After going blow-for-blow down the stretch, the Milwaukee Bucks fell to the Brooklyn Nets Monday night in what lived up to be a star-studded affair.
Well, the Milwaukee Bucks‘ first meeting with the Brooklyn Nets certainly lived up to the hype.
While the Bucks ended up with a 125-123 loss that came down to the final possession, we certainly saw both Eastern Conference contenders trade blow after blow that punctuated what was one of the most thrilling contests at this stage in the season.
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For Milwaukee, they saw their four-game winning streak came to an end, though it wasn’t for a lack of trying. And the Bucks got an early taste of what it will be like taking on a star-studded Nets team that they will certainly see more of as the season goes along.
So without further ado, let’s break down what all stood out in the Milwaukee Bucks’ loss to the Brooklyn Nets from Monday night.
Milwaukee Bucks versus Dallas Mavericks takeaway No. 3 — The Bucks struggle from 3-point line
So much has been made about the Bucks’ new 3-point firepower at this stage in the season and rightly so.
Setting an NBA-record 29 threes like they did a few weeks ago still stands as the sea change that Bucks fans have been hoping for in the team’s overall 3-point efficiency. But when it came time to going up against a Nets team that could eventually meet in the playoffs, the Bucks’ marksmanship from long distance was put on hold.
Milwaukee finished the night going 11-for-37 from 3-point range, a mark of 29.7 percent. It certainly didn’t help that the Bucks’ most proven and consistent 3-point shooter, Khris Middleton, was 0-for-5. The Bucks’ bench, save for Pat Connaughton, who supplied all three of the Bucks’ bench triples, wasn’t much help either.
And if we’re being honest, it wasn’t a matter of Brooklyn’s defense looking to run the Bucks off the 3-point line. The Bucks had plenty of open looks from that range and they simply couldn’t cash it in.
Call it a bad shooting night from beyond the arc and credit to the Bucks for hanging in there as long as they did. But it played a part in why they weren’t able to clinch the victory late Monday night.
Milwaukee Bucks against Brooklyn Nets takeaway No. 2 — The Bucks’ ‘Big 3’ rises to occasion
As we’ve seen in the handful of big games so far this Bucks season, their new ‘Big 3′ certainly rose to the occasion and collectively led the team to a chance to squeak out what would have been their best win on the season.
Between the likes of Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jrue Holiday and Khris Middleton, the Bucks’ leading trio supplied 81 of the Bucks’ 123 points on the night on a combined 31-for-62 shooting. Add in Brook Lopez’s 15 points and the Bucks’ starting lineup accounted for 104 points against the Nets.
Starting with the two-time MVP, Antetokounmpo regularly feasted at the basket by scoring 18 paint points while sinking a pair of triples and showing off his shooting stroke from mid-range. Antetokounmpo had to do all of that while being dared to shoot from well outside the line and he thankfully put in a better outing from the free throw line by going 6-for-8 on the night after struggling from the dotted line previously.
The Bucks wouldn’t have been anywhere, though, without Middleton’s hot start on the night as he scored 14 of his 25 points over the first half. And by exclusively covering Kevin Durant for the majority of his minutes on the court, Middleton tried to clamp and leave the 2014 MVP with little space to get his shot off on the other side of the ball.
Of course, it was Middleton who had the chance to play the Bucks’ hero on the final possession but his contested corner 3-point attempt that came on the team’s out of bounds play rimmed out and left the Nets with the win.
Holiday’s fingerprints were all over the game and he arguably was the glue that held it all together for the Bucks until the very end. With his brilliance showing off on both ends of the floor as he toggled between Harden and Durant seamlessly defensively, the Bucks’ star guard finished with 22 points on 8-for-16 shooting (2-for-4 from three) and six assists.
The veteran guard was tremendous in trying to bother Harden in any way he could, whether it was picking him up straight away on inbounds plays or forcing turnovers as Harden was making his way to the basket. And on offense, Holiday was at his best driving down the paint and making incredibly tough finishes at the basket.
While it may have ended in defeat, the Bucks ‘Big 3’ put the team in a position to take what would have been a hard-fought victory.
Milwaukee Bucks against Brooklyn Nets takeaway No. 1 — Durant and Harden steal the show (and the win)
In the end, the Nets’ dynamic duo of Kevin Durant and James Harden was too much to handle for the Bucks.
Both MVP winners combined to score 64 points, with Harden leading the way for Brooklyn with a season-high 34 points on 13-for-25 shooting and 12 assists. While that came with six turnovers, Harden’s ability to manipulate Milwaukee’s defense from practically the halfcourt line had an incredible effect on the Nets’ offensive potency, which stood as no surprise after his landmark arrival less than a week ago.
Durant posted lesser efficiency on the night, but only ever slightly. The veteran forward scored 30 points on 10-for-21 shooting, along with nine rebounds and six assists.
It was a world of difference to when Durant was guarded by the likes of Antetokounmpo, Holiday and Middleton as they bothered him into getting his shooting release to when the Bucks’ lesser defenders had the gargantuan task of checking the future Hall of Famer.
The fact that the Bucks’ defense was so titled to both Durant and Harden made things easier for the Nets’ supporting cast and it led to the field day they had from 3-point range as they went 15-for-31 from that range (48.4 percent) on the night.
Knowing all of this came without Kyrie Irving in the mix, the Bucks got a first-hand experience of the difficulties trying to challenge and cover the Nets will be this season and beyond. But it was certainly thrilling to watch all the same.
The Bucks will look to get back on the winning side when they host the reigning NBA champions, the Los Angeles Lakers, on Thursday night at Fiserv Forum.