Game fumbled away after rally
Milwaukee’s second-half surge comes up short
If you turned off your television during or after the first quarter of Tuesday night's game between the Milwaukee Bucks and Washington Wizards, you made a wise decision given the information available to you.
The Bucks got behind by two touchdowns — 14-0 — before breaking onto the scoreboard. Before the first quarter came to a close, they trailed by as many as three — touchdowns, that is.
That's not good in football and it's even worse in basketball.
But if you tuned out at that point, you missed what turned out to become a thrilling contest. The Bucks battled back throughout the game and had chance after chance to tie the game or go ahead. Try as they might, they couldn't break through, fumbling away possessions, missing shots or running into untimely defensive lapses.
Then, with 0.8 seconds left, they got one last opportunity. Trailing by three, Giannis Antetokounmpo inbounded to Eric Bledsoe who lost control of the ball as he went up for a shot, sealing a 107104 loss at the BMO Harris Bradley Center.
Considering all the missed chances,
that end might have been the most fitting of all for the Bucks. Following that dismal start in the first quarter, the Bucks never led, never tied the game, but they only have themselves to blame for that.
They had chances.
After trailing by 14 at halftime, the Bucks used an 18-6 run over the first six minutes of the third quarter to pull within two. Almost instantly, the Wizards went on a 4-0 run.
Milwaukee got within a basket again at the end of the third quarter when Jason Terry swished a three and Antetokounmpo concluded the period with an emphatic block, sending the home crowd into a frenzy.
The Bucks then got the margin down to one on five separate occasions in the fourth. Four of those were immediately followed by a basket at the other end of the court. The other time, when the Bucks were down 94-93 around the midway point of the quarter, they missed three shots at the lead.
Antetokounmpo led the Bucks with 23 points, 13 rebounds, eight assists, six blocks and three steals. Jabari Parker, who played 27 minutes and closed out the game, had 19 points and was the main reason why the Bucks stayed afloat in the first half as he made his first five shots for 14 points in seven minutes.
Bradley Beal paced the Wizards with 21 points, including a clutch threepointer to beat the shot clock with 59.7 seconds left that put Washington ahead by five.
That's just how the night went for the Bucks, which concluded the season series with the Wizards with each team claiming a pair of wins on the other's home court. It was a game that felt like a playoff contest and could very well be a first-round matchup come April.
BEHIND THE BOX SCORE
Shuffling centers: When the Bucks acquired Tyler Zeller from the Brooklyn Nets in early February, it gave Milwaukee three full-time centers for the first time since the team shipped Greg Monroe to Phoenix back in November.
The problem since then, though, has been the Bucks haven't often had all three of their big men healthy at the same time. Regular starter John Henson missed four of the team's first five games after the trade due to a right hamstring injury.
With the full complement of big men now available, Bucks coach Joe Prunty faces the decision of how to use them. On Sunday, Henson carried the lion's share of minutes while Maker (15) and Zeller (11) each got some chances.
“A lot of it is the flow of the game," Prunty said. "There might be some other things that take place game-plan wise that we have discussions about as a staff. A lot of it is who the matchup is and who we’re playing. The bottom line is to be ready whenever your number is called.”
Casting a big shadow: Tuesday's game was the Bucks' latest "Classic Night," which included unveiling the top five centers in franchise history as voted on by fans. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar unsurprisingly was listed among them and was on hand at the Bradley Center to soak in a standing ovation in the first quarter.
The other four centers on the all-time team were Bob Lanier, Jack Sikma, Ervin Johnson and Andrew Bogut.
UP NEXT
Teams: Milwaukee Bucks (33-26) at Detroit Pistons (28-32).
When: 6 p.m. Tuesday.
Where: Little Caesars Arena. About the Pistons: Detroit made one of the biggest moves this season, trading for forward Blake Grffin on Jan. 29. Griffin, a five-time all-star, has played in all 11 of the Pistons' games in February but hasn't helped Detroit move up in the standings as the Pistons hold a 5-6 record this month. Five of those losses, including Detroit's three defeats in as many games since the all-star break, have come by double digits. The Pistons' five wins have all come at home against teams playing the second game of a back-to-back, which is the situation the Bucks will face Wednesday night. Milwaukee leads the season series, 2-1.