Khris Middleton Archives - Wisconsin Radio Network

Bucks part company with Malcolm Brogdon

July 1, 2019 By Bill Scott

The Milwaukee Bucks were active with the official start of free agency underway on Sunday.

All-star Khris Middleton will sign a five year, $178 million dollar deal to remain with the Bucks. The negotiating period started Sunday and the contracts can become official on July 6th.

Bucks center Brook Lopez agreed to a four-year, $52 million deal.

Veteran guard George Hill was released by the team earlier, then agreed to a lesser deal, three years worth $29 million.

Those deals came at a price. With guard Malcolm Brogdon set to become a restricted free agent, the Bucks sent him to the Indiana Pacers for a first and pair of second round draft picks next year. Brogdon gets a four year deal worth $85 million from the Pacers.

The Bucks could have matched any potential offer from another NBA team for Brogdon, who was a restricted free agent. But the salary cap was going to be an issue and to a certain extent, still is. Somebody had to go and to the Bucks ownership, it made the most sense to deal Brogdon.

Brogdon will certainly be missed, signing Hill helps. They’ll need to get last seasons top draft pick, Donte DiVincenzo, as well as returning players Sterling Brown and Pat Connaughton to step up their game to make up for Brogdon’s departure.

Getting Middleton to return, as well as Lopez in the middle, will go a long way towards helping the Bucks take another run at an NBA title.

Lopez and Middleton selected to attend National Team Training Camp

June 10, 2019 By Bill Scott

Milwaukee Bucks standouts Brook Lopez and Khris Middleton will participate in USA Basketball’s Men’s National Team training camp from Aug. 5-9 in Las Vegas. The 20-man roster for training camp will be used to select the finalists for the 12-man 2019 USA World Cup Team that will participate in the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 that tips-off on Aug. 31 in China.

Middleton, who was named to the USA Men’s National Team roster in April of 2018, was an All-Star last season and averaged 18.3 points and career-highs in both rebounds (6.0) and assists (4.3) per game. He also shot 44.1% from the field and 37.8% from three, appearing and starting in 77 games for the Bucks as they won an NBA high 60 games.

Lopez is one of six additions to the USA Men’s National Team roster for training camp. Last season, Lopez started 81 games for the Bucks and averaged 12.5 points, 4.9 rebounds, 2.2 blocks (4th in the NBA) and 1.2 assists per game. He also set the NBA record for 3-pointers made by a center in a season with 187 and became the first player in NBA history to tally 150+ threes and 150+ blocks in a single season.

Milwaukee is one of just three teams (Houston and Portland) to have multiple players selected to the USA National Team roster for training camp.

The official, 12-member roster for the 2019 USA Basketball Men’s World Cup Team will be announced on August 17.

Bucks falter down the stretch drop ECF’s to Toronto

May 26, 2019 By Bill Scott

The Milwaukee Bucks led by as many as 15 points late in the third quarter on Saturday night before falling to the Toronto Raptors 100-94 in game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals. The result gave the Raptors the series win four games to two and the right to face the Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals.

After going down 15, Toronto answered with a 26-3 run. The Raptors took their largest lead at 87-79 with 6 minutes, 45 seconds left.

The Bucks bounced back with a 7-0 run but never did quite make it all the way back.

Kawhi Leonard had 27 points, 17 rebounds and seven assists to lead the Raptors.

Giannis Antetokounmpo had 21 points and 11 rebounds for the Bucks. Brook Lopez added 18 and Khris [Read more…]

Bucks season is on the brink after game 5 loss

May 24, 2019 By Bill Scott

The Milwaukee Bucks are facing playoff elimination after losing home court advantage and falling to the Toronto Raptors 105-99 at Fiserv Forum on Thursday night.

The Bucks captured the first two games of the series, but have now dropped three straight for the first time this season.

Kawhi Leonard scored 35 points, hitting the 30 point mark for the fourth time in the series. Leonard added five three-pointers and had seven rebounds and nine assists. Fred VanVleet added 21 points, hitting 7 of 9 three-pointers in the Toronto victory.

Giannis Antetokounmpo had 24 points for the Bucks, while Eric Bledsoe added 20. Guard Malcolm Brogdon returned to the starting lineup and added 18 points and 11 rebounds.

The Bucks led by 10 after the first quarter and as many as 14 in the first half, but maintaining consistency on offense was a problem again.

Khris Middleton struggled offensively, not hitting his first field goal of the game until the first minute of the fourth quarter. Middleton had missed his first six shots.

The Bucks now head to Toronto for Game 6 of the series, needing a victory to get the series back to Milwaukee for a game seven on Memorial Day.

Bucks crushed by Raptors, series tied 2-2

May 22, 2019 By Bill Scott

The Milwaukee Bucks dropped back-to-back games for the first time in the playoffs and just the second time all season, falling to the Raptors 120-102 in Toronto on Tuesday night.

The Bucks shot out of the gate playing well offensively, but that didn’t last long. Defensively, the Bucks didn’t stop the Raptors all night.

