Milwaukee Bucks: Takeaways from 122-121 loss to Golden State Warriors

The Milwaukee Bucks aimed to make it four consecutive wins as they squared off against the Golden State Warriors in a thrilling matchup last night.

Milwaukee was without Giannis Antetokounmpo, who was a late scratch due to his recent battle with knee soreness. Of course, being without the two-time MVP put the Bucks at a sizeable disadvantage, but this was a game that they had in the bag until the closing minutes.

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Following a scorching 41-point performance from Golden State’s Stephen Curry and an abysmally executed final play coming out of the timeout, the Bucks fell 122-121.

It undoubtedly ranks among the team’s most heart wrenching defeats this season, particularly with Milwaukee losing more ground on gaining that top seed in the Eastern Conference standings.

Nevertheless, the Bucks will have to put this one in the rearview and look ahead to Thursday’s matchup and a chance to get back into the win column. However, while Tuesday’s dreadful defeat is still fresh in our minds, let us look at three takeaways from the contest.

Milwaukee Bucks gave up far too many second chance opportunities

No matter how big Milwaukee’s lead ballooned to, Golden State’s ability to snatch offensive rebounds and put second chance points on the board kept them in the game.

Crashing the glass consistently, the Warriors totaled 12 offensive rebounds, which helped them add an extra 17 points to their total on the night. In a game in which the Bucks lost by just one, giving up that many extra opportunities to their opponent surely stings after surrendering a comfortable double-digit lead late.

Furthermore, this was just poor execution from the Bucks, given the Warriors season statistics in both of these categories. Golden State entered this matchup tied for dead last in the association in both offensive rebounds (7.9) and second chance points (10.2) per game. However, that was not the case in their win last night as they dominated the Bucks handily in both areas from start to finish.

Had it not been for an offensive rebound from Kelly Oubre Jr. off an Andrew Wiggins’ missed triple, the mood would be much brighter in Milwaukee. However, as the story went all night, Golden State snatched the board and put two extra points on the board that would put them up by one point and soon win them the game.

It was evident all night that not having Antetokounmpo’s sizeable presence down low took a toll on Milwaukee, particularly defensively. It did not help the Bucks could not conjure up some of that same ability by hauling in just six offensive rebounds and putting up seven extra points, but the glaring issue remains how the Warriors took advantage.

Jrue Holiday and Khris Middleton provide optimism in the Milwaukee Bucks’ defeat

With Antetokounmpo out of the lineup, all eyes deferred to Khris Middleton and Jrue Holiday to step up against the Warriors. To their individual credit, both had fantastic games that ultimately were not enough in the end.

Fresh off of earning his first Eastern Conference Player of the Week nod and signing a massive extension with the Bucks this past weekend, Holiday was once against stellar in this one. The veteran guard finished with a team-high 29 points on 11-of-18 shooting, including 4-of-7 from behind the arc. Although he racked up an appalling eight turnovers on the night, Holiday was consistently scoring at will while also tallying five assists in his 34 minutes of burn.

Right behind Holiday was Middleton, who finished with 28 points on 10-of-19 shooting from the field, including 2-for-4 from deep. Along with having the hot hand shooting the ball, the forward showed off his improved playmaking as he tallied seven assists as he worked persistently to get his teammates involved in the action. However, he also piled up the turnovers in the process, finishing with five on a night where he made several questionable decisions with the basketball.

Excluding a combined 13 turnovers between the two, Middleton and Holiday did everything to keep the Bucks in this one until the closing moments. With Brook Lopez and Donte DiVincenzo providing minimal contributions offensively by combining to shoot a lackluster 5-of-17 from the floor, Milwaukee needed every bit of it from their top two guys with Antetokounmpo not in the mix.

Milwaukee Bucks get a welcoming boost from the bench in loss to Warriors

With leading bench scorer Bobby Portis sliding into the starting power forward slot in place of Giannis Antetokounmpo, the Bucks’ second unit needed others to fill in. Replacing the big man’s scoring output would be a tough task, but the reserves chipped in a solid 36-point effort, with some intriguing individual performances surfacing along the way.

The first that stands out has to be Jeff Teague, who was appearing in just his third game for the Bucks after signing last week. Teague checked in and provided an immediate boost on the offensive end, finishing with 15 points on 7-of-9 shooting, including 2-of-2 from deep. Also notching three assists, the guard continues to show his validity as another capable ball-handler off the bench.

Although it came in a losing effort, Teague’s big night was one of the biggest positive takeaways from last night’s contest. The newcomer looked more comfortable than ever, and perhaps reuniting with former head coach Mike Budneholzer has helped in that regard. Whatever the case, hopefully, this is a sign of things to come for the team’s new backup point guard.

Another contributor was Thanasis Antetokounmpo, who has steadily seen his role increase as the season has progressed. In just under 19-and-a-half minutes of action, Antetokounmpo finished with 10 points on a perfect 4-of-4 from the floor, throwing down several vicious jams in the process. Also hauling in five rebounds, the 28-year-old once again continued to show his value coming off Milwaukee’s bench.

Bryn Forbes also contributed his typical dose of instant offense for the Bucks, pouring in eight points on 3-of-5 shooting, which included 2-of-2 from deep.

Last night’s loss was a heartbreaking one, but the Bucks must now shift their focus to Thursday’s matchup with the Dallas Mavericks. It will be the final game of their current six-game road trip, and you can catch the action on Bally Sports Wisconsin at 8 p.m. CST.