Courtside Bucks Basketball

The Buck blew an opportunity after beating the 76ers twice last week. This was a bad lose against a Trae Young less Hawks. Giannis Antetokounmpo had 31 points with 14 rebounds, but the Bucks couldn’t complete another season sweep of an Eastern Conference rival. Milwaukee settled for two wins in its three-game series against the Hawks one day after a 132-94 rout of Philadelphia completed the sweep of that series.

Lou Williams and Bogdan went off for the Hawks and lead them to the victory over the Bucks. Williams scored all of his 15 points in the fourth quarter. The Hawks made 8 3 pointers in the last 7 minutes of the game. Williams added two more 3s that gave Atlanta a 98-90 lead. Bogdanovic added two 3s in the run, and a layup by Williams pushed the lead to 100-90. That is just classic Bucks defense. A lot of them came in the corner as well.

Middleton had 23 points for the Bucks and Holiday had 19 points and 11 assists. The Bucks are looking at a 3 seed right nw but can make a push for the two seed. It is going to be very hard to get the one seed at this point. Unless we sweep the Nets series. We play them in Back to Back games soon. PJ tucker didn’t play for the Bucks because of his ankle.

The Bucks need to figure it out. It seems like they turn on the switch for some games and then they flip it off for others. It is go time now and they have to start playing consistently to make a push in the playoffs.

The Bucks lost in OT by a last second foul call by Ashley Moyer. As a Bucks fan I was extremely mad and as an NBA fan it is absolutely terrible for the league. This ref wrecked a game of the year candidate because she doesn’t know how to ref. It is time after time with this official. The entire NBA word knows she sucks. I truly don’t understand how she has a job in the NBA. I really don’t know if she could ref 6th graders. Donte gets shoved down right in front of her face and she calls nothing and the Suns take the lead. Middleton hits a 3 right back to tie the game. Then she calls a phantom foul on PJ Tucker because she doesn’t know the game of basketball. Adam Silver is a complete bum for hiring this ref and not suspending her. The NBA keeps losing viewers and this league is headed in the wrong direction. That is a play that needs to be reviewed. I have never seen a worse call in the NBA. She choked, she cheated, or she doesn’t know how to ref. It is one of the 3.

“I don’t think anybody was arguing that it was a foul or not,” Booker said. “I think they were seeing if the foul happened before or after the horn. It was a smack across the wrist that was very loud. The ref made the right call.” Booker is a straight clown for saying this. Of course he is going to say that but anybody with eyes and ears saw it. There is not one person who will back up the call unless you’re a a delusional Suns fan. If that happened and it went the Bucks way. I would be happy because we won, but a call like that is borderline cheating.

Khris Middleton had 27 points, eight rebounds and seven assists in three quarters, as the Milwaukee Bucks breezed to a 130-105 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday. Brook Lopez added 18 points and eight rebounds, Jrue Holiday pitched in 15 points and three steals, and the Bucks built a lead as big as 30 points early in the fourth quarter on the way to their second consecutive blowout. After losing six of nine games, the Bucks beat Orlando 124-87 on Sunday.

The Bucks played without the two-time reigning NBA Most Valuable Player award winner, Giannis Antetokoumpo, because of left knee soreness for the sixth straight game. They’re 3-3 without him in this stretch. The Bucks scored 45 points in the third quarter, and that allowed coach Mike Budenholzer to rest Middleton, Holiday and Lopez for the final period with a back-to-back game against Atlanta. The Bucks did get PJ Tucker back into the lineup today, which was a very good sign. He has only played 3 games with the Bucks since acquiring him from the Rockets.

Milwaukee, which is in control of the No. 3 seed for the playoffs, entered the evening with a three-game deficit behind Brooklyn and Philadelphia. The conference co-leaders were set to play on Wednesday night.

This game was supposed to be played during the night but was moved up because of the protests going on in Minneapolis. This is happening because of the tragic shooting of Daunte Wright. The Bucks wore shirts saying with liberty and justice for all in warmups today. We are all in this fight together.

Antetokounmpo sat out his second straight game with a sore left knee after missing a 129-128 win at Sacramento on Saturday. The two-time reigning MVP, who scored 47 points to match his season high in a 127-109 win over Portland on Friday, missed his fourth game out of the Bucks’ last nine after the hope had been he would play Tuesday.

“He was warming up tonight and just felt it a little bit,” Milwaukee coach Mike Budenholzer said. “Just made the decision that tonight was not a good night, a night he should be out.”

