The worst team in basketball took on one of the best Saturday night as the Indiana Pacers faced off against the Milwaukee Bucks. This was the second time these two teams faced this season, with Indiana winning the previous game at home by the score of 104-77. This game was fairly different, mainly because Brandon Knight did not play in that game (hamstring).
Both of these respective teams made changes to their rosters at the trade deadline. Indiana acquired both Evan Turner and Lavoy Allen, meanwhile Milwaukee brought in Ramon Sessions and Jeff Adrien. Turner didn’t travel with the team to Milwaukee as he was completing his physical according to coach Frank Vogel. On the other side, Sessions and Adrien both made their Bucks debut in the first quarter. In the first quarter, Adrien started his Bucks stint out strong on three straight possessions. After cleaning up a jump shop under the basket, he followed that up nailing a shot of his own, followed by a nice inside lob to Giannis Antetokounmpo. Despite his good start, Adrien quickly picked up two fouls. Indiana led the game after the first quarter by the score of 27-18 and shot an efficient 50% from the floor. David West chipped in 11 points. The second quarter wasn’t much different as Indiana went on a 12-0 run midway through and led 44-22. For Milwaukee, Brandon Knight was the main (or only) major contributor for the team scoring the basketball. Knight had 18 points with less than four minutes left in the half and finished with 20 when the half ended. Indiana led 51-39 heading into halftime with David West leading all Pacers players with 13 points, while Paul George registered 11. The Pacers went on a 17-7 run to end the half. The Bucks started the third quarter in ideal fashion. Brandon Knight continued from where he left off by making a three on the team’s first possession. Knight helped start an 11-2 Bucks run to cut Indiana’s lead to just three points midway through. Yet, the Pacers once again proved why they’re one of the best teams in the NBA. As the quarter progressed, Indy continued to hit shots from the outside and prevented Milwaukee from taking the lead. After three, they led 75-68 and Paul George led the team with 24 points. The fourth quarter was a tough one for Milwaukee as they struggled with the discipline aspect of basketball. O.J. Mayo, Ersan Ilyasova, John Henson and Jeff Adrien all picked up five fouls in the quarter. Milwaukee cut Indiana’s lead to just seven with under seven minutes to go in the quarter but Lance Stephenson continued to kill Milwaukee down the stretch. Stephenson contributed 15 points for the Pacers in the fourth quarter alone. The Bucks narrowed Indiana’s lead to just seven again, but still couldn’t capitalize. The Pacers spoiled an energizing halftime performance from Coolio and Homecoming for Glenn “Big Dog” Robinson by defeated the Bucks by the final score of 110-100. “I thought we had opportunity, but we didn’t capitalize.” Larry Drew said after the game. “We didn’t execute very well and had a couple of defensive breakdowns. Against good ball clubs you can’t make those mistakes.” Without rim protector Larry Sanders, David West dominated down in the post all night. During the game, he connected on the block for Indiana on three straight possessions. “I think in that situation you have to pick your poison. It’s always tough when the matchups aren’t in your favor. Playing against David West we tried to double-team him and again, they made the passes out and knocked the three down. In those situations you have to keep the guessing,” Drew said. Besides a rough night from George Hill (zero points) and Roy Hibbert (4 points, 1-of-9 shooting), Indiana’s starting-five came up big. Paul George finished the game with 32 points, Lance Stephenson finished with 24, and West scored 30. Brandon Knight recorded 30 points for the Bucks on the night while dishing out eight assists. With Nate Wolters tweaking his ankle and missing time, Knight spent time at the shooting guard spot for Milwaukee during the game, a role that he’s always been familiar with. “It’s something I’ve been doing and something I’ll continue to do here and there just to get off the ball. I don’t mind, at the end of the day it’s just playing basketball, so I’m comfortable doing it.” Jeff Adrien finished with six points and pulled down 11 rebounds in his Bucks debut after playing 18 minutes. “I felt good, the coaching staff did a good job getting (Ramon) Sessions and I use to the plays, offense and defense, rotations, so it felt good.” Sessions played 23 minutes and ended the night with seven points in his return to the Bucks. But Sessions definitely feels he will soon bring more to the team in the coming days. “Just leadership, I’m one of those guy who has been around for a while, I’m one of the veteran talents, so just showing these guys that we can build something going into next season.” Sessions said. The Bucks finished their six-game home trip tonight. They will get back on the road to play the Philadelphia 76ers on Monday, and then will face the Pacers once again next Friday. They will return back home next Saturday to take on the Brooklyn Nets.
