The Milwaukee Bucks beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 115-102 at Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Friday, extending their season-starting winning-streak to eight games, the best in franchise history.

The Bucks and the Timberwolves are two of the biggest teams in today's NBA, especially from the interior. Neither side wanted to waste that in Friday's game. On the Bucks' side, two of Brook Lopez, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bobby Portis were always on the court together. In response, the Timberwolves never had two of Rudy Gobert, Karl-Anthony Towns and Naz Reed sit on the bench simultaneously.

One of the results of the above rotations was that neither side was comfortable in the paint. The two teams matched each other in points in the paint (Bucks 40-42 Timberwolves) and rebounds (Bucks 51-47 Timberwolves). The Timberwolves grabbed three more offensive rebounds, but scored three fewer second-chance points (7-10).

Such struggling offensive performances were understandable because it's never easy to score over Gobert or Lopez, not to mention that players had to watch out for Antetokounmpo or Reed who were fast enough to close in for help defense. Antetokounmpo, who had been leading the NBA in points in the paint (21.1) per game, shot only 4-for-10 in this area on Friday. He was still aggressive enough to earn as many as 20 free throws, but only made 10 of them.

As a result, 3-point shooting became the deciding factor for Friday's game and the Bucks seized the opportunity by going 17-for-28 from deep. They had five players make two or more triples at the field goal rates higher than 50 percent. Moreover, Jrue Holiday carried on his recent remarkable form to get game-high 29 points. Antetokounmpo though was limited in individual attack, he did a good job of finding open teammates outside with a triple-double of 26 points, 14 rebounds and 11 assists.

By contrast, the Timberwolves shot as poorly as 11-for-41 at the 3-point line. They missed 12 of their 14 triples attempts in the final quarter. Anthony Edwards got 24 points, but he went only 3-for-9 from downtown, and, again, didn't dunk at all. As one of the most athletic players in his position, he said the paint is too crowded when asked previously about completing no dunks at all this season.

Edwards was not the only Timberwolf who felt that way. The arrival of Rudy Gobert upgraded the team's defense, but his presence in the paint also blocked his teammates' routes to the rim. Towns suffered from that no less than Edwards. As a seven-footer who's often blamed for being "soft" for not charging the hoop enough, Towns faced more difficulties in launching offense than the game could show.

As the Timberwolves don't have a skilled orchestrator, Towns often has to receive the ball in the high block. Despite his excellent dribbling skills for a big man, he can't apply those talents facing forwards who are more agile than and not overpowered by him. Besides, even if Towns manages to drive his way to the paint, there is likely to be a bigger defender standing next to Gobert and waiting to stop Towns.

That's why Towns often shot more outside than forcing his way to the rim. He could feed Gobert with a pass from the 3-point or free throw lines from time to time, but that's not a permanent solution. Gobert's narrow finishing coverage and lack of fundamental dribbling skills made it hard for even first-class point guard to feed him, not to mention Towns, who is considered skillful for a center.

The Timberwolves' playbook didn’t help Towns much either. Though he is obviously the team's most threatening offensive option, the Timberwolves lacked consistency in who they went to in Friday's game. Towns seldom played as the finisher in more than two consecutive possessions, whether he scored or not when he shot the last time. Such randomness in the Timberwolves' offense made it difficult for the team to launch any big scoring run, especially when they there trailing.

Other games on Friday (away teams come first):

Chicago Bulls 119-123 Boston Celtics

DeMar DeRozan and Jayson Tatum turned Friday night at TD Garden into a star isolation contest. Tatum dropped 36 points, 12 rebounds and six assists after shooting 17-for-20 at the free throw line. DeRozan responded 46 points and five assists after making 20 of his 22 free throw attempts.

The last time two players from different sides both shot 20 or more free throws in an NBA game was between Damian Lillard of the Portland Trail Blazers and Paul George of the Oklahoma City Thunder in March 2019.

Bench units became the decider for this game in the end. Malcolm Brogdon outscored the whole backup squad of the Bulls 25-15 by himself for the Celtics.

Toronto Raptors 110-111 Dallas Mavericks

Having scored 35 points, eight rebounds and six assists, Luka Doncic became the second player in NBA history to get 30+ points in every of the first eight games since the regular season began. The last one who did so was Wilt Chamberlain in the 1959-60 and 1962-63 seasons.

The Raptors tried everything they could do to contain Doncic, but none of OG Anunoby, Pascal Siakam or Scottie Barnes could stop Doncic. Neither did it work when coach Nick Nurse had his forwards group double-team the Mavericks' ace.

Though there might not be many people paying attention, 21-year-old sophomore Barnes had the first triple-double in his career of 11 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists. He also became the youngest one in the Raptors' history to get a triple-double. If Siakam hadn't quitted the game due to his strained right groin, the team might have better chance to win this game.

Portland Trail Blazers 108-106 Phoenix Suns

The Trail Blazers had no Damian Lillard or Anfernee Simons when they visited Footprint Center on Friday night, but that didn't keep them from securing the team's sixth win of the season. The score was tied at 106-106 when there was only one second in the fourth quarter. Justise Winslow threw the ball from the left sideline, over the Suns' center, 2.11-meter-tall Deandre Ayton, to Jerami Grant.

Grant caught the ball, took one step back – he wasn't eluding from Ayton, who somehow froze there, but Devin Booker. Grant shot his 16th field goal of the game and the fifth one in the fourth quarter after missing all of the previous four. The ball fell into the net, making the first buzzer beater this season and helping the Trail Blazers replace the Suns to lead the Western Conference.

Cleveland Cavaliers 112-88 Detroit Pistons

Miami Heat 99-101 Indiana Pacers

New York Knicks 106-104 Philadelphia 76ers

Brooklyn Nets 128-86 Washington Wizards

Charlotte Hornets 99-130 Memphis Grizzlies

Los Angeles Clippers 113-106 San Antonio Spurs

Golden State Warriors 105-114 New Orleans Pelicans

Utah Jazz 130-116 Los Angeles Lakers