3 takeaways from Milwaukee Bucks’ unpleasant loss to Charlotte Hornets
By Dalton Sell
Khris Middleton and Bobby Portis did their part to help Giannis Antetokounmpo, but their turnovers doomed the Milwaukee Bucks
Although Antetokounmpo led the charge for the Bucks, both Khris Middleton and Bobby Portis made sure to contribute at a high level as well.
After a solid performance against the Nets, Bucks fans had their fingers crossed that Middleton had finally snapped his recent shooting slump. Thankfully, it looks like the forward has put that behind him for now as he pieced together a stellar outing against Charlotte by scoring 27 points on an efficient 9-of-17 from the floor, including 4-of-6 from deep. Seeing that 3-pointer drop is especially welcoming as Middleton has been having little to no luck from out there this season.
To go along with his 27 points, Middleton tallied 10 rebounds and nine assists as he flirted with a triple-double. In addition to season-highs in rebounds and assists, his 27 points were the most he has scored in a game since October 25, and it was great to see Middleton step up with the Bucks missing several key players, even in defeat.
As he has done all season, Portis also earned his keep by scoring 19 points on 9-of-17 from the floor and pulling down 12 rebounds in 37 minutes. Following a red-hot shooting night from deep against the Nets, Portis could not quite find a rhythm from out there last night by knocking down just one triple in three attempts. It was far from his best outing, but Portis held his own.
What truly hurt these two was the significant amount of turnovers. Middleton tied a season-high with six in the game, while Portis followed with four. Several of them were just head-scratching to watch in real-time, unnecessary slips up that cost the Bucks in the end as the Hornets feasted on those opportunities. Turnovers aside, these two were great.