can come in and contribute to winning,” Wolves center Rudy Gobert said in his on-court, postgame television interview.

Gobert certainly contributed to the cause as well. The center finished with 11 points and 18 rebounds, which tied a season high. He’s now grabbed 12-plus rebounds in five straight games, and seven of his last nine.

Rather than wrestling with foes down low who turn around and try to lock the Frenchman up face to face, Finch said the center has done a better job lately of shedding his opponent and going up and grabbing any balls that bounce off the iron.

Early in the contest, Gobert grabbed his 10,000th career board.

“That’s who I am,” Gobert said. “I try to come in every night and bring something to the team and play winning basketball. I’ve still got a few more to go.”

Trailing 68-53 early in the third, Minnesota (19-10) closed the frame on a 22-7 run to knot the score. The Wolves then used an 11-4 run early in the closing quarter on the strength of Shannon’s shooting to create a big enough gap to get to the finish line with another win, their ninth in their last 11 games.

Kevin Porter Jr. had 24 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists to pace Milwaukee (11-18)

Minnesota next hosts the Knicks on Tuesday to wrap a five-game homestand.

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With students on holiday break, the Gophers men’s basketball pep band was down to a couple dozen members, including just two sousaphones, for Sunday evening’s nonconference tilt with Campbell University.

The shorthanded brass section notwithstanding, Minnesota had more than enough talent on the Barn’s court to blow the Camels away, 78-50. The hosts shot 58 percent from the floor, threw down half a dozen dunks and received another standout performance from senior swingman Cade Tyson, who delivered 24 points, seven rebounds and five assists.

“Tyson gets all the limelight and rightfully so,” said Campbell coach John Andrzejek, whose team ended a weeklong road trip. “I think he’s an NBA player because he presents matchup problems. His shooting ability makes you want to put a smaller, quicker guy on him to navigate all the screens.

“But he also is physical and can score in the post and get on the boards, which makes you want to put a taller guy on him.”

Neither tactic worked and Tyson’s performance was complemented by point guard Isaac Asuma, who added 15 points and six of his team’s 26 assists. The Gophers entered the night leading NCAA Division I squads with a 72 percent assist rate.

“There’s clearly an unselfishness… and we’re picking up more things on the offensive end,” said first-year coach Niko Medved, whose team has battled injuries. “We’re starting to show some defensive growth, but we’ve got a lot of work to do. We’re really shorthanded and I don’t know if or when that’s going to change.”

Said junior forward Bobby Durkin, who had 11 points and five rebounds: “There has to be a heightened emphasis and focus on what everyone does best and locking in on them doing that even better.”

The Camels (5-7) couldn’t get over the hump from the opening tip, missing their first seven shots, committing three turnovers and falling behind, 12-0 during the first five minutes. The Colonial Athletic Association members, playing the toughest nonconference schedule in program history, never led while losing to their third Big 10 foe of the season.

“it wasn’t quite as heinous as the early score looked,” said Andrzejek, at 33 the third-youngest Division I head coach in the country. “But after that we spiraled a bit and turned the ball over. A lot of them were unforced, just not playing on two feet or putting two hands on the ball.”

The Gophers’ lead swelled to 23-8 after 10 minutes. Minnesota was up, 41-22, at halftime, improved to 7-0 at home and has won back-to-back games and three of its last four contests. One last nonconference game remains, a Dec. 29 meeting with visiting Fairleigh Dickinson, and then it’s Big 10 opponents the rest of the way.

“We know we’re a little smaller and teams are really going to try to go at us on the glass and inside,” said Medved, who received more than 30 minutes from three starters Sunday and 27 from another. “We’re got to continue to play defense without picking up silly fouls. We have guys we can’t afford to have in foul trouble.

“I think it’s having great conditioning and playing physical. But you have to learn when you can stick your nose in there and when you can’t, because then you’re putting things in the officials’ hands.”

Andrzejek thinks the Gophers (7-5) will punch above their figurative weight.

“They have an elite offensive system where the guys all complement each other and the ball moves around and they don’t care who gets the shot or the credit,” he said. “It’s about taking what shot is best for the team and that’s dictated by how the other team is guarding them.”

