Many Milwaukee Bucks and NBA fans alike were expecting Milwaukee to win over an Orlando Magic team that was on a 5-game losing streak coming into tonight’s game.<\/p>\n
But they didn’t.<\/p>\n
The Bucks instead put up an embarrassing performance against the second-worst team in the Eastern Conference, losing to the Magic 126-117.<\/p>\n
Orlando improves to 21-48 overall while Milwaukee drops to 36-32, and are now back in the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference.<\/p>\n
The beginning of the contest looked fine for the Bucks, gaining a 13-9 lead after the first media timeout.<\/p>\n
The Magic then decided to pull out all the stops, answering with 13 consecutive points and closing the first quarter on 27-7 run.<\/p>\n
Magic point guard D.J. Augustin, who was averaging just about nine points per game<\/a> this season, had already dropped 16 points after the first quarter.<\/p>\n That is not a misprint.<\/p>\n Milwaukee would get back in it to start the second quarter thanks to finally using some energy on defense, thus closing the gap to a 48-45 deficit with under four minutes left in the half.<\/p>\n And then Milwaukee squandered all of that hard work and suddenly went back down nine points at halftime.<\/p>\n The difference maker in the first half was the Magic’s ability to knock down 3-pointers like there was no tomorrow, shooting 10\/19<\/a> while the Bucks shot a frustrating 3\/11 on triples.<\/p>\n While watching the game, I told myself,\u00a0It’s the Magic. The Bucks will get back in it and win.<\/em><\/p>\n I was wrong.<\/p>\n Milwaukee actually took the lead back, 80-77, with just under four minutes to play in the third after Bucks point guard Eric Bledsoe feeded center John Henson in the post for a wide-open dunk.<\/p>\n But the Magic went bonkers yet again closing the quarter on a 14-0 run that was sparked by a lot of wide-open shots.<\/p>\n Milwaukee would close Orlando’s lead 95-90 with 8:49 to go but Orlando guard Shelvin Mack answered with a 3-pointer.<\/p>\n The Magic proceeded with a 9-0 run and go up 104-90 with just under seven minutes remaining, all but diminishing any hope for a Bucks comeback against a team they should have probably beat.<\/p>\n It seemed like almost every time the Bucks would get back in it or take the lead, the Magic would answer with a wide-open 3-pointer.<\/p>\n Milwaukee flat out just gave no energy defending the 3-point line.<\/p>\n Give the Magic credit, though. Some teams who get that many open looks miss a lot of the time, but not tonight at least.<\/p>\n Orlando shot 18\/34 (52.9 percent) on triples,<\/a> or maybe Milwaukee allowed Orlando to shoot that well on threes.\u00a0Either way, that’s incredible.<\/p>\n Augustin and small forward Jonathan Simmons played great, scoring 32 and 35 points each<\/a>, respectively.<\/p>\n Bucks star forward Giannis Antetokounmpo ended up playing 40 minutes and finished with 38 points and 10 rebounds<\/a> against a statistically bad team.<\/p>\n In games like these, playoff-caliber teams should try their best to preserve their superstar’s energy for bigger games, but the Bucks apparently thought otherwise.<\/p>\n