It’s safe to say the Milwaukee Bucks are glad to be off the road.
The Bucks’ six-game road trip that spanned the east and west coasts came to an end Sunday night as they fell to the Oklahoma City Thunder 114-109 at Chesapeake Energy Arena. This now marks the Bucks’ third straight defeat as they fall to 16-11 on the season.
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Milwaukee’s comeback effort over the second half helped them make headway after enduring through their worst first half on the season where they scored 41 points.
It turns out, though, all of the energy the Bucks expended to tie and cap off their comeback effort dispersed late in the fourth quarter, leaving the Thunder in position to put away the Bucks.
So without further ado, let’s look at what all stood out in the Milwaukee Bucks’ loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder from Sunday night.
Takeaway no. 3 from loss to Oklahoma City Thunder – Donte DiVincenzo shoots lights out for Milwaukee Bucks
With the Bucks in need of a spark, especially entering the second half, Donte DiVincenzo came to the rescue.
The Villanova product brought with him some high-level sharpshooting, which was certainly needed after the Bucks shot 3-for-18 from beyond the arc over the first half. The confidence that DiVincenzo displayed when walking into deep triples is nothing new, but he had the hot hand going to go along with it.
Bringing in that kind of offense to the table, DiVicenzo’s defense was impressive as he switched between players swimmingly and was incredibly active and tenacious doing so. Chasing after loose balls and defensive rebounds only fortified the effort that DiVincenzo put forth.
All in all, DiVincenzo finished with 17 points on 6-for-10 shooting (5-for-9 from downtown), eight rebounds, two assists, a steal and a turnover in 30 minutes of action.
It turned out to be a losing effort, but DiVincenzo putting up one of his best performances of the season was quite encouraging to see nonetheless.