After a grueling five-game losing streak, the Milwaukee Bucks are finally back in the win column after their victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder Friday night.
The Bucks never let this one get out of hand, as the Thunder’s biggest lead of the game was just four points early on. After a slow start, Milwaukee eventually built up a 22-point lead at one point in the contest en route to a much-needed 98-85 victory.
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It was only the Bucks’ second game of the season where they failed to score 100 points, the other coming in their previous game against the Toronto Raptors.
Friday night’s game proved to be a low-scoring affair for both teams, as both offenses struggled significantly to put points on the board. Milwaukee shot just 40.7 percent from the floor, while Oklahoma City connected on just 36.5 percent of their own.
Nevertheless, a win is a win for the struggling Milwaukee Bucks, and here are three takeaways from the game that snapped their five-game skid.
First takeaway from win over OKC Thunder — Milwaukee Bucks build momentum in the third quarter
After the first quarter, the Bucks managed to have put just 16 points on the scoreboard. Typically, that would leave them in a sizeable hole to dig themselves out of, but the Thunder managed to put up just 20 points themselves.
These two teams turned things up a notch in the second quarter with more scoring, and after another 12 minutes, the Bucks were ahead with a 46-42 lead. As previously mentioned, neither team could sustain any consistency on offense throughout the game, and the Bucks fell well short of their league-leading 60.2 first half points per game.
With the Bucks clinging to just a four-point lead, this game was open for the taking if the Thunder came out in the second half with any form of offense. However, Milwaukee came out of the tunnel with a newfound sense of urgency after the break and took control of the contest over the next 12 minutes.
The Bucks outscored Oklahoma City 32-20 in the third period, propelled by nine points from Giannis Antetokounmpo within the first four and a half minutes. After three, the Bucks were in the driver’s seat with a 78-62 lead, never looking back in the fourth quarter. Third quarters have been somewhat of an issue for Milwaukee this season, and it was a breath of fresh air to see them put together a solid stretch.
Second takeaway from win over OKC Thunder — Milwaukee Bucks get a big night from Giannis Antetokounmpo
Giannis Antetokounmpo played a big part in Milwaukee’s aforementioned third quarter run that helped the Bucks pull ahead, but he dominated beyond those select 12 minutes.
The Greek Freak put together another heroic performance for the Bucks by finishing with 29 points on a stellar 10-of-20 shooting from the field. Antetokounmpo’s 50 percent shooting night was bogged down several ticks by his issues from behind the arc, managing to connect on just one of his five 3-point attempts.
However, he did provide optimism at the charity stripe, where he shot an impressive 8-of-10 on the night. Giannis has been much improved with his free-throw shooting lately, and hopefully, this is a sign of things to come moving forward. In addition to his top-tier scoring night, Antetokounmpo hauled in 19 rebounds, eight assists, one steal, and three blocks, all of which were team-highs in the game.
While Antetokounmpo insisted that this game against Oklahoma City was not a definite must-win for the struggling Bucks, it certainly felt like it, and he played like it. Giannis pieced together another of his many MVP caliber performances this year, and thankfully, this one resulted in a win for the Bucks.
Third takeaway from win over OKC Thunder — D.J. Augustin finds his rhythm in the starting lineup
D.J. Augustin has received a hefty handful of criticism this season for his poor efforts off Milwaukee’s bench, and Friday night’s game offered him a new opportunity.
With Jrue Holiday missing his seventh consecutive game due to the league’s health and safety protocols, the Bucks had previously relied on Bryn Forbes as his replacement in the starting lineup. However, that left the team without a true floor general in the backcourt.
With the team losing five of their six games without Holiday in the lineup, head coach Mike Budenholzer wanted to mix things up before tip.
This meant sliding Augustin into the starting lineup in place of Forbes to give the Bucks a more natural fit at point guard, and it worked well. Augustin logged 11 points in the game and shot an efficient 4-of-8 from the floor, including 3-of-7 from long distance. The veteran floor general also stepped up as a playmaker, dishing out five assists in his 32-and-a-half minutes of burn.
For a player that has struggled mightily to find a groove with his new team this season, seeing him step up into the starting lineup and help the Bucks get this win was beyond relieving. He looked comfortable, and this performance should undoubtedly help boost his confidence as he continues trying to find his niche with the Bucks.
It seems safe to say that Augustin will handle the starting point guard duties until Jrue Holiday makes his inevitable return. Hopefully, he can use the opportunity to string together however many more promising performances.
The Milwaukee Bucks have finally gotten back on track with a win, and they will look to make it two in a row as they host the Sacramento Kings this Sunday. You can catch the action at 8:00 p.m. CST on Fox Sports Wisconsin for those viewing locally.