Bucks vs. Suns: Back on track?

In a game where a victory was desperately needed, the Milwaukee Bucks were able to come together and take care of business against the visiting Phoenix Suns and old friend Mike Budenholzer, 133-123. Giannis Antetokounmpo’s 37 points paced Milwaukee, while Devin Booker’s 39 points registered in as a game-high.

Read our full summary of the game here and catch a six-minute audio recap on the Bucks+ podcast Bucks In Six Minutes below.

What Did We Learn?

This was obviously one that the Bucks were desperately hoping for. After coughing up an opportunity out in the desert, revenge was on their mind — especially with their recent slide. I thought it was a great sign how Milwaukee didn’t roll over in the third quarter. With how they’ve struggled in that portion of games this season, there seemed to be uncertainty in the building at points. However, instead of letting Phoenix fully regain control, the Bucks had a multitude of answers, led mainly by Giannis Antetokounmpo. It’s going to be intriguing to see if this is a win that will be able to truly wash away the sting of some of the recent performances.

Three Observations

That Giannis guy? Unbelievable.

In his postgame presser, Doc summed up Giannis’ play as him being a true point guard and picking up the slack with Dame sidelined. That’s exactly what Antetokounmpo did. All night long, he was scoring and facilitating with ease. When the dust finally settled, he had racked up 37 points and 11 assists, along with six boards for good measure. The Suns were without Kevin Durant in this one (who is dealing with an ankle injury), so Devin Booker was relied on heavily. Despite his game-high 39 points, the Bucks were able to rely on Giannis to counter the scoring punches thrown by Booker and ultimately, preserve the victory.

Ryan Rollins was phenomenal yet again.

With Lillard continuing to be sidelined, Ryan Rollins continues to be a staple of Milwaukee’s offense. After making some big splashes in their loss the other night, he put forth similar contributions in this one. He’d finish with 23 points, four rebounds, and five assists. His field goal percentage was on fire, going 8/10 on the night. He also led the team in threes, going 5/7 from beyond the perimeter. Postgame, Doc praised his efforts from multiple areas — his shooting, aggressiveness, and defense. Having guys like Rollins step up is huge for any team that’s going through injury bouts, and given the recent slide the Bucks have been on? It’s absolutely massive.

What a shooting performance.

It seemed as if the Bucks couldn’t miss in this one. Looking up and down the stat sheet, it’s impossible to find a player who had an ineffective night field goal-wise. All in all, they shot a blistering 68.9% as a team, which was a new franchise high. Doc Rivers was in near disbelief at that number in his postgame presser, finding major optimism in the figure. He talked about how if they’re able to keep shooting at that rate while eliminating turnovers and improving in the rebounding department, a special run could be made. We all know how frustrating scoring droughts can be in the playoffs. If that’s something the Bucks don’t need to worry about, that’d be impressive.

Bonus Bucks Bits

I was shocked that there was no Mike Budenholzer tribute video. I thought it was a lock and was looking forward to see it. Instead, the Bucks featured a graphic on the jumbotron for ten seconds. He deserved more than that. That was quite disappointing.
Marquette product Oso Ighodaro returned to Milwaukee and played 18 minutes in this one, tallying six points on a perfect 3/3 shooting from the floor. After making an appearance to support former player Tyler Kolek against the Knicks last Friday night, Marquette Coach Shaka Smart was in attendance for this one as well.
In addition to Ryan Rollins and Giannis, Brook Lopez earned a spot in the 20-point club, finishing with 22 of his own. Like others, he was red hot from the floor, going 10/13. The other night, Doc mentioned how they can’t win games where he doesn’t shoot the ball a lot. It sure seemed like they prioritized getting him shots in their gameplan.
Seeing both Tyus Jones and Grayson Allen on the same team was triggering for me as a Badgers fan.
Michael Redd and Thanasis were sitting courtside for this one. Talk about one heck of a combination.

Up Next

Milwaukee is now off until tomorrow, which is when they’ll head to the City of Brotherly Love and clash against the Philadelphia 76ers. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m. CST with the action being able to be viewed on FanDuel Sports Network Wisconsin or streamed on our Playback and YouTube channels.

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