Careless finish sends Bucks to setback
It looked like the Milwaukee Bucks were on the verge of a big win. Unlike their first game in the NBA’s bubble at Walt Disney World, this time the Bucks couldn’t close it out.
With just over three minutes left Sunday night, Khris Middleton ended a tough, gritty, three-offensive rebound possession by knocking down a wideopen three-pointer off a good find by Brook Lopez. That shot put the Bucks up eight – a sizable cushion considering their earlier 11-point deficit.
But the Houston Rockets wouldn’t quit and from that moment on it was all downhill for the Bucks. Milwaukee’s players couldn’t seem to get on the same page offensively and their disjointed play led to sloppy turnovers and ultimately spelled their doom in a 120-116 loss at The Arena in Kissimmee, Florida. Milwaukee tied a season-high with 23 turnovers, leading to 30 Houston points.
“I think that’s the thing we’ll take away from tonight,” Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer said. “I think our execution, our certainty in what we wanted to do wasn’t where it needs to be and that starts with me. So, I think a lot of tonight’s on me . ...
“We had a lot of success going to the post and I think we were indecisive to play the post-up game or get Khris and Giannis (Antetokounmpo) into their game. We had a couple turnovers. At the end of the day, that’s really what killed us. Turnovers, lack of execution down the stretch. I actually think that’s a good thing for us to learn from and we’ll get better.”
A rash of three straight turnovers evaporated the eight-point lead created by Middleton’s three-pointer.
First came a giveaway by Middleton, off the mark with a pass aimed at Lopez. P.J. Tucker, who went 3 of 12 on threepointers as the Bucks opted to ignore him in the corner all night, immediately responded with a triple.
Then George Hill stumbled through the lane and lost the ball, leading to a run out and an easy bucket for Robert Covington at the other end, cutting the Bucks’ lead to one.
That’s when the Bucks tried to slow things down and lean on their star. Antetokounmpo rumbled to the hoop but was stripped from behind by James Harden, igniting yet another Rockets breakaway that ended in a Russell Westbrook layup and capped a 9-0 run that put Houston back on top with 1 minute 41 seconds remaining.
After riding Antetokounmpo, who finished with 36 points, 18 rebounds and eight assists, the Bucks looked lost and discombobulated down the stretch.
“We just got to be on the same page,” Antetokounmpo said.