Fourth-quarter nightmares end
Milwaukee manages to hold off Boston
During their four-game road trip out west, the Milwaukee Bucks were outscored by 49 points in the fourth quarter. They still eked out two wins, but that's not the kind of trend any team wants to continue.
Back home against the Boston Celtics on Tuesday night, the Bucks held the Celtics to 24% shooting in the third quarter to take an eight-point lead into the fourth. But the air of doubt hung over the BMO Harris Bradley Center.
Would the Bucks be able to hold on this time?
The answer ultimately was yes as the Bucks earned a 106-102 victory to pull into a three-way tie with the Washington Wizards and Miami Heat at 42-36 with four games left in the regular season. The win also snapped Boston's six-game win streak.
"We learned from the Denver game,"
Khris Middleton said of Tuesday's win, which came on the heels of a demoralizing loss Sunday.
While the Bucks took the victory, they sure did find a way to make things close.
The Celtics looked like they were about to pull within three with under a minute left as Jayson Tatum blocked a Khris Middleton three-pointer to ignite a break for Jaylen Brown the other way. Giannis Antetokounmpo had other plans, though, pinning Brown's layup against the glass.
The play was originally ruled a goaltend, but upon review it was clear Antetokounmpo's block had come in time.
Boston again pulled within three on a Tatum dunk with 24.2 seconds left after a Middleton turnover, but this time the Bucks were able to get the ball inbounds and Antetokounmpo sealed the win with a pair of free throws.
Antetokounmpo led the Bucks with 29 points and 11 rebounds while Middleton added 20 points, nine assists and eight rebounds. Eric Bledsoe finished with 18, including a clutch threepointer with just under three minutes left and a well-timed layup with 36 seconds left. Both of Bledsoe's shots put the Bucks up seven.
Milwaukee also got 12 points from Jabari Parker in 30 minutes. His minutes coincided with some big Bucks runs with Antetokounmpo on the bench with Milwaukee going on 16-4 run in the second and 11-3 spurt in the third, both without Antetokounmpo. BEHIND THE BOX SCORE
Juice is loose: During the second quarter, the Bucks drew the crowd's attention to the video board for a special video, which opened with the graphics celebrating the team's 50th season. What followed was a highlight package of a former player who was in attendance.
That former player was O.J. Mayo, who was sitting between Bucks coowner Marc Lasry and senior vice president Alex Lasry courtside.
Mayo appeared in 164 games for the Bucks over three seasons from 2013-'16, averaging 10.6 points in 25.2 minutes per game. When he wasn't injured, Mayo was considered to be a well-liked teammate, didn't leave the team on the best terms.
Mayo fractured his right ankle in a home accident on March 10, 2016 and did not return to the team that season. Later that summer when Mayo was a free agent, he was dismissed and disqualified from the NBA for violating the terms of the league's anti-drug program. Mayo's two-year suspension is scheduled to end this summer.
This past summer, Mayo opened up to Sports Illustrated about his suspension and turning things around. In that piece, he said he felt he had cheated the Bucks during his threeyear, $24 million contract and hoped for another chance.
"I felt like I let them down, cheated them for two years," Mayo told SI. "They paid me $8 million to be, in my eyes, a subpar player. They invested millions of dollars for me to be on top of my (expletive), and when you’re not on top of your (expletive), it shows. I’ll be 30 next summer. If they just give me the chance, I can make it up. I owe them.”
UP NEXT
Teams: Milwaukee Bucks (42-36) vs. Brooklyn Nets (25-53).
When: 7 p.m. Thursday.
Where: BMO Harris Bradley Center.
About the Nets: The Bucks have won 10 straight games in the series, including a 116-91 victory in Milwaukee on Jan. 26 and a 109-94 win on Feb. 4.