Matt Velazquez

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

AMES, Iowa - The folks of Ames, Iowa, have been waiting for an up-close look at the NBA since 1999 when the Chicago Bulls and Atlanta Hawks visited Hilton Coliseum. The 11,603 fans in attendance for Sunday's exhibition game between the Milwaukee Bucks and Minnesota Timberwolves certainly got their money's worth.

First off, they got a unique experience available to no one else outside the building. Oddly enough, the game, a 125-107 Bucks win, wasn't broadcast on any television network or streaming service.

If that wasn't enough, they also were treated to standout performances by two of the NBA's young stars in Milwaukee's Giannis Antetokounmpo and Minnesota's Karl-Anthony Towns. It may have only been a preseason game, but both Antetokounmpo and Towns looked to be in mid-season form, which at any venue is a sight to behold.

“They’re great players, two big pieces of their teams," Bucks wing Khris Middleton said. "Giannis did a great job of finding areas to attack on offense and also find guys and Towns did the same. Towns is a great scorer off the block, on the block, spacing. I thought we did a great job on him, trying to make him take a lot of tough shots but he made those.”

BOX SCORE:Bucks 125, Timberwolves 107

Towns took his turn first, pouring in 23 first-half points on 9 of 12 shooting, dominating the Bucks from all over the court. Antetokounmpo, on the other hand, started slowly. He went just 1 of 6 from the floor with 6 points in the first half, missing a handful of shots in close as he was swarmed inside.

But in the second half, particularly the third quarter, the fireworks really started. Antetokounmpo opened the period with a steal and a hammer dunk, a hop step for a layup and a twisting bucket in the lane.

Then, he and Towns started going back and forth at each other, including Towns trying to dunk on Antetokounmpo only to have his attempt go off the back iron, eliciting a loud gasp from the crowd. Towns got the ball back after the rebound was corralled and went hard at Antetokounmpo in the post and ultimately got a baseline hook to fall. Antetokounmpo responded later by stepping back for a 17-foot jumper in Towns' face.

By the end of the night, Towns had 33 points and 12 rebounds in 28 minutes while Antetokounmpo finished with 21 points – capped by a smooth, pull-up three – and nine rebounds in 26 1/2 minutes.

“It’s great going against guys like Towns because he’s one of the best players in the league," Antetokounmpo said. "Now we know what to expect in the regular season.”

Collectively, the Bucks maintained control for the majority of the game, leading by as many as 21 points. They took the lead for good by closing the first quarter with a 16-4 run over the final 3 minutes, 8 seconds.

As well as they played, Antetokounmpo wasn't pleased with his team's performance, especially relative to their preseason-opening win on Wednesday.

“I think as a team we had a great win again, but I think we took a step back," he said. "We didn’t move the ball as much and it’s crazy, like the difference between last year and this year, moving-the-ball-wise, it was way better. But for what we’re doing this year I think we didn’t do a great job moving the ball as much as we wanted.”

Five Bucks players joined Antetokounmpo in double figures. Christian Wood scored eight of his 14 points in the fourth quarter to go with seven rebounds, three assists and a steal in nearly 20 minutes off the bench. Middleton added 13 points and Malcolm Brogdon, Donte DiVincenzo and Tony Snell each had 12.

Three-pointers remained a sizable part of Milwaukee's offense, with the Bucks going 13 of 36 (36.1%) from long range. However, led by Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee also made a concerted effort to attack the basket, finishing with 50 points in the paint.

The Bucks struggled to stop the Timberwolves, particularly Towns and Taj Gibson, inside in the first half, allowing 34 points in the paint in the first half alone, but Milwaukee slowed the bleeding in the second half, holding the Wolves to 18 points inside. Outside of 30 fouls – in a game featuring 57 total fouls – the Bucks handled themselves well on defense overall, coaxing 20 Timberwolves turnovers that led to 24 points.

The high number of fouls, which is on par with the league-wide average during the preseason, clearly affected the flow of play as both teams struggled to adjust to the NBA's points of emphasis regarding player movement.

“We got through Game 1, it felt like, pretty smoothly and tonight just a ton of whistles," Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer said. “We’d like to play with some freedom of movement and rhythm and all those things, so I think it’s to our advantage. Hopefully, over time, this will be something we think is a positive.”

Injury report: The Bucks were without Ersan Ilyasova (right hamstring soreness), Thon Maker (left knee soreness), Matthew Dellavedova (left patella tendinitis), D.J. Wilson (right hamstring strain) and Trevon Duval (left eye injury) for Sunday's game.

Ilyasova and Maker represented new additions to the injury list, though neither's ailment is considered to be especially serious. Maker says he started experiencing discomfort on Friday and didn't practice Saturday before deciding with the team's training staff to play it safe and stay out of Sunday's game. Ilyasova is in a similar situation.

“Ersan’s just a little bit of a hamstring, some tightness that I think is pretty minor, minimal," Budenholzer said. "Hopefully just erring a little bit on the side of precaution.”

For Dellavedova, this latest absence represents his second of the preseason coming off an injury-plagued 2017-'18 campaign. Sporting a sleeve on his left knee, he went through a robust pre-game shooting routine Sunday night and hopes to make his preseason debut on Tuesday in Oklahoma City.

“Just had to have a couple lighter days to rest it up a little bit," Dellavdova said, noting he spent the summer lifting weights and getting the strength in his legs back up. "Overall it’s feeling good.”