Milwaukee Bucks: 3 takeaways from 125-86 Game 2 loss to Brooklyn Nets

The Milwaukee Bucks reached rock bottom Monday night after having fallen to the Brooklyn Nets 125-86 in Game 2 of their Eastern Conference Semifinals series.

Unlike Game 1, the final score very much reflected the proceedings as the Nets absolutely walloped the Bucks in every facet of the game and put together one of the most spotless performances by a team this season.

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It left the Bucks with their second-worst playoff loss in franchise history, with the biggest loss having come during Game 6 of their 2015 first round series with the Chicago Bulls that ended in a 120-66 rout.

So without further ado, let’s break down the Milwaukee Bucks’ Game 2 debacle to the Brooklyn Nets from Monday night.

Milwaukee Bucks’ offense fails to click into gear in Game 2 against Nets

After having struggled on the offensive end for much of their 115-107 loss in Game 1 over the weekend, the Bucks hoped to get back in gear on that side of the ball to keep up with the Nets’ firepower.

Simply put, the Bucks failed to do so as they lacked any sort of consistent spark, especially as they fell into a gigantic early hole that they failed to climb out of all game long.

Milwaukee finished with their worst offensive rating for a single game this season, both regular season and playoffs combined, per NBA.com/stats. And with that in mind, it should go without saying that the Bucks struggled from 3-point range once again after having gone 8-for-27 on the night (29.6 percent).

Save for a few exceptions, such as Jrue Holiday, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bryn Forbes, the Bucks had few scorers that had efficient scoring nights. Khris Middleton was dreadful as he missed his first eight shots of his night and finished with 17 points on 7-for-20 shooting.

More concerningly, the Bucks’ offense was completely flat, one-dimensional and completely unimaginative. The fact that the Bucks finished with more turnovers (16) than assists (14) drives that home and the only solace that Bucks fans can take is that they can’t play much worse. Although that could have been easily said after Game 1.

The Milwaukee Bucks have no answer for Nets’ superstars in Game 2 loss

The Nets were dealt an early blow in the series with the loss of James Harden in the early moments of Game 1. Yet they haven’t missed him whatsoever and their dynamic duo of Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving has more than picked up the slack.

Of course, it helps to have both superstars in the first place and both Durant and Irving were much more lethal and unstoppable in their overall shotmaking and presence on both ends of the floor. Durant finished with 32 points on just 18 shots (4-of-8 from three) while Irving had 22 points on 17 shots (4-for-6 from deep) to steward the Nets to their biggest playoff victory in franchise history, per StatMuse.

No matter the defense and effort the Bucks put in when it came to the Nets’ pair of stars, it hardly made a difference for either Durant and Irving as they made easy work of Milwaukee on that end of the floor. The fact that the Nets were 30-for-58 on jump shots taken outside of the paint (51.7 percent) spoke to the masterclass shooting display that Durant and Irving led the charge on the hapless Bucks.

Not that Game 1 was a poor performance for either Durant or Irving, but their work in Game 2 reinforced how much more dangerous they can be to the Bucks throughout this series. And that work may be made short, given the trajectory this series is on at the moment.

Brooklyn’s supporting cast outshines Milwaukee Bucks in Game 2 loss

The Bucks’ Game 2 loss was made more demoralizing by the fact that the Nets’ supporting cast overwhelmed them in different facets of the game alongside Durant and Irving shining.

It was Bruce Brown’s turn to pour more salt into the Bucks’ wound, just as Blake Griffin did during Game 1.

Inserted into the starting lineup in place of the injured Harden, Brown capitalized on his opportunities at and around the basket by finishing floaters over Giannis Antetokounmpo and Brook Lopez on a couple of occasions, hustled for offensive rebounds untouched and made the right plays with the balls to swing them over to Nets shooters. Brown finished with 13 points on 6-for-10 shooting (1-for-2 from three), six boards and four assists in more than 25-and-a-half minutes of run.

Elsewhere, both Joe Harris and Landry Shamet splashed in three triples each and helped the Nets finish with a franchise-record 21 threes. Meanwhile, Brooklyn’s bench outscored the Bucks 38-26 and it should be noted that the Bucks made up some of that ground during garbage time minutes, though there was plenty of that than normal.

It all added up and made the Nets’ performance that much more complete as they eviscerated Milwaukee through every phase of Game 2. Now the Bucks are left with searching the answers to too many questions than they anticipated at this juncture.

The Bucks will have a couple of days off to rest and regroup as their series with the Nets shifts back to Milwaukee for Game 3 Thursday night at Fiserv Forum.