Milwaukee Bucks: 3 takeaways from frustrating loss to San Antonio Spurs
By Dalton Sell
The Milwaukee Bucks’ turbulent start to the 2021-22 NBA season continued as they welcomed the San Antonio Spurs to town last night.
After a grueling 48 minutes of basketball, the Bucks fell to 3-3 on the season as the Spurs walked out with a 102-93 victory. It was a closely contested contest throughout, with neither team being able to earn a double-digit lead up until the Spurs finally did in the closing moments. A word that best describes this tough loss would be frustrating, simply because it was there for the taking for the Bucks and they let it slip away down the stretch. They will be able to put this loss behind them fairly quickly with the Utah Jazz coming to Fiserv Forum tonight, but before then, here are three takeaways from last night’s loss.
The Milwaukee Bucks and San Antonio Spurs could not buy a bucket from deep in last night’s matchup
Both the Bucks and the Spurs rank in the middle of the pack in 3-point percentage this season, but it certainly did not look like it last night. The two teams combined to shoot 17-of-70 from distance as they consistently heaved from the perimeter time and time again.
Looking at Milwaukee’s side of things, they were just 10-of-39 from behind the arc. Two players that stood out were Jordan Nwora and Semi Ojeleye, who combined to shoot 0-for-10 from deep. Nwora has struggled mightily with his shot recently, and Ojeleye is picking up right where he left off last game, where he also went 0-for-5 on 3-pointers. Pat Connaughton and George Hill also could not connect on a shot as they missed two each, while Giannis Antetokounmpo could not find his footing as he missed all three of his attempts.
The three players that truly did any damage from long distance for the Bucks were Grayson Allen, Justin Robinson, and Rodney Hood. Allen found some rhythm late and finished 4-of-9 from the perimeter, but he continues to struggle with his consistency there. Meanwhile, Robinson went a perfect 2-for-2, and Hood went 2-of-3 to provide a solid spark off the bench. Aside from these three, it was ugly to watch whenever a Buck hoisted a triple.
The Spurs were right there with them as they shot 7-of-31 from the outside. The only Spur to hit multiple 3-pointers in the matchup was Derrick White, who hit three and finished with 17 points. Former Buck Bryn Forbes was motivated to play against his former team after receiving his ring from last season’s title, and although he chipped in 16 points, he was just 1-of-4 from deep.
This game was a devastating display of 3-point shooting from start to finish as neither team could find a rhythm throughout.