Well, we can add another painful Game 5 loss to recent Milwaukee Bucks history.
The Bucks fell to the Brooklyn Nets in Game 5 of their Eastern Conference Semifinals series that ended in a 114-108 victory in favor of Brooklyn that now puts them up 3-2 in the series as it shifts back to Milwaukee for Game 6.
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Of course, the loss comes after the Bucks had held as big of a 17-point lead early in the third quarter, to which the Nets then responded with their second half comeback to absolutely dissect and decimate the Bucks in ways that have felt too familiar over the Mike Budenholzer era.
So without further ado, let’s dive into the biggest takeaways from the Milwaukee Bucks’ dreadful loss to the Brooklyn Nets in Game 5 Tuesday night.
Milwaukee Bucks fail to take advantage of a limited James Harden in Game 5 loss to Nets
The Nets got quite the boost going into Game 5 with the sudden return of James Harden, who was gradually cleared to play Tuesday night after having suffered a strained hamstring at the start of the series 10 days earlier.
Despite being cleared, it was clear that Harden was a shell of himself and was relegated to being an initiator to the Nets’ offense. Harden finished the night with five points on 1-for-10 shooting (0-for-8 from three, 3-for-3 from the foul line), eight assists, six boards and four turnovers.
While the Nets were gradually buoyed by Harden’s presence on the floor as he quarterbacked the offense, the Bucks did very little to get Harden moving or attacking him on defense as he’s essentially playing on one leg.
Bucks players routinely made misguided decisions to attack other upstanding Nets defenders such as Kevin Durant rather than Harden or the likes of Blake Griffin (outside of Giannis Antetokounmpo) or Joe Harris. And while the Bucks’ offense saw their shots fall better in Game 5 than they’ve had for much of the series so far, they did nothing to really test a less-than-100 percent Harden.
What Harden looks like moving forward into Game 6 remains to be seen, but it will be on the Bucks to really make him defend and test the Nets. But one would have thought that would have been the case going into Game 5.
Milwaukee Bucks offense clicks in before stalling out in Game 5 loss to Nets
While the Bucks’ offense wasn’t nearly as predatory as they needed to be to pull out the win, they still rounded out into form as far as the numbers are considered.
The Bucks finished the night with their best shooting performance of the series by going 13-for-32 from 3-point range (40.6 percent) and a 57.2 effective field goal percentage while outscoring the Nets 52-32 in the paint.
Along with that, Milwaukee got 81 points from their ‘Big 3′ of Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jrue Holiday and Khris Middleton as well as 15 points from Brook Lopez and 10 points for Pat Connaughton. With Bryn Forbes’ five points rounding out the Bucks’ scorers for the night, the Bucks got a concentrated effort of offensive production that largely kept them afloat until the tide completely turned.
Once it was very clear that the Bucks didn’t have an answers for the Nets defensively, the Bucks’ shots started to fall fewer and farther between, the downfalls of their 1-on-1 offense proved to be far too ineffective when they tried salvaging their performance. Finishing with 18 assists on 41 made field goals left the Bucks with a 43.9 assist percentage and that lack of ball movement eventually let their out of their offense when it mattered most.
Milwaukee Bucks endure through Kevin Durant’s masterpiece in Game 5 loss to Nets
Make no mistake, as much as our collective focus will be on what went wrong for Milwaukee, it shouldn’t overshadow the fact that Nets superstar Kevin Durant put forth all throughout Game 5.
Durant finished with 49 points on 16-for-23 shooting (4-for-9 from three, 13-for-16 from the free throw line), 17 rebounds, 10 assists, three steals and two blocks in 48 minutes of action (yes, you read that right).
The 2013-14 MVP was at the center of the Nets’ play and their eventual destruction of the Bucks during Game 5 well before the Nets’ second half comeback was set in motion. But there’s no question that’s where Durant was writing the best of his all-time performance.
Of course, the Bucks had a hand in helping Durant get plenty comfortable pulling up wherever he pleased all over the floor after having amassed what looked to be a safe lead early in the third quarter. Durant’s work started from there as he tore through the Bucks’ drop coverage and dropped in shots over the likes of Pat Connaughton, Brook Lopez, P.J. Tucker all throughout the half and night overall.
31 of Durant’s 49 points came over the course of the second half and he did all of that on 10-of-13 shooting (3-for-5 from downtown, 10-for-13 from the free throw line). Furthermore, Durant was an astounding 11-for-17 on jump shots throughout Game 5 (64.7 percent).
Given the zone he was in, it’s safe to say that Durant broke out of the mini-slump that had followed him in Games 3 and 4 in Milwaukee. However, the Bucks offered the path of least resistance when it came to guarding Durant and their sense of urgency kicked well after it was too late.
Game 6 of the Bucks’ series with the Nets is set to go down Thursday night at Fiserv Forum and it will tip off at 7:30 P.M. CST. You can catch the action on ESPN where it will be nationally televised.