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Bucks pound the Heat

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Giannis Antetokounmpo – File Photo – Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Gary Dineen/NBAE via Getty Images)

Giannis Antetokounmpo returned to the lineup and led all scorers with 27 points as the Milwaukee Bucks routed the Miami Heat 116-87 on Friday night at Fiserv Forum.

Giannis added eight rebounds and seven assists for the Bucks, who also got 18 points from Khris Middleton.

Defensively, the Bucks held the Heat to 37% shooting from the field and 29.7% (11 of 37) from three-point range.

Hassan Whiteside led the Heat with 14 points and 10 rebounds off the bench.

The two teams split their four game season series but may not have seen the last of each other this season.  If the playoffs were to start today, the Bucks would be lined up to face the Heat in the opening round of the playoffs.

The Bucks have a three-game lead on the Toronto Raptors, plus the tiebreaker with 9 games left to play.  Their magic number to clinch the best record in the Eastern Conference and the NBA overall is down to 6.  Any combination of Bucks victories and Toronto defeats totaling six would clinch the top mark for the Bucks.

The Bucks return to action Sunday afternoon at Fiserv Forum against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Bucks clinch Central Division, hoping to hang on to top spot in the East

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Golden State’s 112-89 win over Indiana on Thursday night gave the Milwaukee Bucks the 2018-19 NBA Central Division title.  But the Bucks are hoping to lock up the top spot in the Eastern Conference and are limping to the finish line.

The Bucks are dealing with a number of injuries and their lead over Toronto is just two games for the best record in the Eastern Conference with 10 games left to play.  The Bucks to hold the tie-breaker advantage with the Raptors, which means their lead is actually three games.

Injuries have seen the Bucks go 5-5 in their last 10 games.  Seven players, including superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo, sat out with injury during Wednesday’s loss at Cleveland. [Read more…]

Short-handed Bucks fall in Cleveland

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Khris Middleton – File Photo / Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images).

Missing nearly half of their roster due to injury, the Milwaukee Bucks fell to the Cleveland Cavaliers 107-102 in Cleveland on Wednesday night.

Seven players in all, led by the team’s leading scorer Giannis Antetokounmpo missed the game.  Forward Nikola Mirotic also missed the contest after suffering a left thumb sprain and fracture on Tuesday night in a win over the Lakers.

Cleveland rookie Collin Sexton hit a three-pointer and a layup in the final two minutes to lead the Cavaliers.  He finished with 25 points for the game.

Khris Middleton led the Bucks with 26 points and 12 rebounds.  Eric Bledsoe added 24 points, eight rebounds and eight assists.  Brook Lopez finished with 19, but the Bucks lead over Toronto for the best record in the Eastern Conference is down to two with 10 games left to play.  The Bucks do own the tiebreaker against the Raptors.

The Bucks are off until Friday night when they’re back home to face the Miami Heat at Fiserv Forum.

 

Mirotic out 2 to 4 weeks with hand injury

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

More injury issues for the Milwaukee Bucks as the regular season winds down.

Forward Nikola Mirotic is the latest casualty for the Bucks after suffering a sprained and fractured left thumb in Tuesday nights win over the Los Angeles Lakers at Fiserv Forum.

The injury is expected to keep Mirotic sidelined for two to four weeks.  The playoffs start in 3 1/2 weeks in mid-April.

Since being acquired by the Bucks on Feb. 7, Mirotic has played in 14 games (three starts) and is averaging 11.6 points, 5.4 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 22.9 minutes a game.

Five other Bucks are listed as out for Wednesday nights game in Cleveland.  Malcolm Brogdon (foot), Sterling Brown (right wrist soreness), Donte DiVincenzo (heel bursitis), Pau Gasol (ankle) and George Hill (groin soreness).

Giannis Antetokounmpo is questionable for tonight’s game.  He sat out last night’s win against the Lakers with a right ankle sprain.  Ersan Ilyasova is also probable after missing Tuesday’s game with an illness.

The Bucks can claim its first Central Division title since 2001 with a win tonight.  They start the day three games in front of Toronto for the top spot in the Eastern Conference with 11 games left in the regular season.

 

Bucks hold off Lakers without Giannis

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Brook Lopez – (Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images).

The Milwaukee Bucks played Tuesday night without Giannis Antetokounmpo, but held off the Los Angeles Lakers 115-101 at Fiserv Forum.  It helped that the Lakers played without their star, Lebron James.

Stepping up without Giannis, Khris Middleton led the way with 30 points.  Brook Lopez added a season high 28 and Nikola Mirotic added 23 points as the three front-line starters combined for 81 of the Bucks 115 points.