Medved is giving his players four days off before it’s back to the grind.

“Guys are going to have to log a lot of productive minutes,” he said. “We’ve gotten a lot better the last couple of weeks but now we’ve got to make another major jump. Because after this, it’s on.”

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It was billed as a meeting of the NHL’s two hottest teams. But after a choppy 60 minutes of hockey in downtown St. Paul, one of them had cooled off considerably.

The Colorado Avalanche solidified their lead atop the Central Division on Sunday, emphatically, building a commending lead and giving Minnesota Wild fans precious little to cheer about. The home team’s seven-game win streak came to a sudden halt as Colorado won 5-1, thanks in large part to a pair of Nathan MacKinnon goals.

Ryan Hartman scored for the Wild, his fifth goal in the past six games, and goalie Jesper Wallstedt had 37 saves in the Wild’s first home loss in regulation since before Halloween. Their now-ended streak of 14 consecutive home games with at least a point (12-0-2) was a franchise record.

Both teams had early, fruitless power plays, and both teams had scoring chances that just barely didn’t pan out. Wild forward Vinnie Hinostroza had an early breakaway thwarted, while Colorado forward Brock Nelson clanked the goalpost with a first-period shot.

Colorado’s dangerous top line got rolling in the offensive zone late in the first, pinning the Wild defenders in deep, and getting the first goal when Martin Necas was uncovered in the slot and beat Wallstedt with a snap shot.

The Avalanche looked to have doubled the lead when former Lakeville South standout Sam Malinski swatted a loose puck behind Wallstedt. The Wild challenged the play, successfully, for offside entering the zone, and the goal came off the scoreboard.

Minnesota got its second power play of the night midway through the middle frame when Hartman took a cross check to the face. On the man advantage, the Wild got good pressure on the Colorado net but again could not break through. Instead it was Colorado getting a power play goal to double the lead when MacKinnon scored for an NHL-leading 29th time this season.

When Colorado got a four-minute power play later in the second, Minnesota killed three-fourths of it, only to see the Avalanche take a commanding lead on a Cale Makar blast from the blue line.

Hartman finally gave the sellout crowd a reason to cheer early in the third, going to the net and popping in a loose puck after Jonas Brodin’s long-range shot was knocked down in the crease. But former Warroad star Brock Nelson answered with a quick shot past Wallstedt, and MacKinnon added a late empty-net goal.

Mackenzie Blackwood had 28 saves for Colorado, which hosts the Wild on Feb. 26 at Ball Arena in Denver.

The Wild close out the pre-Christmas part of their schedule on Tuesday, hosting the Nashville Predators in a 7 p.m. game. It will be their last taste of home cooking for a while. With Grand Casino Arena hosting the World Junior Championship, the Wild will embark on a seven-game, two-week road trip starting Dec. 27 in Winnipeg.

Briefly

As a part of the Minnesota franchise’s ongoing 25-season celebration, the team had a quartet of former captains – Richard Park, Antti Laaksonen, Brad Bombardir and Wes Walz – drop the ceremonial first puck before Sunday’s game. Park, who is now a professional scout for the Wild, scored the first playoff overtime goal in franchise history on April 21, 2003, in a 3-2 win over Colorado in Game 6 of their first-round playoff series. The Wild won Game 7 in overtime a day later, for Minnesota’s first playoff series victory.

A man suspected of car theft who police say was fleeing on foot on an Interstate 94 onramp was shot and injured Sunday afternoon by officers after he pulled out a handgun and allegedly pointed it at police officers, according to the St. Paul police department.

St. Paul police gave the following details:

About 3 p.m. General Motors notified police that a vehicle stolen out of Minneapolis was heading towards St. Paul on I-94. The car company was monitoring the car and at about 3:15 p.m. was able to remotely slow the vehicle to a stop on the westbound I-94 onramp from Highway 52.

A man who was driving the car and a female passenger exited the vehicle and began to run away on foot. As the man ran, he pulled out a handgun and pointed it at officers.

Officers fired their service weapons and the man was struck once in the leg. He was taken to Regions Hospital for treatment of a non-life threatening injury. The female was taken into custody a short time later. No officers or bystanders were injured.

The Bureau of Criminal Apprehension is investigating.

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