The Milwaukee Bucks came back from a double-digit deficit at half to win a thriller against the Sacramento Kings, 114-108. Giannis put in a herculean shift with 32 points and 17 rebounds on 12/20 shooting. For the Kings, DeMar DeRozan was probably their best performer, with 22 points and four helpers.
Game Recap
The first quarter was a slog-fest, especially for Milwaukee. Dame’s absence was felt heavily as the Kings really zeroed in on Giannis. To make matters worse, Giannis’ explosiveness looked a tad off after he rolled his ankle against the Lakers. Antetokounmpo missed a wide-open dunk where he simply didn’t jump high enough to cram it. The rest of the period was not enjoyable viewing for either fanbase, but the Kings led 25-17.
The Bucks gave up their seventh offensive rebound early in the second quarter to open the second, but the Kings (like the Bucks) were struggling from three, and Milwaukee largely got away with it. Both teams were a combined 4/24 from distance at the first timeout of the second period, Bucks down 28-33. The Bucks finally got going on offence midway through the second with threes from Lopez, Prince, and Porter to bring them within one with 4:06 left. However, the moniker that bad offence leads to bad defence rang true late in this one. Milwaukee was unable to generate consistent good looks and found themselves on the wrong end of some fastbreak runouts. Gary Trent Jr., coming off his excellent game in LA, was really bad in the first half. He was gambling and reaching on way too many possessions, including a late-clock three-point attempt by Keon Ellis. Kings up 61-49 at half.
The Bucks had their best quarter of the game in the third, with Giannis dropping an insane 22 points in the period. The superstar imposed his will on the game, with Sac having no good matchups for him. Only Prince, Lopez, and Kuzma scored in the quarter other than GA. The Bucks were down just 86-89, at the end of three.
Ginnis had to rest to start the fourth, but KPJ had his back, scoring the Bucks’ first two baskets. AJ Green finally got off the skid with his first three of the night after what felt like a million good looks. Trent and Porter hit massive threes to put the Bucks up three with seven minutes to go, and then Trent got a steal (after LaVine lost his shoe) to put them up four to cap a 14-5 run. The Bucks and Kings went back and forth with made threes on offence and missed defensive assignments on defence; the Bucks were up 110-108 at the 3:05 mark. Milwaukee then had back-to-back horrible crunch time possessions—as has become their custom this season—but the Kings also did not run amazing offence and couldn’t score either. Then Giannis attacked the rim and was blocked but had the wherewithal to tip it to Trent for a deep corner three in front of the Kings’ bench to give them the 113-108 lead with about a minute remaining. LaVine then missed two free throws (!), Giannis made one, and the game was over. Bucks win!
Stat That Stood Out
I mean, Giannis scoring 22 points on 9/11 shooting in the third is hard to go past. The man just put the team on his back and said “come with me!” They needed that stretch, and for guys like Trent, Porter, and Green to keep the team afloat early in the fourth while Giannis sat was massive.
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