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope poured in 35 for the Lakers.  21 of the 35 came in the second quarter.

The Bucks didn’t play well with the lead in the win.  They went up 23 points in the third quarter, only to see the Lakers go on a 16-0 run at the end of the third quarter and into the fourth. [Read more…]

Bucks overcome slow start to win at New Orleans

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The Milwaukee Bucks hit just one of their first nine shots in the paint and got nothing from distance as the offense struggled early.  Fortunately, New Orleans hit just 2 of 16 from distance in the opening quarter and 10 of 47 (21.3 percent) for the game.  The result was a 130-113 Bucks victory over the Pelicans at the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans on Tuesday night.

Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 24 points and Khris Middleton added 23 points to lead the Bucks to their NBA leading 51st victory and a three-game lead over Toronto for the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference.

The Bucks got their offense rolling in the second half.  Malcolm Brogdon had 13 of his 18 points in the quarter and Khris Middleton had 10 of his 23 as the Bucks put 45 points on the board.  Unfortunately, they didn’t do much on the defensive [Read more…]

Second half fade sees Bucks fall to Spurs

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Playing the second game in two nights, the Milwaukee Bucks ran out of gas in the second half and fell to the San Antonio Spurs 121-114 in San Antonio.

The Bucks jumped on the Spurs early and led by as many as 15 points in the first half.  Eric Bledsoe, who finished with 21 points, hit his first four shots to get the Bucks going from the start.  The Bucks had their largest lead at 32-17 when Pau Gasol hit a three.

But the Spurs went on a 11-0 run and trailed 60-54 at halftime.

LaMarcus Aldridge had 29 points and DeMar DeRozan 28 for the Spurs, who opened the third quarter on a 17-4 run to take the lead.

The Bucks would lead briefly one more time but the Spurs owned the second half to pull out the win.

Giannis Antetokounmpo led the Bucks with 27 points and 13 rebounds.  Khris Middleton added 15 and Pat Connaughton added 14 off the bench.

The Bucks are off today and return to action at New Orleans on Tuesday night.

 

Bucks end two-game losing streak

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A third quarter technical foul charged against Giannis Antetokounmpo ignited a Milwaukee Bucks run and they went on to beat the Indiana Pacers 117-98 on Thursday night at Fiserv Forum.

Antetokounmpo finished with 29 points and 12 rebounds, while Khris Middleton rebounded from a poor shooting game at Phoenix with 27 points to lead the Bucks.

After Antetokounmpo thought he was fouled and got hit with a technical, the Bucks went on a 13-0 run to widen the gap and the Bucks would never be challenged again.

The victory ended a two-game losing skid and helped the Bucks improve to 3-1 against the Pacers, who own the 3rd best record in the Eastern Conference.  The Bucks also improved to 9-3 against the four teams directly behind them in the Eastern Conference.

The Bucks return home Saturday night to host Charlotte at Fiserv Forum.

Bucks drop two straight for first time this season

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The Phoenix Suns came from 10-points down in the fourth quarter to knock off the NBA leading Milwaukee Bucks 114-105 on Monday night.  It’s the first time all season that the Bucks have dropped back-to-back games.

Kelly Oubre Jr. had 27 points and 13 rebounds, Devin Booker added 22 points and Deandre Ayton had 19 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Suns, who have the league’s worst record.  They’ve also beaten the Bucks in both meetings this season.

Giannis Antetokounmpo had 21 points and 13 rebounds, and Malcolm Brogdon added 19 points for the Bucks.

Milwaukee led by as many as 16 points in the first half before falling behind by three points in the third quarter.  Another Bucks charge put them up 10, but they couldn’t hold it.

After losing 17 straight games, the Suns have now won three of their last four.

The Bucks return home to Milwaukee to host the Indiana Pacers at Fiserv Forum on Thursday.

 

Bucks hold off high-flying Kings out west

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With Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton on the bench, the Milwaukee Bucks knocked off the Sacramento Kings 141-140 in overtime on Wednesday night in Sacramento.

The win was the Bucks’ sixth in a row and their ninth straight on the road, pushing them to 47-14 on the season.

Malcolm Brogdon hit a big three late, then he and Nikola Mirotic both hit some key free throws in the closing seconds to hold off the Kings.

Bucks point guard Eric Bledsoe had a triple-double with 26 points, 13 assists and 12 rebounds to lead the charge.  Brogdon added 25 points and Middleton had 21. [Read more…]