The Milwaukee Bucks were able to narrowly edge out the Boston Celtics Wednesday night, but they did not have that some luck in the rematch Friday night.
Boston looked firmly in control of this one from the start as they let Milwaukee’s biggest lead of the night reach just one point late in the first quarter. Meanwhile, the Celtics cruised to victory as they eventually built up a 21-point lead midway through the fourth quarter.
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The Bucks were able to chip away at that sizeable lead in the final minutes, but it was to no avail as they suffered the 122-114 defeat. This ugly loss snaps their previous eight-game winning streak along with any momentum they had seemingly built up in that brief stretch.
Nevertheless, this roster will have little time to reflect on the loss as they are set to take on the New York Knicks tonight in a back-to-back.
Now sliding back into the third seed in the Eastern Conference, the Bucks have some ground to make up, and a win against the Knicks would be a great start. Before that game tips off tonight, here are three takeaways from Milwaukee’s 15th defeat of the season last night.
Milwaukee Bucks lose the battle from behind the arc in loss to Celtics
With a combined 94 3-point attempts from these two teams Friday night, neither group was shy about letting it fly from deep.
All things considered, the Bucks shot the ball relatively well from long range by shooting 19-of-47 (40.4 percent) on the night. Khris Middleton was particularly in a nice groove as he shot 4-of-5 from behind the arc en route to a team-high 19-point performance. While Milwaukee knocked down their triples efficiently, they could not stop the Celtics from doing the same.
Boston shot 22-of-47 (46.8 percent) from deep on a night where everyone was getting in on the action. It was disheartening to watch as whenever Milwaukee looked like they were gearing up to piece together a run, a Celtics player would knock down another 3-pointer and balloon the lead further out of reach. Boston’s Marcus Smart was particularly the main culprit of this predicament, as he shot an impressive 7-of-10 from long range on the night.
Perimeter defense has been a sizeable issue for the Bucks in the Mike Budenholzer era, and last night’s defensive effort was a display of how ugly it can get. This team has been experimenting with their defensive schemes to try and fix this issue, but as evidenced by last night’s outing, it remains far from a finished product.
Sam Merrill shows potential for Milwaukee Bucks in loss to Celtics
With the Bucks missing a variety of rotational players in these past two games, Budenholzer has given rookie Sam Merrill more meaningful minutes in the rotation.
Although he did not leave his mark in Wednesday’s win, the guard rebounded in a big way with the best performance of his young career Friday. In 20 minutes of action, the 24-year-old scored a career-high 15 points by shooting 6-of-8 from the floor, including 3-of-5 from deep. Despite the loss, Merrill’s performance gave fans something optimistic to take away from the game.
Merrill, the 60th pick in the 2020 NBA Draft, has not seen much run in Milwaukee’s primary rotation this season. Playing in 18 games for an average of just 6.5 minutes per contest, the guard has spent most of his time spectating from the sidelines, but this latest performance could potentially open more opportunities for him.
With Milwaukee’s bench struggling to remain consistent this season, a player like Merrill could certainly help spark some offense when necessary. The Bucks selected him because of his prolific shooting from 3-point territory, and as evidenced by his five attempts Friday night, he is not afraid to let it fly.
Sam Merrill’s first double-digit scoring outing of his career will undoubtedly leave a lasting impression with the fans and hopefully the coaches alike. As someone who can get the hot hand in a hurry, this game could help the rookie carve out a nice spot in the rotation moving forward.
Giannis Antetokounmpo struggles mightily in the Milwaukee Bucks’ loss to Celtics
Before this two-game set with the Celtics, Giannis Antetokounmpo had seemingly been ascending in every MVP ladder, but his stock has certainly dropped since.
After struggling Wednesday in the victory, Antetokounmpo once again failed to build up any momentum in last night’s loss. Giannis looked like a shell of himself as he finished with just 16 points on 6-of-12 shooting, including 1-of-3 from deep. Some credit undoubtedly goes towards Boston’s defense for keeping the two-time MVP in check, but attempting just 12 shots is still far below his typical quota this season.
When Antetokounmpo did show a burst of aggression and had a chance to add some extra points at the foul line, he was able to go 3-for-6, which certainly did not help his confidence. Perhaps he is still trying to shake off the rust after sitting out Milwaukee’s blowout win over the Indiana Pacers Monday night due to knee soreness.
Hopefully, this is just a sluggish two-game skid for Antetokounmpo, and his subpar performances can motivate him to get the wheels turning in the right direction once again with a quick turnaround tonight.
Giannis is always looking ahead, and right now, his eyes are on getting back in the win column against the New York Knicks. It should be a great game between two teams currently fighting for positioning in the loaded Eastern Conference, and you can catch the action at 7:00 p.m. on Fox Sports Wisconsin.