A five-game win streak from the Milwaukee Bucks saw them jump up to the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference and close the gap on the top three teams.
Sunday night's fourth-quarter collapse in Los Angeles halted their good run and showed that the absence of third-year wing AJ Green and his impact goes beyond just his shooting.
Heading into the final quarter, the Bucks had been playing well and led by one. Then they imploded and lost the final quarter by 33-24, falling to a 127-117 defeat. It was a reminder of what this team is capable of, both good and bad. The Clippers are a good team and were with them the whole way, then Milwaukee just fell asleep and couldn't put a run together to get back into the game.
With nine minutes to play, the teams were locked at 100 points apiece. The game had six minutes and 28 seconds left, and the Bucks somehow found themselves down 112-100 after almost a three-minute scoreless stretch. It showed that the Milwaukee Bucks missed out on an athletic wing to help defensively, and Green's injury reflected just that.
AJ Green provides more than just shooting to this Bucks team
It is the third straight game the Bucks have been without Green due to a left quad strain. They managed comfortable wins over the Philadelphia 76ers and Miami Heat, but in LA, he could have changed the outcome of the game. The former two-way player is shooting .447/.442/.857 this season and is good for 7.9 points per game.
Milwaukee didn't shoot poorly on Sunday as they made 13-of-35 (37.1) shots from deep, but the complacency in possession and lackluster defense down the stretch cost them dearly. Opponents are scoring on just 45.2 percent of their shots when guarded by Green. Only Giannis Antetokounmpo and Andre Jackson Jr. are holding opponents to less among the main rotation players.
Khris Middleton had a poor game, scoring zero points, and Pat Connaughton also saw nine minutes on the floor where he failed to score. What compounds the latter more is that opponents shot 4-of-6 (66.7 percent) when guarded by him. Had that been Green, his athleticism and hustle likely would not have allowed it.
The lack of Jackson was also interesting, with him playing just 10 minutes against the Clippers when he is clearly the Bucks' best perimeter defender. James Harden is still a real threat with the ball, and he exposed the Bucks late, as Jackson spent so long on the bench. Having the tandem of young wings in Jackson and Green to partner Gary Trent Jr. has been a positive for Doc Rivers this season, so moving away from it (despite Green's injury) was strange.
Monday night, the Milwaukee Bucks head to Utah and take on the Jazz before ending their West Coast stretch in Portland on Tuesday. Milwaukee will be expected to win both of those games and head into February following a good second half of January. Time will tell if they get AJ Green back on this trip at all, but it would be a significant boost.
Stay tuned for more Milwaukee Bucks news and analysis.