Trailing for every second of the game, the Milwaukee Bucks fell just short of completing an incredible comeback over the Washington Wizards on Tuesday night.
Despite their best efforts to seal an incredibly improbable comeback, the Milwaukee Bucks couldn’t get it done versus the Washington Wizards on Tuesday night at the BMO Harris Bradley Center, losing 107-104.
That was a far cry from how the night started for the Bucks as they looked a combination of shell shocked and completely out of sorts with the Wizards racing out ahead to grab a double digit lead and simultaneously holding the Bucks scoreless over three minutes into the game.
While the Bucks were eventually able to score, the Wizards didn’t let up on the gas pedal, building their lead up to just over 20 points for moments before the Bucks answered back to trail 40-22 after one.
The start of the second quarter proved to be better for the Bucks as they not only scored at a faster mark than they did in the first period, but put the Wizards on their heels by drawing their deficit down to 11 at the 7:43 mark of frame.
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But the Wizards regrouped successfully from that point on, building their lead back to within their grasp comfortably and led 64-50 heading into halftime.
It was the Bucks who stormed out of the gate at the start of the second half, bringing the deficit down to single digits within a matter of minutes in the third. While the Wizards still had answers for the Bucks’ push in the period, it was more timely shots falling than swinging the game totally back in their favor as the Bucks continued to breathe down their opponent’s neck for the remainder of the third.
Trailing by three at the start of the fourth, the Bucks kept with the pattern, even going as far as bringing it down to one at multiple points throughout the frame. However, they couldn’t put down, much less generate any shot to help send them over the edge and take their first lead of the game.
That carried into crunch time, but after forcing a crucial Jack Bauer on the Wizards with 25 seconds left to go, the Bucks entrusted their best player, Giannis Antetokounmpo, to continue his clutch time success as seconds ticked down and potentially send them into playing what could have been their third straight overtime game.
Unfortunately, Antetokounmpo’s fadeaway jumper in the paint hit back rim and after a mad scramble to retain possession, the Wizards wound up with the ball, leaving the Bucks to foul them with 1.8 seconds to go. Even as the Wizards, specifically Bradley Beal, converted one of their two attempts at the line, the Bucks failed to get a shot off on the ensuing inbounds play, officially sealing their loss to the Wizards and knotting the season series at two a piece.
So without further ado, let’s dive deeper into what stood out in the Bucks’ loss to the Washington Wizards on Tuesday night.