Bucks were dominating all game up until the fourth quarter and let the Warriors take the lead. The Bucks had the final shot and missed. Even without Giannis we should not have lost this game. P.J. Tucker missed his seventh straight game with a strained left calf. He didn’t practice Monday and has played in only three games for the Bucks since they acquired him from Houston.

The Bucks need to get healthy for them to make a deep run into the playoffs. The Bucks were the one seed the last two seasons and we failed to reach the finals. So the regular season really does mean nothing and it all depends on the playoffs.

Jrue Holiday signed a 4 year contract extension up to 160 million dollars. In my opinion, it was a great signing. Now we have Giannis, Middleton, and Jrue locked up for years to come in Milwaukee. The Bucks are winning with a small market.

Giannis Antetokounmpo had 25 points and 10 rebounds, and Khris Middleton added 17 points and eight assists as the Bucks snapped their three-game losing streak with a workmanlike victory over the depleted defending NBA champions, who are still without LeBron James and Anthony Davis.

“I think it was important because the starters hadn’t played well for the last two games,” Milwaukee coach Mike Budenholzer said. “They have high standards, high expectations of each other. They’ve set the bar high. We need to come out play well, play hard. There was a little bit of that tonight.”

The Bucks were coming off a 3 game losing streak and bounced back with a solid victory. Jrue Holiday had a great game scoring 28 points. The Bucks are still hurt on their bench with Portis being out for safety protocols with Covid. PJ Tucker is still out with a calf injury. Either way the Bucks need to get healthy for this last stretch of the season.

Giannis Antetokounmpo and his two brothers shared the court for 52 seconds late in the fourth quarter. Thanasis Anetokounmpo Giannis’ teammate with the Bucks, while Kostas Antetokounmpo is a Lakers reserve. This was a great momont for the brothers all being on the court at the same time. Giannis said after the game “this was his favorite moment in his NBA career.”

Overall, the Bucks are poised to finish as a top 3 seed in the eastern conference which is big to get home court advantage in the playoffs.

The Bucks were without All-Star Giannis Antetokounmpo Monday night against the Pacers. Milwaukee cruised to a dominate victory. Jrue Holiday led the way for the Bucks with 28 points and 14 assist.

The Bucks went 9 of 10 from 3-point range in the first 9½ minutes and led 48-26 by the end of the first quarter. That 48-point outburst represented the fifth-highest point total the Bucks have ever recorded in a single quarter. Milwaukee had a very good shooting night and they shot 24 of 39 from 3 as a team. That would be an outstanding 56.4% overall. Any NBA team shooting that percentage will not lose a game. Pat Connaughton who started for Giannis shot 5 for 6 from the three point line and produced 20 points.

“When somebody like our best player is not playing that night, we kind of lock in,” Holiday said. “Everybody has to do a little bit more. It’s a testament to the team we have.” Giannis might be held out of Wednesday’s contest against Boston because of his sprained left knew. This is something very minor and it is just precautionary. The Bucks also played without reserve forward P.J. Tucker because of a sprained left ankle. Tucker played 12 minutes and was scoreless Monday in his second game since he joined the team.

The Bucks are on a roll and it doesn’t look like anyone can stop the train right now. Milwaukee has found their way and are starting to finally gel as a team. This year has been a year where they needed to find their chemistry because of the roster turnover. It seems like it is peaking at the right time.

Giannis is on a tear right now recording a franchise record three straight triple-doubles. He put up 31 points, 15 rebounds, and 10 assists against the Washington Wizards Sunday night. In the third-quarter the Bucks had a commanding 26 point lead. The Wizards came back led by Bradley Beal, who put up 37 points. Westbrook was great all night and had 23 points along with 17 assists.

After the game Beal said “We were just taking some precautionary measures,” Beal said. “The knee feels a lot better, my whole body feels great. I felt refreshed and rejuvenated tonight.” He sat out the previous game before Sunday.

The Wizards are in a tricky spot. They just lost their fourth game in a row and having two all-star caliber players isn’t cutting it. This roster needs a complete turn around and a fresh restart. They should deal Beal and Westbrook for picks. They could get a haul for both of these players. They all ready got rid of John Wall. It is only a matter of time for Beal and Westbrook.

Seven Bucks players were in double digits and every player scored who saw minutes. The Bucks need to start closing out teams better. They get these leads and they blow them in a blink of an eye. The Bucks have turned the corner and are starting to gain chemistry with the new roster.

After the game Middleton said “Nobody settled just to get a shot up.”

