Disappointing defense causes Sam Mitchell to bench three starters

It will be very interesting to see how the Wolves respond to what happened here in Milwaukee tonight.

The Wolves had a game-long series of defensive collapses, and interim coach Sam Mitchell finally had enough. He benched Ricky Rubio, Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins early in the third quarter and they never played again. Afterward Mitchell had some pointed comments about their defense – or lack of it – in a terse, 30-second post-game press conference.

Here are some thoughts on the game:

--What an up and down night for Towns. He scored 15 points in the first quarter – it was his second 15-point first quarter in six games – but then wasn't heard from much again.

--Wiggins and Towns, both pulled 3:51 into the third quarter, were a minus-12 in that time. Rubio, pulled a minute later, finished with two points and one assist.

--A group of Zach LaVine, Gorgui Dieng, Tyus Jones, Shabazz Muhammad and Damjan Rudez played very well. That group was in the game for much of a 25-5 run that began with the Wolves down 27 late in the third quarter that pulled Minnesota within seven points on Rudez' three-pointer with 5:10 left. But the Wolves couldn't get any closer.

--Minnesota's 26 turnovers was a season high. The 41 points the Bucks scored off those turnovers was the second-most by a Wolves opponent this season; Phoenix had 43 points off 25 Wolves turnovers earlier this season.

--Perhaps the most amazing thing tonight was how often the Wolves allowed Khris Middleton to shoot open three-pointers. He made his first eight before he finally missed one. He finished with 32 points on 11-for-16 shooting.