NBA's Timberwolves, Bucks to play exhibition game at Hilton Coliseum

Randy Peterson | The Des Moines Register

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AMES, Ia. — The NBA is returning to Ames for the first time in nearly two decades with a matchup of two returning playoff teams.

The Milwaukee Bucks will face the Minnesota Timberwolves in an Oct. 7 exhibition at Hilton Coliseum. Tickets will go on sale to the public on Sept. 4, an official with the Iowa Wolves said Monday.

The news was formally announced at a Tuesday press conference on the Iowa State campus.

It will be the first NBA preseason game at Hilton since 1999, when a pair of Iowa State legends were back in town. The game was between Chicago and Atlanta — when former Cyclones coach Tim Floyd coached a Bulls team that included Fred Hoiberg.

The Timberwolves’ G-League affiliate, the Iowa Wolves, play at Wells Fargo Arena in downtown Des Moines. The game is being played in Ames because of a scheduling conflict at Wells Fargo, sources tell the Register.

Led by star forward Giannis Antetokounmpo, the Bucks finished 44-38 last season and reached the Eastern Conference playoffs, losing to the Boston Celtics in the first round. The Wolves, featuring guard Jimmy Butler and center Karl-Anthony Towns, were 47-35 to gain the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference. They were defeated by the top-seeded Houston Rockets in the opening round.