Going into Wednesday night, the Milwaukee Bucks were 14-1 against the Chicago Bulls under Mike Budenholzer. Now they are 14-2 after a disappointing loss to the Bulls that saw DeMar DeRozan score 36 points. The game was a close affair as the 118-113 final score indicates. However, there were plenty off opportunities that the Bucks let slip away on their way to their fifth loss in their last eight games.
"We gotta continue to work and we gotta continue to get better."
Coach Bud's ASL Press Conference: pic.twitter.com/oab01Nq71p
— Milwaukee Bucks (@Bucks) November 24, 2022
Three Studs
Giannis Antetokounmpo
The Greek Freak was his usual dominant self in the second half of the Bucks loss to the Bulls. However, going into halftime he had just eight points and was shooting less than 30% from the floor. In the second-half, though, he poured in 28 more points to end with 36. Giannis also added 11 rebounds and seven assists. His free throw shooting improved slightly in this contest as he went 6-9 from the line.
Near triple-double for Giannis tonight.
36 PTS | 11 REB | 7 AST pic.twitter.com/vDzVRM1IGs
— Milwaukee Bucks (@Bucks) November 24, 2022
Brook Lopez
The Milwaukee Bucks were without Khris Middleton yet again as the three-time All-Star recovers from off-season wrist surgery. In his absence, Brook Lopez has taken on more of a scoring role. The smooth-shooting center had 20 points, seven rebounds, a steal, and a block. Lopez is truly having a renassaince season. His 16.4 points and 6.0 per game so far is the most he has averaged since 2016-17. Additionally, he leads the NBA in blocks per game with 2.6.
Brook continues his tear.
20 PTS | 7 REB | 1 BLK pic.twitter.com/SH129FUC2y
— Milwaukee Bucks (@Bucks) November 24, 2022
Jrue Holiday
The Bucks’ point guard had a double-double with 14 points and 11 assists. Jrue Holiday was consistent on the court, though he did not shoot very much. Holiday was just 3-6 from the floor (1-4 from three) and was 7-8 from the free throw line. One of his best plays came right at the end of the first half when he hit a buzzer-beating floater:
Jrue beats the buzzer!! pic.twitter.com/lMrwyn59Zx
— Milwaukee Bucks (@Bucks) November 24, 2022
Three Duds
The Three Players Listed Above
I know, it’s weird. Try to hear me out on this one, though. The Bucks would not have been anywhere close to competing in this game if it was not for Giannis, Lopez, and Holiday. However, the three players are arguably most to blame for the loss. There are several reasons for this:
- The Bucks committed 19 turnovers; Giannis and Holiday combined for 15 of them.
- Giannis, Lopez, and Holiday missed six free throws among them; make the free throws, win the game.
- While the Bucks grabbed more rebounds than the Bulls, this was the first game in which Giannis and Lopez were out-manned at the rim. That is, the Bulls were just much, much more physical than the Bucks. That level of aggressiveness was a major difference in the game.
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