Milwaukee Bucks: Takeaways from 115-107 Game 1 loss to Brooklyn Nets

Last night’s contest between the Milwaukee Bucks and Brooklyn Nets was far from an ideal start in Game 1 of this series.

Despite Brooklyn losing All-Star guard James Harden within the first minute of the game as he left with a recurring hamstring issue, they handled their business and took Milwaukee down 115-107. Although the final difference was merely eight points, the Nets were in firm control of this game throughout the entirety of the second half after the Bucks tried to make things competitive during the first two quarters.

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Milwaukee’s players looked lifeless on both ends of the court during the final 24 minutes after trailing by just two at the break. Seemingly devoid of any energy or overall motivation whatsoever to win this matchup, it was an embarrassing loss to open the series for the Bucks.

With their first loss of the postseason in the books, they must head back to the drawing board and devise a much better game plan for Game 2 as Milwaukee needs to steal homecourt and tie up the series.

Before that game tips off tomorrow night, here are three takeaways from a lackluster overall performance in last night’s Game 1 matchup.

The Milwaukee Bucks go cold from the outside in Game 1 loss to Nets

Just as we saw in their Game 1 matchup against the Miami Heat last round, the Bucks opened up this series ice cold from behind the arc. Shooting just 6-for-30 (20 percent) from long range in this one, one of the best 3-point shooting teams in the association could not buy a bucket from distance.

Although it was certainly a collective effort with this poor shooting night, one player that stood out among the bunch was second unit shooting guard Bryn Forbes. Milwaukee’s typical sharpshooter off the bench shot just 2-for-8 overall, including 1-for-5 from deep to have virtually little impact in this contest. After torching the Heat in round one throughout all four matchups, it was different seeing Forbes unable to catch his rhythm. His shooting will be a massive boost for the Bucks when the shot is falling, but last night just was not his night.

Meanwhile, the Nets were solid from behind the line by shooting 15-for-40 (37.5 percent). Yet, Brooklyn’s leading tandem of Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant shot a combined 4-of-15 from three, managing to get some help from the supporting cast. Joe Harris knocked down a game-high five triples while Blake Griffin followed close behind with four of his own. Having these two combine for nine triples is far from ideal for the Bucks, especially given how poor Durant and Irving had been from the outside.

The Bucks managed to find their outside stroke following an abysmal shooting outing in Game 1 last round, and one can only hope they do the same following last night’s blunder.