Milwaukee Bucks: 3 takeaways from big win over San Antonio Spurs
By Dalton Sell
After the brutal beatdown they had suffered at the hands of the Miami Heat on Thursday night, the Milwaukee Bucks were motivated to bounce back in their next game.
On the road facing the San Antonio Spurs, the Bucks were put to the test. Despite playing a game the night before, the Spurs came out energized and took an early lead. The Bucks eventually did manage to steady the ship and close this one out, despite a late Spurs’ run that nearly made the final few minutes of this game too close for comfort. Milwaukee would secure the 121-111 road victory and get back in the win column. It was far from the prettiest game for the Bucks, but a win is a win, and here are three takeaways from the contest.
George Hill and Pat Connaughton provide a massive lift for the Milwaukee Bucks in win over San Antonio Spurs
Milwaukee’s depth has been reduced to a razor-thin rotation due to the assortment of injuries that have hit the roster early on. Starting center Brook Lopez missed his second consecutive game due to back soreness, which was bad news as the Bucks are still without backup in Bobby Portis. The shortage of bodies at the center position forced coach Mike Budenholzer to get creative, which prompted Pat Connaughton, who is seven inches shorter, to take Lopez’s spot in the starting five.
Connaughton scarcely gets nods in the starting lineup as he has proven to be the perfect spark off the bench for this team, but this team needed him to step up last night, and he did just that. The positionless Connaughton was fantastic on the offensive end as he chipped in 16 points on a very efficient 6-of-9 shooting, including 3-of-5 from behind the arc. In addition to his prolific scoring, he hauled in seven rebounds against the Spurs, making his presence felt all over the floor at all times. Surprisingly, Connaughton also logged the most minutes among any Bucks with 37 total. He has proven to be among the most trusted players on this team for Budenholzer, and it showed last night. His contract looks better and better by the day.
With Connaughton sliding into the starting unit, someone off the bench would need to step in and pencil in his typical production, which is exactly what George Hill did. After struggling throughout the first two games, Hill finally flipped the switch and scored 15 points on 5-of-6 shooting, which included knocking down all three of his 3-point attempts. The guard looked phenomenal on the offensive end, showing much more aggressiveness with his scoring when the Bucks needed it. This is the George Hill that Bucks fans envisioned when the team signed him this past offseason, and everyone is hoping that this can help establish some momentum.