The Bucks took on the Grizzlies tonight in Milwaukee as they tried to get their 5th win of the young season.
The Bucks starters were:
Matthew Dellavedova
Tony Snell
Giannis Antetokounmpo
Jabari Parker
John Henson
The Grizzlies starters were:
Mike Conley
James Ennis
Chandler Parsons
JaMychal Green
Marc Gasol
Giannis kicked off the scoring for the Bucks with a short jumper as they started the game on an excellent 11-2 run. Milwaukee’s offense sputtered a little bit after that, and by midway through the first the Grizzlies had found some footing as the Bucks only led 14-8. The Grizzlies then hit a 3 to narrow the lead, but the Bucks responded with another 8-2 run to nearly build an early double-digit lead. By the end of the first, the Bucks held a reasonable 24-19 advantage, which was not their biggest lead of the first by any means but a lead which you will always take after 12 minutes. Giannis easily led all scorers at this point with 9.
Vince Carter kicked off the scoring in the second quarter to bring the Grizzlies within 3, and a Carter dunk shortly after that whittle the lead down to 1. Then, a Jason Terry 3-pointer kept the Grizzlies at bay and all of a sudden I wasn’t sure if I was watching tonight’s game or one from about 15 years ago. Luckily the Bucks sorted all that out, took another double digit lead, and ultimately went into the locker room at halftime with a 44-39 lead over Memphis. Giannis was still leading all scorers with 14 points, then it was Tony Snell with 9 in second place.
Marc Gasol kicked off the second-half scoring for the Grizzlies to bring Memphis within 3, but the Bucks did well to not let the Grizzlies snatch away the lead early in the half. After about 7 minutes had passed in the third quarter the Grizzlies grabbed their first lead of the game at 58-57, and all of a sudden we had ourselves a game as both teams started shooting very well and essentially trading baskets. While the Grizzlies threatened to win the third quarter, the Bucks ultimately went into the final 12 minutes with a 75-70 lead.
Michael Beasley kicked off the scoring for the Bucks with an and-one in the last quarter to put them up by 8. From there the Bucks kept expanding their lead up to around 15, and they were up by 9 midway through the fourth quarter. The closest that Memphis was able to get from that point was within 3 points, but the Bucks shut the door on the Grizzlies pretty well and closed out the game with a 10 point lead, finishing up 106-96.
Three Big Things
Giannis Antetokounmpo – While he had some foul trouble tonight, Giannis was able to stay in the game and the Bucks reaped the benefits of his presence. He scored 27 points on an efficient 9/13 shooting night, and also added 5 assists, 6 rebounds, 4 blocks and 4 steals in 37 minutes of action. Giannis pretty much stuffs the stat sheet just by being on the floor, and even though he racked up 5 fouls tonight he didn’t need to ride the bench very much, helping his team to the win.
Michael Beasley – Beasley exploded for 19 points in 19 minutes tonight, and also added 4 rebounds. He shot 6/8 from the field and went 6/7 from the free throw line, scoring many key points for the Bucks in the second half to make sure the Grizzlies weren’t able to get back in the game. Beasley has had some good games so far this season, but this was easily the best. Performances off the bench like this one will always help the Bucks grab wins, and I’m sure this won’t be Beasley’s last.
Shooting – The Bucks won tonight because they outshot the Grizzlies from the field, plain and simple. Milwaukee’s overall shooting percentage was 53% to Memphis’s 45%, and the Bucks shot 39% from distance compared to the Grizzlies’s abysmal 20% from beyond the arc. The one place the Bucks did not outshoot the Grizzlies from was the free throw line (Milwaukee went for 75% while Memphis went for 95%), but they so thoroughly outshot them everywhere else that this surprisingly did not matter. However, there will come a game where getting outshot like that at the free throw line will probably cost them a game, so they should work on that.
Plus/Minus Hero
Jabari Parker – Fresh off his 33-point performance, Parker only scored 16 on 5/16 shooting and went 0/4 from distance. However, he easily led the Bucks in plus/minus rating with +14, so he must have been doing something right. He only had 2 turnovers to Giannis’s 5, and he was clearly able to help his team with Giannis being able to stay on the floor more (unlike last time out). Parker can score 30+ if he needs to be the guy, but he seems to work better when he doesn’t need to be the guy. Lucky for the Bucks, as long as Giannis is around, Parker can play second banana, a role he seems very comfortable with (and is very good at).
Well, the Bucks are back to their winning ways after a comfortable win tonight. Tune in at 7:30 PM CT on Wednesday night as the Bucks take on the impressive Hawks!