(SportsNetwork.com) - The Minnesota Timberwolves hope to break even in the conclusion of a four-game homestand Tuesday versus the Milwaukee Bucks.
The Timberwolves lost to New York in the opener of the stay, defeated Detroit last Friday and dropped a 111-104 decision versus Toronto the last time out on Sunday. DeMar DeRozan scored 25 points and Kyle Lowry had a triple-double of 20 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists for the Raptors.
Toronto knocked down 14-of-24 3-pointers.
"It's a good team we played," Wolves coach Rick Adelman said. "They're playing very well and they have a lot of veteran players. We got beat. We can't hang our heads."
Minnesota was led by Kevin Love's 26 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists, Kevin Martin scored 20 points and both Corey Brewer and Nikola Pekovic ended with 17 points. Pekovic also grabbed 11 rebounds for the T'Wolves, who had won three straight and six of seven games before the homestand.
Love is averaging 30.4 points and 12.2 rebounds in the last 11 games.
The Wolves have a 17-13 record at the Target Center and are five games off a playoff spot in the West.
Milwaukee will play its next three games on the road and hopes to slow down a Timberwolves team that is fourth in the NBA with 106.2 ppg.
The Bucks, who are scheduled to visit Atlanta and New York on the trip, held their last opponent under 100 points in Monday's 105-98 win over Orlando. Brandon Knight scored 24 points, Khris Middleton had 21 and Ersan Ilyasova added 16 points and 11 boards, as Milwaukee stopped a three-game slide and won for the second time in the last seven tries.
"I just wanted to come out and be aggressive," said Knight. "We were able to get out and get some easy baskets and it was able to get us into a good rhythm."
Milwaukee is 5-24 as the visitor and suffered a 117-95 loss to Minnesota on Dec. 28 in Brew City. Love led the Wolves in that one with 33 points and 15 rebounds, while Middleton ended with 23 points.
The Timberwolves are unbeaten in the past three games against Milwaukee and have an 11-2 mark in the previous 13 meetings as the host.
