Milwaukee Bucks: Takeaways from 111-96 Game 2 win over Orlando Magic
Brought on by their defensive resurgence, the Milwaukee Bucks evened their first round series with the Orlando Magic Thursday night with their Game 2 victory.
All is finally right with the Milwaukee Bucks as they took Game 2 of their first round series with the Orlando Magic in what ended up being a 111-96 victory Thursday night.
To say the Bucks were motivated to put their Game 1 loss behind them was an understatement as they ratcheted up their league-leading defense to stifle the Magic’s once-flowing offense from Game 1. Even as the Bucks’ offense didn’t exactly fire on all cylinders, that didn’t prevent them from holding the Magic to three made field goals and leading 25-13 at the end of the first quarter.
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The second quarter only saw the Bucks uncork their 3-point offense, all of which was led by Bucks reserve wing Pat Connaughton.
It only took an overwhelming abundance of trips for the free throw line for the Magic to get back into proceedings, but the Bucks still took a 64-43 advantage into the halftime break.
Orlando, led by All-Star big man Nikola Vucevic, started to regain their offensive potency at the start of the second half as the Bucks’ defense came out of the half a little more relaxed than at the start of the game. That was no problem as the Bucks’ offense remained steady enough to hold a 93-73 lead through three.
Milwaukee’s lead got a little precarious later through the fourth quarter as the Magic whittled down their double-digit lead as the Bucks’ offense went cold. But some timely buckets down the stretch, even amid turnovers and traveling calls, helped the Bucks clinch their bounceback and decisive victory.
So without further ado, let’s break down what stood out the most in the Bucks’ Game 2 victory over the Orlando Magic from Thursday night.