Milwaukee Bucks: 3 takeaways from 141-140 OT win over Sacramento Kings

Tricky Nikola

If his performance off the bench Wednesday night was any indication, it looks like Nikola Mirotic has gotten up to speed since making his Bucks debut a week ago.

Playing over 26-and-a-half minutes of action, Mirotic finished with 21 points on 7-of-14 shooting from the field (5-of-8 from deep, 2-of-2 from the foul line), eight rebounds, three assists, two blocks and was a team-high +18 on the night.

Upon entering the game at the 6:48 mark in the first quarter, Mirotic quickly lit a spark by hitting his first of five triples and laying down a solid rejection on Kings big man Harry Giles. By the time his first shift ended in the second quarter, Mirotic had entered into double figures and continued to flash impressive stalwart defense.

As his outing wore on, Mirotic continued to take the wind out of the Kings’ sails from three-point range at very timely points in the night, the final one coming during the overtime period that gave the Bucks a six-point lead with 2:52 remaining.

Whether it’s the quick trigger he possesses or the understated defensive work he does to hold his own on that end, the Bucks have reaped the rewards with their big trade deadline acquisition and last night set a new high bar for the Montenegrin.