Malcolm Brogdon

Bucks roll past Indiana

December 23, 2019 By Bill Scott

The Milwaukee Bucks started slow but came around in the second quarter and pulled away in the second half for a 117-89 win over the Indiana Pacers on Sunday night at Fiserv Forum.

Giannis Antetokounmpo had 18 points, 19 rebounds and nine assists, falling just short of a triple-double. Wes Matthews led the way with 19 points, while Brook Lopez and George Hill added 17 points each.

The Bucks hit 15 of their 44 three-point attempts and won for the 21st time in their last 22 games.

Domantas Sabonis had 19 points to lead the Pacers. Doug McDermott came off the bench to score 15 points, but the Pacers saw their five-game winning streak come to an end.

Former Bucks guard Malcolm Brogdon struggled and finished with 10 points on five of 19 shooting to go along with 10 assists.

The Bucks return to action on Christmas Day at Philadelphia against the 76ers.

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.

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 comeback to capture ECF Game 1 (AUDIO)

May 16, 2019 By Bill Scott

The Milwaukee Bucks struck the first blow in the Eastern Conference finals, coming from behind to knock off the Toronto Raptors 108-100 in the series opener at Fiserv Forum.

Brook Lopez fueled a 32-17 fourth-quarter rally by the Bucks, scoring 13 of his career playoff best 29 points in the final period.

Giannis Antetokounmpo added 24 points, 14 rebounds and six assists and Malcolm Brogdon scored 15 points off the bench to lead the Bucks.

The Raptors led 83-76 after three quarters and looked like they were about to steal the series opener in Milwaukee, but they went cold in the final quarter.

Kawhi Leonard had 31 points and Kyle Lowry added 30, but Lowry is the only Raptors player that had any [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…]

Brogdon set to return against Celtics Wednesday night

May 8, 2019 By Bill Scott

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.

Brogdon ruled out for Game 3

May 3, 2019 By Bill Scott

The Milwaukee Bucks will face the Boston Celtics in game 3 of their NBA Eastern Conference Semifinal series on Friday night without guard Malcolm Brogdon.

The Bucks shooting guard has been out since March 15 with a right plantar fascia tear. They were hoping Brogdon could return after the first two games of the series, but he was ruled out on Thursday.

The two teams split the first two games of the series in Milwaukee, which means the Bucks need to win at least once in Boston to win the series.

Brogdon continues to practice and coach Mike Budenholzer said his status hasn’t changed. The Bucks coach said Brogdon is in a good place and continues to move forward.

“We’ll see how today goes,” Budenholzer said. “See how he’s feeling and we’ll update.”

Brogdon averaged 15.6 points, 4.5 rebounds and 3.2 assists in 64 games this season before getting hurt. He is the eighth player to join the elite 50-40-90 club, shooting 50.5% from the field, 42.6% on three-pointers and 92.8% from the free throw line, which leads the NBA.

The Bucks aren’t saying when, but if Brogdon can’t play in game 3, those around him believe it could happen soon.