In their first game of the New Year, the Milwaukee Bucks held off the Oklahoma City Thunder last night. With that, we break down what stood out the most in the win.
Coming down to the wire, the Milwaukee Bucks started off the New Year right with a big win over the Oklahoma City Thunder last night, winning 98-94.
With the Bucks flying high, a true test lay ahead for the team with the Thunder coming into town. However, it would take more than a few minutes than were necessary for the Bucks to get in the swing of things, similar to their starts over the last couple of games.
The Thunder were hot to start the game, hitting their first 11(!) shots from the field. That scorching efficiency would cool off, though, and the Bucks would eventually draw the lead down to eight by the end of the first quarter.
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The Bucks would continue to wrestle for control of the game with the Thunder, spending much of the second quarter trading back and forth scoring runs.
The true turning point in the game was in the third quarter. With their young stars leading the way, the Bucks tightened up their defense and got some key contributions off the bench as well as some timely three-point shooting to outscore the Thunder 29-15, leading the game 79-72 at the end of the period.
In the deciding fourth quarter, the Thunder would gradually make their way back in the game, which left both teams fighting hard for baskets down the stretch. The Bucks, though, were the ones that came up big late and a costly turnover in the waning seconds would ultimately seal the Thunder’s fate.
So with that to set the stage, let’s dig a little deeper and look at who and what stood out the most in the Bucks win.