Minnesota Timberwolves at Milwaukee Bucks
Date: January 13th, 2026
Time: 7:00 PM CST
Location: Target Center
Television Coverage: FanDuel Sports Network – North
Radio Coverage: KFAN FM, Wolves App, iHeart Radio
There are days when your favorite team gets smoked on its own floor by the Brooklyn Nets and you wonder why you even bother to care about professional sports. You start mentally Googling hobbies. Maybe pickleball? Maybe woodworking? And then there are days like yesterday, when your team erases a 19-point deficit against a major conference rival, stares down the most terrifying alien basketball experiment ever created, and announces itself as a real, breathing, title-contending organism.
Yes, the comeback was exhilarating.
Yes, the Target Center sounded like a jet engine.
But the thing that truly mattered, the thing that told you this wasn’t just another Wolves mood swing, was how Minnesota executed in the fourth quarter.
They started the night looking rattled. Wembanyama’s presence warped everything. Spacing felt wrong. Shot selection got weird. You could practically see the thought bubbles forming: Is that guy allowed to be that tall? The Wolves fell behind 0–16, and for a moment it felt like one of those nights where the crowd would get a chance to head home early and get some sleep before the work week.
Then Wembanyama sat… and the Wolves woke up.
By the end of the first quarter they had stabilized. By the fourth, with San Antonio clinging to a shrinking lead, the real test arrived: what happens when the monster returns? Would Minnesota fold like they have so many times before?
Instead, Julius Randle unleashed the most violent stretch of bully ball this franchise has seen in years. He bodied Wembanyama. He bricked him up. He sent the league’s most precious asset skidding across the hardwood like a baby giraffe discovering ice. And then, with the season’s biggest possession hanging in the balance, Anthony Edwards delivered another signature moment — burying the shot that made it 104–103, final.
It was the most important win of Minnesota’s season. A loss would’ve meant two straight defeats, more distance from San Antonio in the two-seed race, and looming chaos with the Bucks, Rockets, and another Spurs matchup ahead. Instead, the Wolves stared down the moment and took it.
Rudy Gobert picked up a flagrant on a hard closeout against Wembanyama and will now serve a one-game suspension in Milwaukee. Which means the Wolves, emotionally spent after a back-to-back weekend and the season’s biggest win, now have to walk into Giannis Antetokounmpo’s building without the foundation of their defense.
That’s the NBA. No time to celebrate.
Every game counts the same.
So now comes Milwaukee, and with it, the next exam.
#1: Julius and Naz must replace the Gobert-shaped hole.
There’s no sugarcoating this. Losing Rudy Gobert for this game is massive. When Rudy leaves the floor, the entire identity of Minnesota’s defense changes. The rim becomes vulnerable, rebounding becomes a battle instead of a formality, and the Wolves no longer get to erase mistakes with a safety net behind them. That responsibility now lands on Julius Randle and Naz Reid. Randle just showed against Wembanyama what real physical, grown-man defense looks like, and he’s going to need that same energy against Giannis. Naz has to control the glass, contest everything, and make Milwaukee feel his presence inside. This is also a moment for Chris Finch to seriously evaluate whether Joan Beringer is ready to step into real minutes. Without Rudy, every big body matters.
#2: Keep the January edge.
Credit where it’s due, this team has been completely different since January 1. The slow, lethargic, emotionally checked-out versions of December are gone. Even during that brutal 0–16 start against San Antonio, you couldn’t fault the effort. The Wolves fought, they hustled, they just needed time to adjust to Wembanyama’s generational length. That same edge has to carry into Milwaukee. Donte DiVincenzo has become a walking defibrillator for this team by sprinting, scrapping, and making the kind of plays that tilt games. That pace, that urgency, that refusal to let the opponent breathe has to stay locked in, even on tired legs.
#3: Stay unselfish on offense.
The Wolves’ best basketball lately hasn’t been about hero shots. It’s been about movement, spacing, and trust. Less iso. More ball movement. More guys touching the ball. More good shots instead of forced ones. With Gobert out, the defense will be stressed, so the offense cannot afford waste. Every possession matters. That means sharing the ball, attacking the defense instead of each other, and squeezing points out of smart reads instead of desperation.
#4: Let Ant build the MVP case in real time.
Giannis is already a locked-in top-five player. Anthony Edwards is pounding on that door. He’s delivered clutch shots, game winners, leadership, availability — the full franchise-star package. This is the halfway point of the season, and if Ant keeps playing the way he has in January, First Team All-NBA is there for the taking, and real MVP votes will follow. Against Giannis, on the road, without Gobert behind him, is where Ant proves he belongs in that tier. Attack the rim. Control the tempo. Create for others. Pick Milwaukee apart from deep. And raise his defensive intensity to cover the gap left by Rudy’s suspension.
(UPDATE: Anthony Edwards will be out for this game due to “Right foot injury management.”)
This is Game 41, the official midpoint of the season, and like every Timberwolves year, it’s been a ride. There have been brutal lows, thrilling highs, and now, finally, a stretch of basketball that feels like it’s pointing somewhere real. Over the past six games, this team has shown growth, maturity, cohesion, and the early shape of a legitimate contender.
The Spurs comeback opened the door.
Milwaukee decides whether the Wolves walk through it.
They cannot afford to waste what they just earned. With Houston and another San Antonio showdown looming, this is the game that keeps the season on its tracks. This is the one they must take, Gobert or no Gobert.
Now the Wolves have to anchor down, stay connected, and prove that Sunday wasn’t just a moment, but the beginning of something bigger.
Because if they leave Milwaukee with this one, they won’t just be stacking wins.
They’ll be building belief.
