The Milwaukee Bucks had to dig deep on Wednesday night to escape with a razor-thin 120-118 win against the Detroit Pistons in the Fiserv Forum. A shorthanded Pistons side absolutely gave the Bucks a run for their money, and Milwaukee needed every ounce of their collective experience down the stretch to scrape out the win.
Brook Lopez Steps Up in Crunch Time for Milwaukee Bucks
One man who stepped it up in crunch time was big man Brook Lopez. Last season’s Defensive of the Player runner-up came up with big plays on both ends of the floor to help save the day for Milwaukee.
After the game, Damian Lillard, who himself had a tremendous outing in this one, heaped praise on Lopez and the big man’s contributions to the squad:
“It was huge,” Lillard said of Lopez’s clutch play. “Anytime you get in that type of situation where you’re playing well, Giannis gets thrown out of the game, we’re struggling, we go cold, they start making shots. Anytime that happens it has to be a collective thing. Guys gotta step up.
“If (Lopez) don’t make those plays at the rim, those big shots, getting us extra opportunities, we don’t win this game. Everybody has to do their job and when he did his during that stretch, it was crucial for us.”
Lopez finished with 14 points on 5-of-8 shooting, to go along with six rebounds, and four blocks. While his numbers aren’t exactly mind-blowing, the veteran was an undeniably key factor in the win.
As Dame said, the Bucks wouldn’t have come home with this W had it not been for Brook’s heroics.
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