Milwaukee Bucks: Takeaways from 120-116 loss to the Houston Rockets

Milwaukee Bucks: Takeaways from 120-116 loss to the Houston Rockets – Giving it away now

Without a doubt, the single biggest reason the Bucks didn’t take their second straight victory in Orlando last night was due to the self-inflicted turnovers they suffered down the stretch.

To be fair, turning the ball over was the biggest problem facing the Bucks all game long and they eventually compiled more turnovers (22) than assists (21) for the night. It certainly looked like the Bucks nipped that turnover problem in the bud in the fourth quarter, especially with how they were able to stay poised and use their size to their advantage.

But when it came to clinching their comeback, the Bucks were anything but poised as the aforementioned self-inflicted turnovers by the likes of George Hill (in the face of defensive pressure) and Antetokounmpo gave the team’s lead away faster than they had built it in the first place.

Per NBA.com/stats, the Bucks totaled three turnovers in the four minutes that constituted as clutch time.

As always, ESPN Stats & Info came through to show off how the Bucks’ late-game breakdown came to end their success holding what would normally be a safe and secure lead with under three minutes to go.

And even in the face of those incredibly costly mistakes, the Bucks still had a couple of chances to either retake the lead or have an attempt to send the game into overtime. In the end, Milwaukee’s ability to largely win the margins were hurt the most by their carelessness with the ball and their turnover problem has to be addressed sooner rather than later.