0 Comments
After winning against the Magic at home on Wednesday, Milwaukee couldn’t capitalize and once again failed to win consecutive games this season by losing 101-90 to the Denver Nuggets Thursday night.
Hours before the tip, the Bucks shipped Gary Neal and Luke Ridnour to the Charlotte Bobcats in exchange for born-again Buck Ramon Sessions and Jeff Adrien. Brandon Knight was ruled out of tonight’s game with a right heel injury, leaving Milwaukee with only one natural point guard for the night in rookie Nate Wolters. That led to Larry Drew going with his 24th different starting lineup of the season, which is their most since ‘02-‘03. In the first half, Milwaukee struggle to score the basketball with one of their main threats out (Brandon Knight). At just the end of the first quarter, Caron Butler had eight points but no other Bucks player scored more than two. When the half was over, Butler led the way with 11 points and O.J. Mayo dropped in 8 after seeing action for the first time since January 25th. Mayo missed the last 10 games due to illness/conditioning. After the game, Mayo said, “I felt good, real good, I’m just happy to be out there and to compete with the guys.” With Wolters as the only serviceable point guard option, Larry Drew decided to get saucy and play Giannis Antetokounmpo at the point in the first quarter. Antetokounmpo has always had the skills to the play the point and Drew didn’t hesitate to have him do so tonight being shorthanded up front. Drew went with a different starting lineup in the second half by inserting John Henson and pulling Zaza Pachulia. Henson has been bothered by an ankle injury recently and started the game on the bench. Regardless, Denver went nuts in the third quarter inside. Kenneth Faried scored 12 in the quarter alone while J. J. Hickson had 12 points and 10 boards as Denver ended the third on an 8-2 run to put them up 78-67. The fourth quarter was even worse, Faried was a man among boys as he finished the game with 26 and his bucket inside at the 5:03 mark put Denver up by 13 in the game. Faried’s career-high for points is 28 and he came just within two of tying that. “He really dominated in the paint, he’s an energy guy. We had to match his energy in transition and on the glass and we didn’t do that. That kid has a very high motor, and you’ve got to match that intensity because he’s relentless in going to the glass. He’s a very physical guy and he plays with physicality and you have to match that or he’ll gobble you up and that’s what happened tonight.” Drew said post-game on defending Faried. Denver turned things up late in the fourth quarter to put this game completely out of reach for Milwaukee, putting the final score at 101-90. We just never seemed to sustain a rhythm.” Larry Drew said. The loss was Milwaukee’s eight straight against the Nuggets, and Denver snapped a five-game losing streaking with tonight’s win. The Bucks never led in this entire game and Denver’s biggest lead was 15. “It is good to feel what it’s like to get a “W” again.” Brian Shaw said afterwards. “It’s been a while for us. I thought that our team defensively really got after it. I’m pleased with our effort overall and like I said, this is the last team we got a victory against before we went on the road last time, so it feels good to be on this side again.” Caron Butler led all Bucks players with 17 points, and Milwaukee had six players finish in double-figures. The Bucks will wrap up their six-game home trip on Saturday night against the Indiana Pacers. The Milwaukee Bucks are currently sitting at 9-43 and are on pace to finish with their worst record in franchise history. It’s been a disastrous, tough, and depressing season for the fan base. Instead of giving you my opinions once again for a midseason report on the team, I wanted to give them [the fans] a voice.
