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Bucks struggle in final scrimmage

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The Milwaukee Bucks final exhibition tuneup didn’t go quite according to plan, falling 124-102 to the New Orleans Pelicans on Monday night in Florida.

The Bucks jumped out early and led by as many as 13 points in the second quarter before settling for a three-point advantage at halftime.

The game stayed close in the third quarter until Pelicans guard J.J. Redick got hot, scoring all 20 of his points in the final five minutes of the quarter.  Redick was a perfect 5-for-5 from the field, including four three-pointers.

The Bucks trailed by nine entering the fourth quarter and saw the Pelicans pull away.  Milwaukee shot just under 40% from the field and 26% from three-point range. [Read more…]

Cold second half sees Bucks fall to Celtics

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The Boston Celtics outscored the Milwaukee Bucks by 27 points in the second half and went on to post a 116-105 win in Boston.

Kemba Walker scored a game-high 32 points for the Celtics, who improved to 3-1.  Jayson Tatum added 25 points and Gordon Hayward had 21 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists.

Khris Middleton poured in 26 points and Giannis Antetokounmpo added 22 points and 14 rebounds as the Bucks dropped to 2-2 on the season.

The Bucks hit 5 of 9 from three-point range in the first half, then went 9 of 36 the rest of the way.  The Bucks managed just 34 points in the paint.

The Bucks remaining starters, Eric Bledsoe, Brook Lopez and Wes Matthews combined to hit just 6 of 24 from the field.

As concerning as the Bucks cold spell was, Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer was even more concerned with his teams defense, or lack there of it in the second half.

The Bucks are off today and face the Magic in Orlando on Friday night.

 

Brogdon set to return against Celtics Wednesday night

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Malcolm Brogdon File Photo: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Joe Murphy/NBAE via Getty Images)

After being out since March 15 with a torn plantar fascia in his right foot, Milwaukee Bucks guard Malcolm Brogdon has been upgraded to probable for Game 5 of the Eastern Conference semifinals against the Boston Celtics at Fiserv Forum.

Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer said he expects Brogdon to play, although he’s expected to be kept on a minutes restriction.

Budenholzer will keep Nikola Mirotic in the starting lineup with Khris Middleton, Eric Bledsoe, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Brook Lopez.

Counting playoffs, the Bucks are 15-6 without Brogdon in the lineup.

Brogdon did start 64 regular-season games and averaged a career high 15.6 points while shooting 50.5% overall, 42.6% on three-pointers and he led the league at 92.8% from the free-throw line.

Bucks follow a blowout with a blowout to tie series (AUDIO)

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Giannis Antetokounmpo – Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images).

After being blown out by the Boston Celtics in the series opener on Sunday, the Milwaukee Bucks evened the score with a knockout punch of their own.  The Bucks broke open a close game by outscoring the Celtics 39-18 in the third quarter, on their way to a 123-102 win at Fiserv Forum.

A part of that dominating third quarter was a 24-2 run and it helped the Bucks even the series at a game apiece.  During that stretch, the Celtics hit just 1 of 12 from the field and turned the ball over six times.  Overall, the Celtics shot just 39.5% from the field after a hot shooting game in the opener of the series on Sunday.

Giannis Antetokounmpo had 29 points and 10 rebounds.  Khris Middleton added 28 points and Eric Bledsoe added 21 for the Bucks.  But Bledsoe’s biggest contribution came on defense, holding Boston’s Kyrie Irving to nine points on 4-of-18 shooting.

Marcus Morris led the Celtics with 17 points. [Read more…]

Celtics dominate Bucks in game 1 victory

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The Milwaukee Bucks may have been the best team in the NBA during the regular season, but they looked like a deer in headlights in game 1 of their second round NBA playoff series against the Boston Celtics on Sunday.

The Celtics ran away with a 112-90 victory over the Bucks at Fiserv Forum.  It was the  Bucks most lopsided loss of the season and it couldn’t have come at a worse time.

Certainly the Bucks have lost games before and bounced back nicely.  They’ve also fallen behind big in games and were able to rebound.  But you can sense that any large deficit’s followed by big comebacks are going to be hard to come by against this veteran Celtics team.

Boston played with a sense of urgency and rightfully so.  When you go on the road in the NBA playoffs, you need to bring it or things won’t end well. [Read more…]

Brogdon to sit at least two more games (AUDIO)

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Malcolm Brogdon – File Photo / Copyright 2016 NBAE (Photo by Gary Dineen/NBAE via Getty Images)

The Milwaukee Bucks are still hopeful that guard Malcolm Brogdon will be able to return to the lineup during their second round series with the Boston Celtics, but it would be during the first two games on Sunday and Tuesday at Fiserv Forum.

Brogdon has been out since suffering a right plantar fascia tear on March 15.

Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer made the announcement after practice on Thursday, ruling Brogdon out for games 1 and 2 of the series.

