Bucks, Badgers lose
Milwaukee falls again to Toronto, while Ethan Happ struggles in UW loss to Rutgers.
Through two quarters, the Milwaukee Bucks and Toronto Raptors seemed well on their way to reprising their exciting, down-to-the-wire matchup from Monday night in Toronto, going into the break with a two-point margin between them.
Then the third quarter started and it quickly became clear that Friday’s game was taking a turn in another direction.
The Raptors thoroughly dominated the third quarter, opening up a lead as large as 27 points in that period, then kept up the heat on the way to a 129-110 defeat of the Bucks in their final visit to the BMO Harris Bradley Center.
“Toronto’s a very good team and they came in and they were aggressive,” Bucks coach Jason Kidd said. “We have to match that energy. It just seemed like we took a step back when they turned it up. We kind of gave in and so we’ve just got to continue to understand we’ve got to fight.”
By any measure, the third period was the Bucks’ worst quarter this season. They were outscored, 43-19 — the 24-point margin their largest of the campaign as the Raptors made 17 of their 25 shots (68%). Toronto’s 43 points were the most allowed by Milwaukee in any quarter this season.
When the Raptors did miss, more often than not they got another
Toronto had three times as many offensive rebounds (6) as the Bucks had total rebounds (2) in that quarter as Toronto owned the glass, 18-2.
After getting Toronto’s centers into foul trouble in the first half by constantly getting into the paint, Milwaukee looked averse to going inside during much of the third quarter. They settled for and missed a bevy of midrange shots, especially early in the period.
“In the first half, the ball was moving, we were attacking, the ball was touching the paint and we were making extra passes,” Kidd said. “To start that third quarter, we just held on to the ball a little bit too long, we got back into dribbling. When they went on a run we felt that we could do it individually, one-on-one, and that kind of separated the game from that point on.”
As Milwaukee’s offense struggled to gain traction, their defense fell into disaray. The Bucks couldn’t get stops at the other end as DeMar DeRozan — who had 52 points in Monday’s game but only six in the first half Friday — got into a rhythm for 14 points in the period.
His contributions weren’t nearly as impressive as those of center Jonas Valanciunas, who was limited to 5 1/2 scoreless minutes in the first half due to foul trouble. The Lithuanian big man turned into a mix of Dikembe Mutombo and Shaquille O’Neal, exerting his will on the inside, wagging his finger after blocking a shot and dominating all comers.
“Hope they take him out, I mean, that’s about all we can do if no one’s up to the challenge,” Kidd said.
By the end of the third, Valanciunas had 20 points and nine rebounds in that period alone as both Bucks centers, first John Henson then Thon Maker, proved powerless to stop him.
“He was a beast down there,” Henson said. “We have to do a better job — I’ve got to do a better job — and we will next time.”
Already flailing offensively, the Bucks never recovered against one of the top defenses in the league. It didn’t help that Toronto, even with its reserves on the floor, never took its foot off the pedal and Milwaukee’s backups proved nearly as punchless as the starters.
Giannis Antetokounmpo, the Bucks’ leading scorer with 24 points, had just seven in the second half in 14 minutes. Malcolm Brogdon added 19 off the bench and Eric Bledsoe had 17 on 7-of-12 shooting.
“We have games like this, man,” Henson said. “We’ve got another game in like 24 hours. Can’t dwell on it. We’ve got to get better and go from there.”
BEHIND THE BOX SCORE
Ahead of the pack: On Thursday, the NBA unveiled the early results in the fan all-star voting process, with Antetokounmpo leading all players with 863,416 votes.
Antetokounmpo discussed the honor after shootaround Friday, thanking his teammates for putting him in the position to be successful. With the top votegetter in each conference serving as a team captain and selecting his squad — a new wrinkle to this year’s game — Antetokounmpo was asked whom he would take should he maintain the top spot.
“First of all if my teammates are available I’m going with my teammates,” he said. “But if not, I gotta go with LeBron James — best player in the world, so we can have a good relationship for free agency. You never know, he might come play here.”
Point men: As part of their 50th-anniversary celebration, the Bucks unveiled the top five point guards in franchise history as determined by a fan vote. Those five players were, in no order, Flynn Robinson, Oscar Robertson, Paul Pressey, Sam Cassell and Brandon Jennings.
UP NEXT
Teams: Milwaukee Bucks (20-17) at Washington Wizards (22-16).
When: 7 p.m. Saturday.
Where: Capital One Arena.
About the Wizards: The Bucks and Wizards are meeting for the second time this season after Washington claimed a 99-88 victory at the Bradley Center on Nov. 20. The Wizards were hovering around the .500 mark heading into December but have added a cushion since, winning 11 of their past 17 games, includchance. ing three in a row, heading into a game against the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday in Memphis. Shooting guard Bradley Beal has carried the Wizards, averaging 23.4 points per game while shooting 36.7% on three-pointers. John Wall, who has missed 11 games due to injury, is putting up 18.5 points and 8.7 assists.