Kyle Lowry finished with 25 points, 12 of them coming in the first quarter. Kawhi Leonard had 19 points, Norman Powell added 18 points, Marc Gasol and Serge Ibaka added 17 and Fred VanVleet added 13 for the Raptors.

Khris Middleton led the Bucks with 30 points and dished out seven assists and Giannis Antetokounmpo added 25, with 11 of the 25 coming in the first quarter.

That was it for the Bucks, who got little from Eric Bledsoe again. His minutes dropped to 20. But his replacements, Malcolm Brogdon and George Hill struggled as well, giving the Bucks little from the guard position.

Brogdon, after scoring 20 points in game three, had just four points and missed his first eight shots. George Hill took just two shots.

Ersan Ilyasova picked up four fouls in just 10 minutes and never got into a rhythm. He finished with just seven points.

Whatever coach Mike Budenholzer tried didn’t work as the series draws even at two. Now the Bucks have another quick turn-around, trying to figure out how they can get back on track. Milwaukee hosts game five on Thursday night at Fiserv Forum.

Raptors knock off Bucks 118-112 in 2OT (AUDIO)

May 20, 2019 By Bill Scott

The Toronto Raptors showed the basketball world that they have no interest in going quietly when it comes to their Eastern Conference Finals series with the Milwaukee Bucks.

The Bucks opened game three with a quick 2-0 lead before the Raptors took over and controlled game three the rest of the way.

Kawhi Leonard poured in 36 points, including eight in the second overtime to lead Toronto to a 118-112 victory, drawing to withing 2-1 in the series with game four on Tuesday night.

Pascal Siakam added 25 points and 11 rebounds and Marc Gasol had 16 points, 12 rebounds and five blocked shots to lead the Raptors to the win. [Read more…]

Bucks face Raptors after long layoff

May 15, 2019 By Bill Scott

The Milwaukee Bucks open the Eastern Conference finals against the Toronto Raptors tonight at Fiserv Forum. It’s their first game since knocking out Boston in the conference semifinals last Wednesday.

The Bucks are hoping to be sharper for game one of this series, than they were in game one of the series with Boston. The Celtics cleaned up in the series opener 120-90 and accounted for the Bucks only playoff loss. The Bucks are 8-1 in this postseason.

The Bucks will be well rested and healthy heading into the series. That includes guard Malcolm Brogdon, who returned to the Bucks lineup during the Boston series, scoring 10 points in 17 minutes in the Bucks game 5 win.

But coach Mike Budenholzer plans to stick with Nikola Mirotic in the starting lineup in game one tonight and he’ll bring Brogdon off the bench.

Defensively, the Bucks will have their hands full with Toronto’s Kawhi Leonard. During the playoffs, Leonard has averaged 31.8 points, 8.5 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.3 steals a game in the playoffs. His post season success includes a buzzer-beating game winner in Game 7 on Sunday against Philadelphia.

Khris Middleton will draw the defensive assignment on Leonard. The Bucks know they won’t be able to totally stop Leonard, but they’re hoping to make things tough on him.

The Bucks will need to prevent Leonard from living at the free throw line in the series. He’s knocking down 84.8% of his free throw attempts on the season.

Bucks advance to Eastern Conference Finals (AUDIO)

May 9, 2019 By Bill Scott

After dropping the series opener, the Milwaukee Bucks swept the next four games, including Wednesday nights 116-91 win over the Boston Celtics, winning the series 4-1.

The Bucks improved to 8-1 in the postseason and advanced to the Eastern Conference finals for the first time since 2001. That year, they lost to the Philadelphia 76ers in seven games.

The Bucks will face the winner of the series between Toronto and Philadelphia in the Conference finals. Those two teams are playing game six in Philadelphia tonight. The Raptors lead the 76ers 3-2.

Giannis Antetokounmpo led the way for the Bucks with 20 points, eight rebounds and eight assists. Khris Middleton added 19 points and five other Bucks finished in double figures.

Even Malcolm Brogdon got in on the act, playing for the first time since suffering a foot injury on March [Read more…]

Bucks grab commanding 3-1 series lead (AUDIO)

May 7, 2019 By Bill Scott

The Milwaukee Bucks struggled early and then saw shooters Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton take a third quarter seat on the bench with foul trouble. But like they’ve done all season, the Bucks bench came to the rescue and outscored Boston 33-23 in the period, on the way to a 113-101 victory over the Celtics.

The win gave the Bucks a 3-1 Eastern Conference semifinal series lead with a chance to wrap it up in five games on Wednesday night at Fiserv Forum.

With the bench mob on the court, the Bucks rallied to take a 10-point lead and took an eight-point lead into the fourth quarter.

Giannis Antetokounmpo returned and scored 17 of his game high 39 points in that final period as the Bucks pulled away for the win. Antetokounmpo also added 16 rebounds to his total. [Read more…]

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

May 1, 2019 By Bill Scott

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…]