I gathered five passionate Bucks fans and gave them a set of questions for a roundtable discussion about the season so far. From Milwaukee: Paul Henning, James Kuriatnky, and Sam McAdams. Also included: Christian Anthony from Muksego Wisc., and Tyler Morrow from Kenosha, Wisc. You can read the full roundtable article here. Milwaukee fell to the New Orleans Pelicans Wednesday evening by the final score of 102-98. The Bucks dropped to 9-43 and couldn’t pull out the win before the All-Star break. Below are the five plays that stood out in the loss:
1. Second quarter, 6:29. Nate Wolters connected on a three for the third straight game. He only managed to make three shots from beyond the arc in the first 37 games of the season. 2. Third quarter, 9:48. Anthony Davis picked up his 4th foul of the game here. Davis struggled during the entire game playing only 20 minutes. 3. Fourth quarter, 9:28. Nate Wolters scored on a layup to tie the game at 84 apiece. The Bucks went on an 8-0 and it was sparked by an energizing block by Giannis Antetokounmpo on Anthony Davis. 4. Fourth quarter, 52 seconds left. After a Pelicans miss on the other end, Ersan Ilyasova drained a three to cut New Orleans’ lead to just two with 25 seconds left. 5. Fourth quarter, 9 seconds left. Unfortunately, I called this, but the Bucks committed a turnover with a chance to tie or win the game. Khris Middleton lost the ball after an Ersan Ilyasova miss towards the basket. Ilyasova was clearly fouled, but nothing was called. The already depleted Milwaukee Bucks unfortunately added to their injury report once again on Saturday night.
After only playing exactly four minutes and 23 seconds, Larry Sanders left Saturday night’s game after getting hit in the eye by James Harden of the Rockets. He was ruled out for the remainder of the game at the start of the third quarter due to blurred vision. The Bucks started Sanders alongside John Henson for the first time this entire season and it turned out to be short lived. “Hey man, it’s plenty of time for us to be back in the fold together. We just hope he gets healthy enough and is fine in the long run.” Henson said after the game. Sanders said he’s having trouble seeing side-to-side. Milwaukee came into the game with only nine healthy players after Ersan Ilyasova was ruled out with a back injury. The trio of Zaza Pachulia, Miroslav Raduljica and John Henson tallied 28 points for Milwaukee. In the first half, Terrence Jones – who scored a career-high 36 points last time they met – didn’t register a single point. Surprisingly, he wasn’t on the floor nearly as much as before (only playing nine minutes in the first half) and attempted only one shot. Still, Houston managed to find ways to score the basketball. Patrick Beverley led Houston with 13 points and went 3-for-3 from the three point line. Jeremy Lin chipped in 11 points off the bench while James Harden scored 10. Dwight Howard and all 265 pounds of his muscle dropped in 10 with six rebounds. Brandon Knight had 15 for Milwaukee. The start of the third quarter was certainly delightful for Milwaukee. They started the quarter hot by going on an 18-4 run. This was a big quarter for Nate Wolters specifically, and he finished the game with a career-high 19 points. Wolters made a 3-pointer at the 10:40 mark which gave him his first made attempt from that spot since December 27th. Despite the energized run, Milwaukee still couldn’t execute on the defensive side of the ball, something Larry Drew emphasized pre-game. “We’ve got to do a better job as far as getting back and building a wall.” Drew said. James Harden scored 10 points for Houston in the third and the Rockets were shooting 53% at the end of it. The Bucks once again narrowed the gap late in the game but weren’t able stop the opposing squad. Milwaukee came within just six points with nearly under two minutes left in the game. Then, the Bucks pulled to three with just 21.2 seconds left in the game, but Brandon Knight couldn’t score at the rim and Milwaukee immediately fouled Dwight Howard (duh). ““We couldn’t get over that hump in the fourth quarter. We kept chipping away. That play was exactly how it went, I thought he got to the basket and the shot got there, but it didn’t go down. But the play was executed