After a rough week, the Bucks are now 0.5 games out of first place.
Game 1 Monday, December 19th
Bucks 128 @ Pelicans 119
Scoring Leaders:
Bucks-
Antetokounmpo 42 PTS, 10 REB, 1 AST, 1 BLK
Pelicans-
Valaciunas 37 PTS, 18 REB, 5 AST, 1 STL
The Pelicans scored first, taking control of the game. However, the Bucks quickly changed that. It wasn’t until the second half that the Bucks were able to fully take control of the game and win. A gigantic night for the future MVP Giannis, 42 points is no joke! Not only him, but Lopez also went off for a solid 30-point game! All around the great game for the Bucks, the only two criticisms I have are the number of turnovers (17) and the low 3-point percentage. The Bucks are missing the outside threat in Middleton.
Game 2 Wednesday, December 21st
Bucks 106 @ Cavaliers 106
Scoring Leaders:
Bucks-
Antetokounmpo 45 PTS, 10 REB, 4 AST, 1 STL, 2 BLK
Cavaliers-
Mitchell 36 PTS, 4 REB, 6 AST, 2 STL
Back-to-back 40+ point games from the future MVP Giannis! Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to get the job done. The Bucks did come out strong, but the Cavaliers quickly took over the game. The Bucks did have a strong rally in the fourth quarter but facing the best defense in the league, it proved to be futile. The biggest killers for the Bucks were turnovers (19) and second-chance opportunities. First 19 turnovers! That to me is ridiculously high for a team hunting the top spot in the Eastern Conference. Then to add in the lack of Bucks’ second chance points just further put the nail in the coffin.
Game 3 Friday, December 23rd
Bucks 100 @ Nets 118
Scoring Leaders:
Bucks-
Antetokounmpo 26 PTS, 13 REB, 7 AST, 2 STL
Nets-
Durant 24 PTS, 5 REB, 6 AST, 1 STL, 1 BLK
This game had a very playoff-ish feel to it. Especially in the first quarter, however, the Bucks couldn’t keep up with the Nets. It looked like the Nets owned the Bucks the entire game. Making shots left and right, while the Bucks couldn’t get a ball to drop in for them. Granted the Bucks are still very much missing their number 2 Middleton. They still should have put up more of a fight. I didn’t want to over-critique Ingles however, I’m not seeing a lot of positive from him so far. I won’t dig into him too much just yet, but if the level of play continues I don’t see him being a good addition to the Bucks.
Next up the Bucks have a huge Christmas Day game against the Celtics followed by the Bulls and Timberwolves next week.
Josh Wilson