Russell Westbrook, Carmelo Anthony, Paul George and the Thunder came to town as the Bucks tried for their fifth win.
The Bucks starters were:
Malcolm Brogdon
Tony Snell
Thon Maker
Giannis Antetokounmpo
Khris Middleton
The Thunder starters were:
Russell Westbrook
Andre Roberson
Steven Adams
Carmelo Anthony
Paul George
Malcolm Brogdon kicked things off for Milwaukee with a nice layup, and the Bucks jumped out to a quick 8-4 lead to start the game. It was advantage Thunder early on, though, as they led 11-8 midway through the first and 20-8 soon after. Matthew Dellavedova finally broke the 16-0 run with a long two, and with the aid of a 5-0 run of their own the Bucks “only” trailed 31-23 after the first. Giannis led all scorers after one with 10 points, and Carmelo Anthony was right on his tail with 8.
Melo struck first for the Thunder with a midrange jumper, and Giannis unfortunately racked up his third foul fewer than two minutes into the second. Giannis sat down for most of the rest of the half and left it up to his teammates, who found themselves down 45-28 midway through the second quarter. From there, the Thunder stayed in control as they went into halftime with a big 60-42 lead. Steven Adams led all scorers with 14 points, and Giannis, George, and Westbrook all followed with 12 each. The Thunder outshot the Bucks 54%-39% from the field and 33%-19% from three-point range, and outrebounded the Bucks 26-14.
Paul George started the second half for the Thunder with a 3, and things mostly stayed the same after that as the Bucks found themselves down 75-53 at the midway point. From there, the Thunder pretty much just coasted into the fourth quarter with a 85-64 lead. Giannis was working hard late in the quarter and ended up leading all scorers with 28 points (as no other Bucks player was in double figures), and Paul George paced the Thunder with 20 points. The Bucks were outrebounded 39-24 through three quarters, which is not good.
Patrick Patterson expanded the Thunder lead with a 3 to start the final quarter, and Jason Kidd waved the white flag and pulled the starters not too long after that. By midway through the fourth, the Thunder had all but sealed it up with a 97-74 lead. From there, the Thunder eased into a comfortable 110-91 win. Giannis Antetokounmpo led all scorers with a tied-for-a-season-low 28 points (as well as 8 rebounds, 3 assists, and a block). The Thunder outshot the Bucks 49%-42% from inside the arc and 43%-30% outside it.
Three Big Things:
Greg Monroe – Now I know you might be thinking, “but Greg Monroe didn’t even play tonight!”, and that’s exactly the point. When Giannis picked up his third foul and sat for about 9 minutes in the second quarter, the Bucks were down 33-23 and promptly gave up a 19-9 run. In the first half (and for most of the game, really), Giannis’s teammates really could not find consistent baskets. Usually, when Giannis sits and it’s up to the bench, Greg Monroe is the one who can be counted on for a few guaranteed points to keep his team in it. Without him, the Bucks never stood a chance against a team as good and as multidimensional as the Thunder. Come back soon, Moose.
Rebounding – In my preview of this game, I said that the defensive key was limiting offensive rebounds. Well, the Bucks should have read my preview, as they gave up 9 offensive rebounds (compared to 4 for themselves) and were outrebounded 46-31 total. You will never, ever win a game in the NBA when you get outrebounded by 15 flat (especially when most of that discrepancy comes early, as it did tonight), and it’s really that simple.
Paul George – While the Thunder won this game easily because of the offensive production they got from Adams (14/11/2/1), Melo (17/8/1/1/1), and Westbrook (12/10/9 in a near triple-double) (and Grant, and Roberson, and Felton…), it was Paul George who led them all with 20 points on 8-17 shooting and 4-8 from distance, as well as 3 rebounds, a steal, and a block. Every Thunder player did their best to really hammer the nail into Milwaukee’s heart tonight, but Paul George did the most of anyone, especially with a few lead-building three-pointers in the first half.
Plus/Minus Hero:
Sterling Brown – Sterling Brown at +9 was one of three players in the black for the Bucks (along with DeAndre Liggins at +6 and Rashad Vaughn at +3), and the plus/minus hero for tonight (a bittersweet honor, surely). His minutes were mostly in garbage time after Jason Kidd had written off the game, but it’s important for the young guys to get minutes whether or not they’re meaningful, and the very young Bucks (who we mostly haven’t heard from this season) certainly got some minutes tonight. Brown only scored 2 points to go along with 2 rebounds, 2 assists, and a steal, but he helped the offense end the game gracefully rather than with an even more embarassing outcome.
Well, let’s just write that one off as a tough loss and look towards tomorrow at 6:00 PM CT as the Bucks try to rebound against the Hornets!