Aug 20, 2020 3 min read

The NBA draft lottery was delayed three months. The Minnesota Timberwolves are certainly feeling like the wait was worthwhile.

The Timberwolves won the lottery Thursday night, giving them the No. 1 pick. The lottery was conducted virtually because of the pandemic, with NBA officials doing the actual draw in Secaucus, New Jersey.

Golden State holds the No. 2 pick, Charlotte got the No. 3 pick and Chicago will pick fourth. The Hornets and Bulls both bucked the odds to move into the upper echelon.

The Timberwolves were 19-45 this season, marking the 14th time in 15 years that they failed to make the playoffs and finished with a losing record. And a month ago, Glen Taylor – who has owned the franchise since 1994 – said he “will entertain” offers for the Timberwolves WNBA’s Minnesota Lynx.

It’ll be Minnesota’s first time holding the No. 1 pick since 2015.

Chicago had a 32% chance of moving into the top four spots, Charlotte about a 26% chance. They leapfrogged four teams that had better top-four odds – Cleveland, Atlanta, Detroit and New York.

For now, the delayed draft – originally set for late June – is scheduled for Oct. 16.

Milwaukee 111, Orlando 96: Giannis Antetokounmpo had 28 points and 20 rebounds and the Milwaukee Bucks rode a fast start to beat the Orlando Magic 111-96 and tie the Eastern Conference first-round series at a game apiece.

The Bucks boasted the NBA’s best regular-season record at 56-17, but went 3-5 in the eight seeding games at Disney’s Wide World of Sports and opened the playoffs by losing 122-110 to Orlando.

Milwaukee bounced back Thursday, building a 23-point lead in the first half, though Orlando got the margin down to nine in the fourth quarter.

Brook Lopez scored 20 points and Pat Connaughton had 15 on 5-of-8 3-point shooting for Milwaukee. Eric Bledsoe had 13 points and Donte DiVincenzo added 11.

Houston 111, Oklahoma City 98: James Harden had 21 points and nine assists and the Houston Rockets made 19 of an NBA-record 56 3-point attempts to beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 111-98 for a 2-0 lead in the first-round Western Conference series.

For all the long-range shots, Harden said the Rockets actually won with defense. Houston held the Thunder to 39 points after the break.

Miami 109, Indiana 100: Duncan Robinson hit his first six shots, all from 3-point range, and finished with 24 points as the Miami Heat beat the Indiana Pacers 109-100 for a 2-0 lead in their first-round Eastern Conference playoff series.

Robinson opened the game by making the Heat’s first three buckets, all 3s. He didn’t miss until midway through the third quarter, and Robinson tied the Heat record for 3s made in a playoff game with seven. He finished 7-of-8 shooting, all beyond the arc.