A quarter to forget
For as much as it would be easy to categorize this whole game as one to forget, the Bucks’ problems really all boiled down to their inexplicable start.
The Suns came out of the gate shooting lights out, and the Bucks’ compounded their own woes by offering no resistance at all on the defensive end of the floor.
Of course, given the Bucks’ defense has legitimately performed at an all-time level throughout the season, it’s even more jarring when it essentially collapses.
That was exactly what happened as the Bucks gave up 47 points to the Phoenix Suns, the most points scored in an NBA first quarter this season.
Without question, the absence of a Defensive Player of the Year contender such as Giannis Antetokounmpo played a major part in that collapse.
Still, it is worth noting that the Bucks won each of the second, third, and fourth quarters individually, and were a +10 across the remainder of the game. In other words, if it wasn’t for the disastrous start, the Bucks would have been on track for a run of the mill double-digit win.