Bucks: Beasley finding success off the bench.
Veteran’s pace is key to success
St. Francis — Michael Beasley helped the Milwaukee Bucks close out Tuesday’s victory in San Antonio.
The veteran forward played with composure, and Bucks coach Jason Kidd praised him for his pace as Milwaukee held on for a 109-107 victory over the Spurs.
Beasley said Thursday he believes he can help young stars Giannis Antetokounmpo and Jabari Parker as they learn the proper timing and speed to finish plays in crucial situations.
The 28-year-old Beasley’s success down the stretch against the Spurs — including 10 points in the fourth quarter and the game-winning assist on Malcolm Brogdon’s three-pointer — can be chalked up to experience.
“It says that I’ve been here before,” Beasley said. “I work on those shots every day, before and after practice. I come here (to the Cousins Center) at night.
“That just tells me, actually, coach is here at night watching (laughs). It just lets me know he sees me working. I was just trying to be reliable for my team.”
Beasley impressed his teammates with the way he was able to get inside the San Antonio defense and score in the post or pull up and hit his silky left-handed jumper.
He finished with a season-high 28 points on 11of-18 shooting, helping the Bucks win despite getting limited minutes from Antetokounmpo, who was fighting a virus.
“Most closers have a pace about themselves,” Kidd said. “When you look at Kawhi (Leonard) and those guys who have the ball, they tend to understand where they have to get to, and they get there.
“He (Beasley) can do that.”
Kidd said Antetokounmpo and Parker can learn from a player who has been in the league eight seasons and also spent time playing in China. Beasley was the second overall pick in the 2008 draft by Miami, the Bucks’ opponent on Friday night.
“They’ve got to understand their pace and can’t be in a rush,” Kidd said of the Bucks forward duo. “And it’s not just from Beasley but from other closers in this league.
“It’s understanding pace and rhythm is a big thing, and not rushing. Those are the things young players struggle with early.”
The 22-year-old Antetokounmpo broke through with his first career buzzer-beater in New York last week, taking a 15-foot step-back shot to beat the Knicks at Madison Square Garden.
The Bucks (19-18) have won three straight road games and four of their last five, with two being blowouts and the last two being decided at the buzzer. Manu Ginobili’s missed three-pointer allowed Milwaukee to prevail in San Antonio.
Beasley said he has no big secrets but always tries to keep his dribble active.
“The biggest thing for them (Antetokounmpo and Parker) is playing with a live dribble,” Beasley said. “That’s one thing I’m trying to put in Giannis’ head and Jabari’s, everybody really.
“If we play with a live dribble we give ourselves more options and we can see the floor a lot better.”
Beasley said players tend to put the ball down too soon “and I’m guilty of it, too.”
Rather than pounding the dribble in isolation situations, Beasley said players can use a triple threat.
“It’s a lost art in our game,” he said. “You get it, 1, 2 (seconds) ... by the third second, you should know what you’re going to do.
“The ball should be out of your hands or you should be on the way to the rim. It’s getting back to the basics of the game. You get a chance to let the defense mess up.
“When you’ve got shooters, post presence, drivers and slashers, let the defense tell you what to do.”
Winning campaign: Antetokounmpo continued to draw big support in the fan voting portion of the NBA All-Star Game selection process.
The league released its second set of fan vote totals on Thursday and the Greek Freak remained second among Eastern Conference frontcourt players, trailing only LeBron James, and with the fifth-highest total of all NBA players.
Antetokounmpo now has garnered 963,110 votes, far ahead of the third-rated East frontcourt player, Kevin Love of the Cleveland Cavaliers. Love has more than 473,000 votes. The top East guards in the fan voting are Kyrie Irving and Dwyane Wade.
Fan voting will count for 50% of the vote, while media (25%) and player voting (25%) also will be tallied to come up with the starting five for both conferences in the AllStar Game, scheduled Feb. 19 in New Orleans.
Voting by fans, players and a media panel will conclude at 10:59 p.m. Monday and the starters will be announced in a live TNT telecast at 6 p.m. Jan. 19.
Parker (120,022 votes) moved up from 10th to ninth place in the East front-court voting. Allstar reserves, selected by conference coaches, will be announced on Jan. 26.
The Bucks have not had an all-star representative since 2004 when Michael Redd was chosen as a reserve, and they have not had a starter in the All-Star Game since Sidney Moncrief in 1986.
Moncrief scored 16 points in 26 minutes in the East’s 139-132 victory over the West at Reunion Arena in Dallas on Feb. 9, 1986. The other East starters that day?
An impressive group: Isiah Thomas, Moses Malone, Julius Erving and Larry Bird.
On the mend: Kidd said Antetokounmpo went through practice Thursday and would be ready to go against the Heat.
Antetokounmpo was limited to 9 minutes against San Antonio while still battling an illness that caused him to miss Sunday’s home loss to the Washington Wizards.