The Milwaukee Bucks were in Orlando on Monday night to play their third game, in their third different city in four days. After losing to the Los Angeles Lakers Friday night in high scoring affair, beating the Hornets without the big three in Charlotte, the Milwaukee Bucks were without Grayson Allen and NBA blocks leader Brook Lopez.
The Milwaukee Bucks got contributions up and down the roster, from some unexpected players even. Let’s take a look how some of these players helped the Bucks’ offense.
Takeaways from the Milwaukee Bucks win at the Orlando Magic: The offense
The Milwaukee Bucks got off to a slow start in this game, especially committing turnovers, and the Orlando Magic jumped out to an early lead 13-7. Directed efforts by Giannis Antetokounmpo and Jrue Holiday to get to the free throw line helped the Bucks see the ball start to go through the basket and the team’s rhythm picked up.
One player who did struggle shooting was Khris Middleton, who had to jack up a couple late shot clock shots and had several shots go half way down and pop out. However, it’s his second game back from not playing consistent NBA basketball since last spring, I’m not even glancing at the panic button with Khris.
Around the 9:30 mark in the fourth quarter, Orlando went back into a zone they had used at times during this game and it was the catalyst for their late comeback. The Bucks went a bit cold from the 3-point line and allowed what was once a 17 point lead dwindle down to just a four point lead late in the game. Thankfully some skilled offensive play from young guns AJ Green (12 points) and Sandro Mamukelashvili helped the Bucks stay afloat and maintain their lead.
Bobby Portis recorded yet another double-double, his 14th on the season, tying him for third in the NBA, with 18 points and 10 rebounds. During the broadcast on Bally Sports Wisconsin, a graphic displayed that Bobby Portis is currently playing the least minutes per game for players averaging a double-double.
Finally, Jrue Holiday had a near triple-double but had to settle for a double-double two rebounds short. Jrue finished with 17 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds.
Yes, Giannis Antetokounmpo is an intentional omission.