Budenholzer said it’s an important 5-6 days ahead and they’ll reassess when they get through this next little wave.

Prior to the injury, Brogdon was averaging 15.6 points, 4.5 rebounds and 3.2 assists in 64 games.  He’s just the eighth player since the three-point shot was introduced in 1979-’80 to join the elite 50-40-90 club.  Brogdon shot 50.5% from the field, 42.6% on three-pointers and led the NBA in free-throw shooting at 92.8%.

The Bucks start the second round of the NBA playoffs against the Celtics at noon on Sunday.

AUDIO: Mike Budenholzer says they’re hopeful Brogdon can return for this series :12

AUDIO: Budenholzer says Brogdon has handled this well :16

Bucks resume second half with close win against Boston

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It was a sloppy game offensively, but coach Mike Budenholzer said it was encouraging to see his team win a game with their defense.  The game went back and forth down the stretch but it was the Milwaukee Bucks that prevailed 98-97 over the Boston Celtics.

With 3.5 seconds left, the Celtics inbounded the ball side court and down by one.  Kyrie Irving took the pass above the three-point line and drive into the lane with Bucks guard Eric Bledsoe glued to his side and Giannis Antetokounmpo giving help on the opposite side.  Together, they forced Irving to throw a desperation shot at the basket that was off the mark.

Giannis Antetokounmpo led the Bucks with 30 points, 13 rebounds and six assists.  Nineteen of the 30 points came in the second half, helping the Bucks win the season series against the Celtics 2-1. [Read more…]

Bucks win streak ends at seven

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The Milwaukee Bucks could get their offense on track and watched as the Boston Celtics set a franchise record with 24 three-pointers (24 for 55) in a 117-113 Boston victory at TD Garden on Thursday night.

The Bucks, who have thrived on the three-pointer in the first seven games, hit just 9 of 29 on Thursday night.

They trailed by 15 heading into the fourth quarter but used a 12-0 run to open the final frame and make things close.

The Bucks climbed to within two points with under two minutes left on a Malcolm Brogdon layup.

The Celtics were in the process of going cold in the final minutes, failing to score a field goal in the final 3 minutes and 48 seconds of the game.  But the Bucks couldn’t crawl all the way back themselves. [Read more…]

Bucks head into the offseason with some decisions to make

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Jabari Parker – File Photo – by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)

Following Saturday’s 112-96, game seven loss to the Boston Celtics, the Milwaukee Bucks are out of the playoffs and contemplating the upcoming decisions they need to make during the offseason.

Bucks players returned to Milwaukee on Sunday to undergo physicals and went through exit interviews before heading out for the summer.

It was a disappointing season for the Bucks (44-38), who for the 17th straight year, failed to advance out of the first round of the NBA playoffs.  Malcolm Brogdon told reporters on Sunday that the goal was the Eastern Conference finals.  Their first round exit left them well short.

Now Bucks management will have to decide on a head coach.  Joe Prunty took over near midseason on an interim basis for the fired Jason Kidd.  Now Prunty will have to interview, among others, for the permanent head coaching position.

Since Prunty took over, the Bucks went 21-16 to finish the regular season, then went 3-4 in the playoffs against the Celtics.

The Bucks will also have to decide if they want to keep Jabari Parker, and at what price?

Parker played 31 games this season after rebounding from a second torn ACL.  He averaged 12.6 points and 4.9 rebounds in 24 minutes per game in the regular season.

Bucks face playoff elimination after game 5 loss in Boston

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The Milwaukee Bucks return to the BMO Harris Bradley Center on Thursday night facing a must win in game six of their opening round playoff series against the Boston Celtics.

Boston jumped out to an early lead and stayed their, pulling out a 92-87 win over the Bucks at TD Garden.  The Celtics took a 3-2 lead in the series as each team has held serve on its home court.  The Bucks are hoping to do the same on Thursday.

The Bucks problem was their cold shooting.  They hit just 36.8% of their shots (32 of 87) from the field for the game and made just 27.3% of their three-pointers (9 of 33).

Khris Middleton scored 23 points to lead the Bucks, but Giannis Antetokounmpo took just 10 shots and was held to 16 points.

Jabari Parker added 17 points off the bench and Eric Bledsoe finished with 16 points (5 of 15 FG).

The Bucks made several runs in the second half to draw close, only to see the Celtics have an answer.

Al Horford led Boston with 22 points and 14 rebounds.  Terry Rozier added 16 points and Jaylen Brown had 14.  Boston also saw the return of Marcus Smart to their lineup.  He had nine points, three blocks and a steal in his return.

Seldom used Shabazz Muhammad had 11 points in a four-minute spurt for the Bucks, but they got little from their remaining reserves.  Thon Maker, Tony Snell and Matthew Dellavedova combined to score just two points on 1 of 12 shooting.