In a game that looked a lot more like a preseason competition, the Milwaukee Bucks kicked off their starters at halftime, but in the end they prevailed over Sacramento, 131-123. The Bucks finished 20-45 (44%) from deep. With a 12-minute quarter turn, the Bucks advanced to 38 points in the first period. By halftime, they led 80-60, with Giannis Antetokounmpo leading the score at the time with 15 points, nine rebounds and six assists. On top of that, he went 11-13 from the free throw line.
That would be the end of his day, the same with Khris Middleton, who had 11 points and seven rebounds. At the end of the game, Brook López led all the Bucks starters with 21 points, including 4-6 from deep, another promising performance after his 3-3 in the first contest. Kyle Korver added a maximum of 22 on the team, curving around the screens all day for solid shooting performance.
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Does anyone have money with Marvin Williams and Ersan Ilyasova running a little two-man game on the right wing? Some ingenious old man connection between those two led to a backdoor placement in the former.
Sassy plug for my piece about Lopez in the post. In the second quarter, they came to him for a mismatch against Corey Brewer that resulted in an eventual trip to the free throw line.
Mike Budenholzer broke a double lineup for Lopez alongside Giannis for an oversized approach against Kings’ small ball, where Harry Giles was the center.
I hardly recognized De’Aaron Fox on the free throw line initially with his short haircut. I must say that I miss the longer locks a bit.
What has stood out to me so far has been the quality of Khris Middleton’s pick and roll game. Even with Marvin Williams, the newcomer, he threaded the needle to get a perfect pass on the roll. Williams great job to handle it and maneuver through some defenders to finish.
Wesley Matthews collided with Harry Giles in the third, and appeared to be clutching his left ankle as he limped off the court. He seemed to be fine as he walked near the bench.
Harry Giles and Wesley Matthews simply collided with each other when Matthews ran in defense. They both rolled on the floor in pain for a moment before getting up again.
– Eric Nehm (@eric_nehm) July 25, 2020
Old Buck Jabari Parker had some action late in the game pairing up with Ersan Ilyasova during the fourth.
I felt good about DJ Wilson here. I can’t say that often. This deserves even more importance since the old Corey Brewer picked up his pocket in the room.