Brook Lopez had a great night and scored 22 points and had four blocks. He has started to play better on both ends of the floor. He is becoming a key to the Bucks success. Giannis has also been player like he wants the MVP again for a third straight year. He is putting up monster numbers.

Bucks will be in good shape as long as they keep up their winning ways.

For the fourth consecutive year, LeBron James’ team has come out on top during the All-Star Game, with the Dream Team-level squad selected by James during the 2021 NBA All-Star Draft defeating Kevin Durant’s handpicked roster by 20 points 170-150.

Giannis Antetokounmnpo got his All=Star game MVP honors and won the Kobe Bryant Trophy. Antetokounmpo, a two-time NBA MVP and reigning Defensive Player of the Year, had a perfect outing during the 2021 NBA All-Star Game. The Greek Freak shot a record 16-16 from the field including 3-3 from 3-point range and dominating the interior on his way to 35 points and the first perfect shooting night in the All-Star Game’s 70-year history.

Stephen Curry and Damian Lillard also had big nights for Team Lebron as Curry broke the most made 3’s in an All-Star game. Lillard closed out the game for Team Lebron with hitting back to back threes. Chris Paul also set a record for having the most assists ever in the All-Star game with 16.

Lebron only played about 12 minutes scoring four points and four assists.

Team Durant never stood a chance when KD and Joel Embiid were not playing. Embiid and Ben Simmons were both in contact with a positive Covid test and had to isolate themselves.

As part of the 2021 NBA All-Star Game’s charity efforts, Team LeBron earned a grand total $1.25 million for the Thurgood Marshall College Fund while Team Durant earned $500,000 for the United Negro College Fund.

Overall, it was a great night for the players and HBCU’s.

Nikola Jokic and Jamal snapped the Milwaukee Bucks five-game winning streak. Jokic had his 50th career triple double. He had 37 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds in the game. After the game coach Malone said. “The guy doesn’t get fatigued. He doesn’t get tired. When he was out of the game, he was in the huddles, he’s on the bench imploring his teammates to rebound and play defense and move the ball. When your best player is doing that, that really sends a message.” Jamal Murray also put up 24 points in the game.

Denver coming off a back to back really took it to Milwaukee. Denver shot 55.8% from the field and Milwaukee couldn’t make a shot. Denver got revenge on the Bucks since they took them down in Denver previously in the year. It is tough to beat the Nuggets twice in a year.

Giannis had 27 points, and eight rebounds for the Bucks. Middleton also put up 20 points in the loss. The offense struggled all game and that is something the Bucks aren’t used to. Besides Giannis and Khris the Bucks were just not there physcially or mentally. Every team has these games and it will only benefit them in the long run. This game was over after the tip. The Nuggets took control of the game and never looked back. The Bucks finish an eight game homestand at a 5-3 record.

Key Takeaways

Jrue Holiday is back from having Covid. This was his second game back and he is coming off the bench. He has been a little rusty and has been playing limited minutes. Getting Jrue back is a big boost for this team.

Giannis and the Bucks took care of business against the Wolves with the debut of their interim head coach Chris Finch. Giannis put up 37 points, had eight rebounds and eight assist as the Bucks defeated the Wolves 130-112.

Bryn Forbes was magnificent as he had a season high 23 points. The Bucks shot 53.5% overall from the field and we they went 20 of 42 from the 3-point line. The spotlight for the Wolves was Karl-Anthony Townes and Malik Beasley who each put up 26 points.

To start the game the game was really going back and forth. It was a close game until the Bucks went on a 21-3 run to end the half and into the third quarter. The Bucks ended up being up 82 to 62. That is when the game was over.

With Finch as their new head coach he said in an interview after the game “Every game’s a game to learn from. “We’ve just got to try to up our physicality on defense. I think that’s what I’d like to see going into the next game.”

The Bucks on the other hand are beating up on weak teams which is a positive sight but does it really matter. The Bucks need to start doing this against good teams. It is clear that the East is way weaker than it was last year. The West is still as dominate as ever but we are seeing how Covid has affected these teams.

Jrue Holiday has been out due to the leagues safety protocols still. It seems like he will be making his return soon because he is now back in the building on the sidelines.

KEY TAKAWAYS

The Bucks have been beating weak teams all year. When it comes down to good teams that is where we have been struggling. It does seem like the Bucks bench has been becoming better and better. Bobby Portis has been playing phenomenal basketball all year. He is going to be a big part of the Bucks success.