Fans in Madison let Wolves rookies Jones, Towns know they remember

MADISON, WIS. – The good people of Madison remembered Timberwolves rookie center Karl-Anthony Towns on Tuesday night in an arena he'd never played in before.

They also showed they won't soon forget fellow rookie Tyus Jones, either, during the Wolves' otherwise forgettable 106-88 preseason loss to the Milwaukee Bucks at the University of Wisconsin's Kohl Center.

Leading by three points late in the second quarter and trailing by only three midway through the third, the Wolves surrendered a 24-7 run over the third quarter's final six minutes that broke open the game and caused an announced audience of 12,381 to look elsewhere for their entertainment and amusement.

They found it in the Wolves' two first-round draft picks, welcoming Jones back to the place where he carried Duke to victory last December and reminding Towns of an April night last spring.

By the time Jones first entered the game and played the entire fourth quarter, the Wolves trailed by 20 points to the Bucks, aiming at making the playoffs for a second consecutive season.

Every time Jones touched the ball in that superfluous final quarter, hometown Badgers fans booed, and how.

"We couldn't even hear the play calls, it was so loud," said Wolves swingman Shabazz Muhammad, who prepped for next Wednesday's regular-season opener by scoring 18 points off the bench after starter Tayshaun Prince grew ill four minutes into the game. "It was crazy."

Whatever did the 19-year-old from Apple Valley do to the people of Madison?

"I think one more banner up there in Cameron Indoor Stadium," Wolves interim coach Sam Mitchell said.

Jones beat the Madison fans' beloved Badgers almost by himself in last December's ACC-Big Ten Challenge and, more importantly, in April's NCAA Final Four title game.

"I guess they hold grudges in Wisconsin," Jones said afterward. "They hate me here. I think they have a pretty good reason to. I'll take that any day because I have a championship ring."

Jones scored 22 points in that December game in Madison and 23 points in the NCAA final in Indianapolis nearly four months later. On Tuesday, he had four points and an assist in 12 minutes on a night where the Wolves shot only 31 percent from the field.

Mitchell praised his team's play for 2½ quarters and lamented the final 1½.

"You saw the game," he told reporters. "You see what we can be for 30 minutes and then you saw what we can be for 18."

Mitchell praised what he called Muhammad's best outing of the preseason and reminiscent of the way he played before he missed last season's final week, just in time for the start of the season.

"He's starting to get his legs back under him, get his feel back," Mitchell said.

Mitchell played Muhammad 26 minutes and veteran Kevin Martin 24 — double any of his first three preseason games — off the bench to prepare each player for next week's opener at the Los Angeles Lakers. Martin missed all 10 shots from the field he attempted, but he made eight of nine free throws.

"He didn't make shots, but he got the shots he wanted," Mitchell said. "That's the most important thing. I saw the second unit and I saw some things I really liked, but we have to shoot the ball better."

Mitchell also liked what he saw when Towns recovered from first-half foul trouble by playing a lively third quarter, during which fans chanted "38 and 1" at him when he shot free throws. Wisconsin ended Kentucky's undefeated season in a Final Four semifinal.

"I did," Jones said when asked if he heard the chants. "I think it's funny. It's just a sign of respect. For them to chant at Karl when he touched the ball, that means they know he did something special. So that's just a sign of respect."

Notes

• The Wolves went bowling together Monday — a team-bonding thing — and Martin reportedly excelled against admittedly modest competition, even though he believes he hadn't bowled in about six years. "I guess I'm just a natural athlete," he said. "Baseball, basketball, football, golf, now bowling, I might have to try MMA next."

• Former Cooper High star and Bucks rookie guard Rashad Vaughn came off the bench in the fourth quarter and scored two points in seven minutes.