well.” Larry Drew said after the game. Milwaukee has struggled late in games this season and they haven’t been able to capitalize on late-game runs numerous times. This loss gives the Bucks their 41st of the season with the All-Star break approaching in the coming days. Milwaukee is currently on a six-game home stretch and it will conclude on the 22nd against the best defensive team in basketball: the Indiana Pacers. After scoring 62 points in the first matchup inside the paint, Houston dropped in 58 on the night. On the positive side, Milwaukee at least dropped in 48 points for themselves, and outscored Houston in fast break points by eight. Khris Middleton scored 20 points for Milwaukee and notched a career-high 8 assists. “The thing I like about Khris is he doesn’t let one or two games where he doesn’t shoot the ball well affect him.” Larry Drew said before the game. For Houston, they won their fifth straight game on Saturday night – matching their longest winning streak of the season. The Rockets have won 12 straight games when they’ve scored 100 points. Terrence Jones only scored two points for the Rockets after torching the Bucks for a career-high 36 last time in Houston. Jones only played 23 minutes and attempted four shots, along with turning the ball over five times. Dwight Howard secured his 33rd double-double of the season. The Bucks weren’t able to top the Houston Rockets at home for the start of their six-game home trip. Below are the six plays that stood out in the Bucks' 101-95 loss to Houston:
1. First quarter, 2:41. Omer Asik checked into the game for Houston. He hasn’t played for them since December 4th. 2. Fourth quarter, 10.1 seconds. After a missed Brandon Knight layup, Dwight Howard was fouled and went 1-of-2 at the free throw line to give Houston a four point lead. 3. Third quarter, 10:40. Nate Wolters connected on a 3-pointer for the first time since December 27th. 4. Third quarter, 6:23. After going scoreless the entire game, Terrence Jones scored his first basket here. He scored 36 in the last game against Milwaukee in Houston. 5. Fourth quarter, 8:20. Nate Wolters scored on a layup to give him a new career-high in points. He finished the game with 19. The Bucks were looking to win back-to-back games for the first time this NBA season in Denver after defeating the Knicks on Monday. Unfortunately, they couldn't do so after falling to the Nuggets by the score of 110-100. Here are the five plays that stood out:
1. First quarter, 8:02. Larry Sanders picked up a technical foul just shortly after the game started. 2. Third quarter, 9:15. Denver scored a basket here that gave them a 10-point lead. This was the first double-digit lead of the game for the Nuggets. 3. Fourth quarter, 8:47. Khris Middleton nailed a shot from three to tie his career-high of five 3-pointers made in a game. 4. Fourth quarter, 1:28. Wilson Chandler made an awkward/lucky shot after watching it hit the rim to the top of the glass. That shot gave Denver a 103-96 lead. 5. Fourth quarter, 40.8 seconds. Larry Sanders hits a layup to set a new career-high in points at 25. The Bucks have found themselves a new lucky charm. Well, sort of. Milwaukee ended a six-game losing streak on Monday night by defeating the New York Knicks 101-98. It was the first time Giannis Antetokounmpo’s parents got to witness their son play in an NBA game. Below are the five plays that stood out:
1. First quarter, 7:45. Khris Middleton hit a 3-pointer to put Milwaukee up 11-3 early in the game. 2. First quarter, 2:53. J.R. Smith made a three to put the Knicks up 15-13 after the Bucks got out to that 11-3 start. This forced a Milwaukee timeout. 3. Third quarter, 4:45. Larry Drew called a timeout here. This left the Bucks with just one remaining for the rest of the game. 4. Fourth quarter, 2:59. Larry Sanders picked up his sixth foul of the game and fouled out. Sanders picked up fouls on three straight possessions. 5. Fourth quarter, 2.3 seconds. Brandon Knight nailed a 3-pointer to put Milwaukee up 101-98 and give them the win after Carmelo Anthony missed a contested three at the buzzer. |
Above the AntlersThis blog displays my coverage as a reporter covering the Milwaukee Bucks for the University of Wisconsin-Parkside.
Archives
August 2014
|