Just as it seemed like they had started to find some momentum, the Milwaukee Bucks suffered a massive setback against the San Antonio Spurs Monday night.
Milwaukee’s five-game winning streak came to an abrupt end as San Antonio manhandled the Bucks with a 146-125 victory. Despite several attempts to close that gap throughout brief stretches in this game, the Spurs were seemingly in control from start to finish as their biggest lead grew to 27 in the final period.
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Not only will the Bucks have to stomach the embarrassment of this 21-point defeat, but they will also have to consider what it means for their chances of moving up in the standings.
The Bucks had been in a back and forth battle with the Brooklyn Nets for the second seed with just a handful of games left to play, and although Milwaukee owns the tiebreaker, this loss just made their chances of getting that second spot much more difficult.
Although the Bucks have repeatedly assured that they do not care about the standings, that will not make this loss easier to digest. With that being said, here are three takeaways from the ugly defeat in San Antonio last night.
The Milwaukee Bucks get torched from deep in loss to the Spurs
The Spurs entered this matchup ranking near the bottom in points per game this season, but they used a barrage of 3-pointers to run up the score against the Bucks.
Although they shot just 29 triples, the Spurs were insanely efficient as they knocked down 17 of them. It seemed like every player wearing a grey jersey had it going with their shooting, particularly Patty Mills, who shot 6-for-10 from behind the arc in the contest.
Whenever the Bucks cut the deficit to below 20 points, the Spurs would seemingly trot down the floor and knock down another triple to bury Milwaukee further. While some of this could be attributed to an all-around red-hot shooting night for San Antonio, there were unquestionably some lackluster efforts on the defensive end from Milwaukee throughout.
Furthermore, the Bucks did not do much to keep themselves afloat on offense as they shot an abysmal 13-for-41 from deep. It was a poor shooting night for everyone on the roster, which spelled doomed for Milwaukee as San Antonio was on the opposite side of the spectrum.
Cold shooting spells are bound to happen some nights for the Bucks, but seeing the opposing team knock down these triples is certainly the more worrisome takeaway here. Defending the perimeter remains Milwaukee’s fatal flaw and it still looms large with just four regular season games remaining.
The Milwaukee Bucks’ bench falls short in loss to the Spurs
Both the Bucks and the Spurs have very productive second units, but it was unquestionably a lopsided affair in last night’s matchup.
San Antonio’s reserves were phenomenal as they scored a whopping 54 points against Milwaukee. The aforementioned Patty Mills paved the way as he used those six 3-pointers to help score 20 points while Rudy Gay followed close behind with 19. Devin Vassell also clocked in an efficient performance as he finished with 10 points. These three were a dominant factor in the Spurs’ massive win by scoring the ball at will from the moment they each checked into the game.
On the other hand, Milwaukee’s bench failed to step up as they scored just 30 points. One of the bigger storylines heading into this game was Bryn Forbes, as the former Spurs guard had been on a tear offensively in his recent string of games. However, the guard’s hot streak ended as he managed to score just eight points on 2-of-4 shooting.
Leading bench scorer Bobby Portis was able to find some rhythm late in this one after an abysmal start by finishing with 13 points on 5-for-11 shooting. Aside from Forbes and Portis, the contributions from the rest of Milwaukee’s key rotational pieces in the second unit were minimal, as Pat Connaughton, Jeff Teague, and P.J. Tucker combined to shoot 1-for-11 for three points.
It was just one of those nights for a second unit that has struggled to grasp any consistency with their production this season.
The Milwaukee Bucks’ Big 3 provides optimism in loss to the Spurs
If there is anything positive to take from Milwaukee’s brutal loss to San Antonio last night, it is just how well the leading trio played.
Although he was limited with some early foul trouble, Giannis Antetokounmpo put together another stellar effort by scoring 28 points on 11-for-16 shooting. Also shooting 6-for-7 from the free throw line, the two-time MVP was highly efficient on the night in scoring the basketball while dishing out four assists and hauling in three rebounds.
Khris Middleton followed suit with an efficient outing himself by scoring 23 points on 10-of-15 shooting. Shooting just 2-of-7 from long range, all of the forward’s misses from the floor came from behind the arc as he had it clicking everywhere else, including his playmaking where he dished out five assists. Previously struggling to maintain inconsistency on the offensive end, Middleton has seemingly found a nice groove lately, which is assuring with the playoffs growing closer with each passing game.
Lastly, Jrue Holiday continued his recent hot streak by scoring 20 points on 64.3 percent shooting from the floor. The guard has been more aggressive in scoring the ball as of late, and he carried on that trend against San Antonio’s defense all night while also getting his teammates involved with six assists.
Typically, the Bucks losing a game where their top three combine to score 71 points would be a rarity, but they were simply outmatched against the Spurs in every aspect.
Although this loss stings, the Bucks will have little time to reflect as they are set to take on the Orlando Magic tonight. That should be a good test as they look to get back to their winning ways and you catch the action at 8:00 p.m. CST on Bally Sports Wisconsin.