Brook stays on track
Following his season best performance in the Bucks’ win in Orlando last time out, Brook Lopez maintained the spark, judging by his very solid outing again Monday night.
Seeing the floor for just over 25 minutes of run, Lopez posted 20 points on 12 shots (2-for-4 from deep, 4-for-6 from the free throw line), three blocks, three turnovers, two rebounds as well as two assists and was a +10 when on the court.
The veteran big man was instrumental to the Bucks’ strong first quarter that looked to have set the stage for a comfortable victory on first glance and that was thanks to him hitting shots from the perimeter to help keep up his hot shooting.
Lopez’s shooting stroke was substituted for his post game play as he repeatedly attacked starting Kings center Harry Giles‘ lack of strength and defensive discipline to finish shots at the cup as well as get to the free throw line. And on the defensive end, Lopez took on many Kings oncomers at the rim and sent away some enforcing and vicious rejections to do what he’s done all season long.
Whether this is the start of Lopez’s offense trending upwards is still too early to tell, but having back-to-back 20-point games will offer up some encouragement in that regard.