The Milwaukee Bucks played their second straight game at home yesterday afternoon in a matchup against the Phoenix Suns. Milwaukee looked to get a second straight win, after losing three out of four games on their west coast road trip. Plus, the Bucks were without their MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo, who was suffering from a hamstring injury, but they did get forward Khris Middleton back after he missed about a month of action with a left ankle sprain.
Milwaukee’s pivotal second quarter, where they outscored the Suns 43-24 is one of the key reasons why the Bucks took this matchup at home. Also, Milwaukee was able to get win because of the play of Damian Lillard, and Bobby Portis Jr., who combined for 62 points on a combined 59 percent shooting from the field. Lillard also made franchise history during the team’s victory. The Bucks move to 44-24 and are half a game above the Cleveland Cavaliers for the second seed in the Eastern Conference. Phoenix drops to 39-29, eighth in the Western Conference.
Milwaukee Bucks Get Empowered After a 140-129 Win over the Phoenix Suns
Phoenix jumped out to a 9-3 lead over the Bucks during the first two and a half minutes of action. Milwaukee wouldn’t take their first lead until there were five minutes left in the quarter. These two teams would go back and forth with each other until the last 30 seconds of the first when Bobby Portis Jr. knocked down a three-pointer to give the Bucks a three-point lead. Portis Jr. went a perfect five for five with 12 points during the first 12 minutes.
Milwaukee started to gain an advantage during the second. At one point, the team went on a 20-6 run which gave them a solid 19-point lead. The Bucks could not be cooled down, especially from behind the arc. They went 16 for 28 from the field, and an insane 11 for 13 from three, which is about 85 percent of their three-pointers were made. The Milwaukee Bucks had great shooting from downtown and their five steals helped propel them to a 22-point lead going into halftime. Once again, Portis Jr. was the unsung hero for this Bucks squad dropping 13 points on five of eight shooting, and three for three from beyond the arc.
In total, Bobby led the Bucks with 25 points, six rebounds, an assist, and a steal. Damian Lillard had 14 points and 12 assists. For the Suns, Devin Booker scored 15 points, and Grayson Allen had 12 points.
The Suns would do everything in their power to get back into this matchup and make it more intriguing. However, even with Phoenix outscoring Milwaukee 34-27, they still trailed by 15 points heading into the final quarter of action. With five minutes remaining in the game, the Suns were able to cut the Bucks lead down to single digits. This is when the Milwaukee Bucks knew they had to step up once again to seal the win, as they went on a 10-2 run during the closing minutes. Milwaukee would earn their second straight win in an empowered 14-129 win.
Bobby Portis Jr. finished the game with 31 points, 10 rebounds, two assists, and three steals. Damian Lillard dropped 31 points, along with having five rebounds, 16 assists, and two steals. Lillard becomes the first Milwaukee Bucks player in their franchise history to score 30-plus points, and dish out 15 or more assists in a single game!
After the win, Khris Middleton had this to say about watching his teammate, Damian Lillard go off and record franchise history
“He was just, I think, picking them apart really,” Middleton said of Lillard. “Mostly just seeing the crowd that he was attracting and just getting it off early. He trusted the guys out there to make the plays and hit the shots for him. But I think he did a great job of picking and choosing on when to attack that big off the double team and then also just knowing when to get off of it and not forcing things too much.”
Middleton also had this to say, about coming back after a 16-game absence,
“I been doing this a long time,” Middleton said after the game. “I know how to slow myself and not try to go too fast — or speed myself up. I know how to come in, play at my pace, and change my pace. A lot of the work I was doing at rehab was just trying to make sure my wind was there, my conditioning was as good as it can be.”
We’ll see the Bucks face off against the Eastern Conference’s best team, the Boston Celtics on Wednesday night. Can the Milwaukee Bucks get the job done?
