Help is on the way
Giannis pours in 40, but too many fouls lead to fourth straight loss
CLEVELAND - The Milwaukee Bucks have a fouling problem and it was on full display from the early moments of Tuesday night’s 124-119 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers at Quicken Loans Arena.
Entering the night with the fifth-most fouls per game in the NBA (23.0), the Bucks accumulated 11 fouls in the first quarter alone — with five getting assessed to the team’s two centers — leading to 15 free throws from the
Cavaliers. That was just the tip of the iceberg, as Milwaukee wound up getting charged with 31 fouls, which sent Cleveland to the line for 38 attempts of which the Cavaliers made 33.
The free-throw disparity — the Bucks earned 16 tries from the charity stripe with Giannis Antetokounmpo accounting for 11 — played a major role in the game, as it has for the past three contests during Milwaukee’s four-game losing streak. Over the past three games, the Bucks’ opponents have had 95 attempts to Milwaukee’s 40, which spurred coach Jason Kidd to voice his displeasure about officiating after the game, especially in regards to his players not getting as many calls.
“No matter if you have three officials out there or six officials they’re getting the call,” Kidd said, noting that the Bucks need to do a better job of not fouling. “That’s disappointing because the game is being won or lost by the freethrow line.
“We’re outscoring our opponent, we’re making more twos and threes and we’re losing it at the free-throw line. We have to do a better job of not fouling and making sure that the officials understand that there are fouls at the other end too.”
Getting the Bucks into foul trouble was part of Cleveland’s game plan. Cavaliers head coach Tyronn Lue knew of the Bucks’ struggles with fouling and didn’t believe Milwaukee’s centers — John Henson and Thon Maker — could handle defending Kevin Love in the post.
That plan worked to perfection, with Love scoring 32 points — the most by a player against the Bucks this season — collecting 16 rebounds (eight offensive) and going 14 of 16 at the free-throw line.
LeBron James, too, pushed the issue inside and came close to a triple-double, putting up 30 points, nine assists and eight rebounds. He made 8 of 10 freethrow attempts.
While the Bucks put themselves behind the eight-ball with fouls, they were in the game for much of the night. Antetokounmpo scored 40 points on 16-of-21 shooting to go with nine rebounds, four blocks and three assists but also had eight turnovers before fouling out in the final minute.
After their foul-heavy first quarter, the Bucks rallied in the second. Khris Middleton led a 25-9 run, scoring 11 points in the spurt including the first seven. With 2:15 left in the half, Malcolm Brogdon, who had 22 points on the night, hit a three-pointer to give the Bucks a lead, which they didn’t relinquish before the buzzer, taking a 67-65 lead into intermission.
Milwaukee’s offense slowed in the third quarter, and by the end of the period the only reliable option was Antetokounmpo attacking the rim.
The Bucks failed to take advantage of James and Love opening the fourth quarter on the bench, watching their deficit balloon from four points at the start of the period to double digits.
UP NEXT
Teams: Milwaukee Bucks (4-6) at San Antonio Spurs (7-4).
When: 8 p.m. Friday.
Where: AT&T Center.
About the Spurs: San Antonio has played the whole season without their leader, Kawhi Leonard, who is behind in his recovery from quadriceps tendinopathy in his right leg. The Spurs opened on a four-game win streak without him, then lost four in a row before righting the ship with three straight victories.