Milwaukee Bucks: Grades from 107-104 loss to Washington Wizards
By Adam McGee
In spite of making it close late on, the Milwaukee Bucks suffered a wire-to-wire loss at the hands of the Washington Wizards on Tuesday night.
The Milwaukee Bucks played really well for three of four quarters in Tuesday’s game, but unfortunately it was a nightmare first quarter that ultimately proved decisive.
The Bucks outscored the Washington Wizards by 82-67 from the start of the second quarter until the game’s end, yet they managed to never lead in the game thanks to falling behind 40-22 in the first period.
That first quarter score was even somewhat flattering, as the Bucks allowed the Wizards to open the game on a 14-0 run, en route to producing one of their worst first quarter performances in recent memory.
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Thanks to the determination of Giannis Antetokounmpo and the brilliance of Jabari Parker, the Bucks did manage to work their way back into the game, yet they could never manage to make a shot to push them over the edge when they found themselves within striking distance of the lead.
The best example of that came when the Bucks had a chance to tie, picking up possession with 25.4 seconds remaining on the game clock.
By the Bucks’ standards in such situations, the fadeaway Antetokounmpo missed in the paint was a good look, yet the countless resets worked by him and Bledsoe with their two-man game burned too much clock leaving little chance of a response when the shot was ultimately missed.
So without further ado, let’s dive deeper into the Bucks’ loss to the Wizards, and grade the players’ individual contributions.