The Bucks hosted the Memphis Grizzlies as they looked for their seventh win of the young season.
The Bucks starters were:
Eric Bledsoe
Tony Snell
Khris Middleton
Giannis Antetokounmpo
John Henson
The Grizzlies starters were:
Mike Conley
Dillon Brooks
James Ennis III
Jarell Martin
Marc Gasol
John Henson started things off for the Bucks with a big dunk off a Giannis assist, but the Grizzlies scored the next nine points to grab an early 9-2 lead. Luckily, Khris Middleton promptly stopped that Memphis run with back-to-back 3s that sparked an 8-0 run and gave the Bucks the lead right back. The first six minutes of the opening quarter were organized chaos, but it was the Grizzlies who led 18-15 just after the midway point. Khris Middleton tied it up after that with his second corner 3 of the quarter, Tony Snell followed up with a dunk to give Milwaukee the edge, and the Bucks were ultimately able to secure a 34-29 lead after the first 12 minutes. Khris Middleton led all scorers with 10 points, Malcolm Brogdon followed with 8, and the Bucks shot 6-6 from three-point range to start the quarter (including 3-3 from Middleton alone).
Malcolm Brogdon kicked off the second quarter for the Bucks with a layup, but a Tyreke Evans 3 fewer than three minutes in tied the game up at 38. That was part of a 15-4 Memphis run that helped them to a 44-40 lead, and the Grizzlies maintained a 52-51 lead midway through the second. They scored 9 unanswered points in the following 90 seconds, but the Bucks were able to stop the bleeding with some Eric Bledsoe free throws. Both teams traded baskets for a bit after that, but a late 5-0 Bucks run brought them to just a 65-60 deficit going into halftime. Giannis led all scorers with 16 points (along with 4 rebounds, 3 assists, a steal, and 2 blocks), Mario Chalmers followed him with 13, and Dillon Brooks, Brandan Wright, Khris Middleton, and Malcolm Brogdon all put in 10. The Grizzlies outshot the Bucks 61% to 51% and outrebounded them 19-15.
Tony Snell opened the second half with a corner 3 off a Giannis assist, and an Eric Bledsoe midrange jumper not long after tied the game up for the Bucks. Marc Gasol responded with a 3, but the Bucks grabbed the lead back around the 9 minute mark with a signature John Henson hook shot. By midway through the third quarter, the Bucks had built their lead up to 77-70 after a Khris Middleton to John Henson alley-oop. After that, both offenses went anemic for a few minutes, but that worked in Milwaukee’s favor as the Bucks took an 84-77 lead into the final quarter. Giannis led all scorers with 23/8/4/2/2, and Mario Chalmers followed with 14. The Bucks only had 6 turnovers to Memphis’s 12, and had 4 blocks to one for the Grizzlies.
Tyreke Evans began the final quarter for the Grizzlies with a layup, and before two minutes had passed Evans tied the game up at 84 with a 3. Matthew Dellavedova ended that 7-0 (all Evans) run with a 3 of his own, but the Grizzlies (and particularly Tyreke Evans, if you couldn’t guess) kept making shots from beyond the arc to grab a five point, 94-89 lead a few minutes into the fourth. The Bucks didn’t flinch, though, and went on a 7-2 run to tie the game up at 96 by the midway point. A John Henson to Giannis alley-oop after that gave the Bucks the lead, and the Bucks never looked back after that as they finished the Grizzlies off, 110-103. Giannis and Tyreke Evans led all scorers with 27 apiece, and Dillon Brooks followed them with 19. Both teams shot 49% from the field, but the Bucks shot 55% from distance compared to Memphis’s 42%. The Bucks were outrebounded 37-36, but only committed 9 turnovers and 19 fouls to Memphis’s 14 and 25, respectively.
Three Big Things
Giannis Antetokounmpo and John Henson – Giannis had yet another MVP-worthy performance, going for a near triple double on 27 points, 9 rebounds, 7 assists, 2 steals, and 2 blocks in 44 minutes of action. While he only shot 10/22 from the field, he was 7/9 from the charity stripe and seemed to deliver points whenever the Bucks needed them. John Henson had a bit of a mini Giannis night himself, going for 17 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 blocks in 25 very efficient minutes. If Giannis and John Henson can continue to deliver the post play we saw tonight, the Bucks will not miss Greg Monroe’s presence off the bench as much as I thought they would.
Tyreke Evans – Evans had a solid but quiet night in the first three quarters of the game, scoring a respectable 13 points. In the fourth, though, he absolutely went off, scoring the first 7 points of the quarter on his way to 14 fourth quarter points. Evans finished with a 27/6/3 statline and was a big reason the Grizzlies were within striking distance late in the game. He might be an early frontrunner for sixth man of the year, if this game was any indication.
DeAndre Liggins – Liggins doesn’t exactly stuff the stat sheet, as he finished tonight with 6 points, 3 steals, and 3 fouls (his only logs in the stat sheet) in 21 minutes. His impact on the court, though, is obvious just by watching, no matter how intangible. He is an excellent lockdown defender as well as a great disrupter on the break, and he has a knack for drawing offensive fouls as well. In the last few games, he’s also been knocking down a corner 3 every so often. Look for Liggins to get more and more minutes as the season goes on if he keeps playing like he did tonight.
Plus/Minus Hero
Khris Middleton – While it seemed like there were more than a few times when the starters were clicking as a unit, Khris Middleton was far and away the plus/minus hero at +27 (with the next-closest being Eric Bledsoe at +19). Middleton finished with 17 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 assists, which is a pretty average game for him, but he scored some crucial baskets early in the first to help build the lead and late in the fourth to help secure the win. While everyone is understandably excited about the new Giannis/Bledsoe duo, games like this show Middleton’s importance to the Bucks.
The Bucks took care of business for the third game in a row as they got back to over .500 at 7-6. Tune in on Wednesday at 7:00 PM CT as the Bucks host the Detroit Pistons!