Maker scores career-high 23 in Bucks OT win
Maker has career night
On Wednesday night, the Milwaukee Bucks turned to rookie Malcolm Brogdon and it paid off as he came up huge in leading the Bucks to a gritty win in Boston. With Brogdon out due to back tightness Friday, though, it was the Bucks’ other rookie who got the chance to make big plays at crunch time.
And Thon Maker didn’t disappoint.
The No. 10 overall pick in the 2016 draft put together his best game in a Bucks uniform, scoring a careerhigh 23 points in 25 minutes and making huge plays at the end of regulation and in overtime to help lift Milwaukee to a 108-105 victory over the Detroit Pistons in front of a sellout crowd at the BMO Harris Bradley Center. The victory was the Bucks’ third in a row and vaulted them into fifth place in the Eastern Conference.
“He picked up his teammates,” coach Jason Kidd said. “He took advantage of his minutes. … He did a lot of the little things, but I thought, again, he shot the ball when he was
open and he made plays on the defensive end.”
The Bucks led by as many as 18 points in the first quarter, but shooting struggles and turnovers allowed the Pistons to battle back and grow a lead as large as 10 points with 5:09 remaining.
With less than a minute left in regulation and the Bucks trailing by two, Giannis Antetokounmpo attacked the lane to try to even the score. That strategy had paid dividends for the Bucks down the stretch, as Antetokounmpo almost single-handedly erased the 10-point deficit in the final five minutes with drive after drive that either ended in baskets or free throws.
After Antetokounmpo had scored 10 of the Bucks’ 12 points during that stretch, the Pistons were hip to his plan and stripped the Bucks’ star on this particular slash to the hoop. The ball wobbled along the court in the paint and with the shot clock winding down Maker came up with it and deposited a layup to tie the score at 95. At the other end, he contested a Marcus Morris shot to give the Bucks a chance for the last shot, but Khris Middleton couldn’t get a fadeaway jumper to fall.
In the extra frame, Maker’s impact only grew, possibly buoyed by a pep talk from Antetokounmpo during the break in the action between periods.
“If you hesitate I’m going to punch you, so shoot the ball whenever you get it,” Antetokounmpo told Maker.
Maker went on to score five points in overtime. First, he finished a fast break with a finger roll after Antetokounmpo threaded the needle to hit him in stride. Then, with 1:58 remaining, Maker took Antetokounmpo’s threat to heart, catching a pass in the corner, quickly setting his feet and hoisting a three-pointer that caught nothing but net and put the Bucks up, 102-99.
“He definitely said that and I let the next one go,” Maker said of Antetokounmpo’s preovertime instructions. “Money.”
As important as Maker’s points were, his most critical contributions may have come in the final minute of overtime without the benefit of ever getting two hands on the ball.
With a minute left, Matthew Dellavedova missed a three-pointer, but Maker battled for a rebound and knocked it out of bounds off the leg of a Pistons player. Following the inbound, Middleton missed a
three-point attempt, but Maker slapped the ball right back to Middleton, who quickly reloaded and fired off successful three. Following a miss by Ish Smith, Antetokounmpo made three of four free throws to salt away the victory.
In addition to Maker’s career night, Antetokounmpo finished with 28 points, 14 rebounds and nine assists while Middleton added 25 points and 10 rebounds.
At the outset, it didn’t look like a contest that would warrant an extra period. The Bucks took charge immediately with a 22-4 run less than six minutes into the game. In the first quarter alone, Milwaukee sank 7 of 11 three-point attempts.
That hot shooting didn’t last, as the Bucks went just 7 of 21 in the second quarter. Meanwhile, the Pistons were led by former Bucks Tobias Harris and Beno Udrih off the bench, who ultimately combined for 39 points and helped the Pistons cut the deficit to eight points at halftime.