Offensive malaise continues at home
Three-pointers few as well as baskets in paint
When three-pointers aren’t falling, the Milwaukee Bucks can usually rely on getting buckets in the paint. The problem for the Bucks against the Washington Wizards, though, was that even points in the paint weren’t to come by.
Milwaukee’s offensive malaise from Saturday night in Dallas carried over to Monday night at the BMO Harris Bradley Center as the Bucks suffered a 99-88 loss. The defeat marked the Bucks’ second in three days against a team that had played the night before while the Bucks were coming off at least one day of rest.
The Bucks’ offense sputtered for much of the night, including going just 4 of 22 on three-pointers. They exceeded their 46.4 points in the paint per game average with 48, but getting there was an adventure.
A team that usually hangs its hat on scoring inside, the Bucks missed numerous great looks en route to shooting just 24 of 44 from that area.
Eric Bledsoe missed an open layup in transition. Instead of attempting a layup of his own, Khris Middleton lobbed an alley-oop way high of Giannis Antetokounmpo. Gary Payton II flubbed an alley-oop finish. Antetoeasy
kounmpo missed a layup on the break and then moments later sprinted out for another attempt and was blocked from behind.
Still, the Bucks remained in the game. They weathered a 14-0 Wizards run in the first quarter and roared back in the second on the strength of their defense, which had seven steals — five by Bledsoe — in the first half alone.
The game remained close until late in the third before Wizards guard Bradley Beal, who finished with 23 points, went on a 7-0 run by himself to help Washington take a seven-point advantage into the fourth.
That’s when the wheels fell off for the Bucks. Facing Washington’s second unit with Beal and all-star guard John Wall on the bench, Milwaukee quickly fell behind by double digits. With the offense scuffling, that proved to be too deep a hole to dig out of as Milwaukee fell behind by as many as 17.
Antetokounmpo, one of the most efficient scorers in the league, had trouble finishing at the rim and went just 8 of 21 from the field on the way to scoring 23 points. Middleton added 15 points on 5 of 13 shooting and Bledsoe had 14 points and six steals in the loss.
Milwaukee’s bench, which averages a league-low 23.9 points per game, contributed just 16 with two-way guard Payton leading the way with eight points in his first extended action of the season.
BEHIND THE BOX SCORE
Kidd out: Bucks coach Jason Kidd was not at the Bradley Center after he and his wife, Porschla, welcomed their third child, Cooper Anne, on Sunday. Both mother and daughter are doing well, according to an announcement from the team.
Assistant coach Joe Prunty took over as interim coach, a role he has played before. During the 2015-’16 season, Prunty acted as interim coach for 17 games while Kidd underwent hip surgery, guiding the team to an 8-9 record.
The newest addition to the Kidd family is the Milwaukee coach’s sixth child. It is not yet clear when Kidd will rejoin the Bucks, who begin a four-game road trip with a game at 8 p.m. Wednesday against the Phoenix Suns.
UP NEXT
Teams: Milwaukee Bucks (8-8) at Phoenix Suns (7-11).
When: 8 p.m. Wednesday.
Where: Talking Stick Resort Arena. About the Suns: The young, rebuilding Suns will enter Wednesday’s matchup coming off successive wins against the Los Angeles Lakers and Chicago Bulls and with plenty of rest, as they last played on Sunday. Third-year guard Devin Booker is the engine that makes Phoenix go, averaging a team-high 23.0 points and 4.4 assists per game while shooting 37.3% from three-point range.