There was an escalating skirmish pitting his teammate against a bigger opponent. The game was tied. The crowd was going nuts. That situation late in the Milwaukee Bucks' 110-103 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves seemed tailor-made for Bobby Portis to let his demons win and risk getting ejected. But the Bucks' veteran, in his first game back after a 25-game suspension, instead played the role of calm, collected veteran.

“Bobby runs over to me and says, ‘Coach, we gotta calm Scoot down,'” Doc Rivers said postgame, referring to Kevin Porter Jr., who was in the aforementioned skirmish with Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert. “When I heard that, I knew we were in a good place.”

Portis returned rested and ready after his suspension. Rivers said before the game he expected Portis' high-octane energy to overflow. He'll probably foul out in three minutes, Rivers joked.

Instead, Portis played the role of focused, methodical playmaker. He dropped in 18 points on 7-15 shooting, including 2-6 from deep. He snared 10 rebounds. He brought intensity and size on defense that the Bucks missed without him.

“Over the last 47 days, I just tried to stay ready,” Portis told the raucous Fiserv Forum crowd after the game.

With 10 minutes to go, the Bucks trailed by 24 points. Giannis Antetokounmpo checked back into the game, which seemed out of reach. From then on, Antetokounmpo led a “bench mob” led by Portis and guard Kevin Porter Jr. to the improbable win.

In the closing stretch, they outscored the Timberwolves 34-3.

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They first pulled even with the Timberwolves on an A.J. Green 3-pointer with 3:35 left. On the next possession, Gobert and Porter Jr. got tangled up near midcourt. Gobert went down and shoved Porter Jr. after getting up. With the crowd riled up, it could have escalated quickly and ended badly.

But Portis, not known for being level-headed in those types of situations, held Gobert back as Antetokounmpo corralled a clearly irate Porter Jr. Portis then made his way to Rivers. Things didn't escalate further.

From there, Porter Jr. played hero, with four big steals down the stretch that led to easy buckets in transition. The Bucks won the quarter 40-13. Portis and bench mates Green, Porter Jr., and Gary Trent Jr. finished the quarter +27. Antetokounmpo was +29.

Also notable is the fact that in 28:40 of game time, Portis committed just two fouls.

Up next: The Bucks try to build on their five-game winning streak with a home game against the New Orleans Pelicans on Thursday night.