4 Studs, 2 Duds from the Milwaukee Bucks' emphatic win over the Oklahoma City Thunder

The Milwaukee Bucks made it four wins out of their last five games with a dominant 118-93 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder Sunday night.

Since Khris Middleton's return, they have been quietly going about their business and making it known that they shouldn't be written off, and that showed with the convincing victory over the Thunder, who were the one seed in the Western Conference before last night's game.

AJ Green was the only Buck to miss last night's game with illness, and the team put in one of their best performances of the season. They led by one at the half, but then a huge 34-17 third quarter in Milwaukee's favor distanced themselves from their opponents as they looked to solidify their grip on the second seed out East.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is one of the frontrunners in the MVP conversation, and the Bucks held him to just 12 points and two assists, his second-lowest-scoring performance of the season. Guard Josh Giddey led the Thunder with 19 points. Jalen Williams had 18, and Chet Holmgren was held to six points on one of 10 shooting, showing the Bucks' defense throughout was magnificent.

The Milwaukee Bucks got a huge win over the Oklahoma City Thunder

As a team, the Bucks' shooting from deep wasn't great. They hit 11 of 34 (32.4 percent) attempts from three but held the Thunder to 10 of 43 (23.3) and just 37.1 shooting from the field. Both teams forced double-figure turnovers, but it was Milwaukee who was making the shots difficult for the Thunder more than forcing a turnover. The Bucks finished with seven guys putting up 10 or more points.

Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard both played 33 minutes. with Middleton, Bobby Poirtis, Brook Lopez and Malik Beasley all playing at least 22 minutes. Late in the game, we saw some of the younger guys get minutes under their belts, along with Thanasis Antetokounmpo and Danilo Gallinari, to provide a veteran presence.

With the round-up out of the way, let's take a look at the many studs and the few harsh duds from the Bucks' emphatic win over the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Stud - Giannis Antetokounmpo

In a battle of MVP candidates, Giannis stood well above SGA and really dominated this game. He led the game with 30 points and got the double-double with nine rebounds. From the field, he shot 72.2 percent as he hit 13 of his 18 shots.

The real highlight of his performance was an alley-oop from Middleton. Giannis soared over two defenders and threw it down with one hand. These moments and performances are nothing but good news for the Bucks and Giannis' MVP case. Voters remember the moments and taking on another candidate and outplaying them by such a large margin does nothing but good for his case.

Having missed the games against the Suns and Celtics, Giannis just needed the rest, as he has been back to his best with back-to-back strong performances. MVP chants broke out at Fiserv Forum as it was another assertive win for the Bucks, and now, with Middleton back, the two are combining like never before, with Lillard and Lopez also keeping the defense on their toes.

Giannis was at his best, and it comes at the right time, with just 11 regular-season games left before the playoffs start. We know what we will get from him, and if the others support him, Doc Rivers' side will go deep in the postseason.

Stud - Khris Middleton

Middleton has slotted back into the starting lineup seamlessly having missed 16 games before returning last weekend. Against the Thunder, he was great again and notched his first triple-double of the season.

He finished with 11 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists on 45.5 percent shooting from the field. His ability to create shots from anywhere is really key to the Bucks, and with their strong lineup and bench looking stronger at full health, Middleton may be the X-factor in the playoffs. Defensively, he is solid to work on the wing, and now, Jae Crowder adds support off the bench. You also know what Patrick Beverley brings to the game, so he will switch defensive matchups down the stretch and in the playoffs.

The only knock on his performance was the five turnovers and hitting just one of five shots from deep. Those aren't anything to worry too much about, as others were hitting shots and not turning over the ball, so the team was able to withstand those slight mishaps.

If he can provide a consistent scoring output as he has recently with two 22 points games and a triple-double since returning, alongside Giannis and Lillard, they will be tough to stop all three in the playoffs, not to mention Lopez, Beasley, and Portis off the bench.

His minutes will slowly increase as Rivers looks to keep him in the best condition for the postseason, so we are probably yet to see the full force of the Bucks' starting five playing 35 to 40 minutes in a game. For me, he is the X-factor for the team, and he is starting to ramp it up at the right time.

Stud - Bobby Portis

Bobby Portis has been a revelation since the All-Star break and has really changed the perception of himself in the Bucks fanbase. I was one who was open to the idea of moving him at the trade deadline to help the bench, but he is proving us all wrong and showing how valuable he is to the team.

Again, he was electric off the bench. The relationship between him and the Fiserv Forum faithful is back to it's best. The chants of his name show how loved he is, and he returns that love with the grit he provides off the bench Sunday night, he scored 15 points on 53.8 percent shooting to go with six rebounds, two assists and three steals.

On the season, he is averaging 13.7 points, 7.2 rebounds, and an assist on .502/.390/.784 shooting splits. In the 15 games since All-Star weekend, he is averaging 16.3 points and 8.3 rebounds on even better splits of .525/.409/.760, and that is with Middleton's return, too. The partnership he and Beverley have off the bench has to be one of the most energetic of any bench in the league. When they enter the game, you know they'll get down low, hustle, talk trash, and back up their teammates as they get the crowd involved and make a cauldron of noise.

Alongside Middleton, I would argue Portis could be the X-factor as the sixth man of the team, so he needs to keep providing that punch off the bench. If he puts up 10 points and five rebounds a game and with hustle in the playoffs, he has done his job and given the Bucks the best chance at winning.

Stud - Jae Crowder

This final stud was maybe the most difficult to choose from. Lopez had a solid game, scoring 14 points, and Pat Connaughton was great off the bench, scoring 11 points. I ended up settling for Jae Crowder, who finished with 10 points, two assists, two rebounds and a steal in less than 18 minutes off the bench. Oh, and I forgot to mention that he didn't miss a shot.

Crowder hit all four of his shots, including two from deep, as he put up double figures for the ninth time this season. We know the defensive experience and physicality he brings but if he can start being more consistent from deep (hitting 36.8 percent fromt deep) then his value off the bench will continue to grow.

He had been in the starting lineup for every game since the All-Star break with both Giannis and Middleton missing time, but he may have more impact off the bench come playoff time. That ability to alternate resting the starters for guys like Crowder and Portis, who can come in and bring that hustle and be a real physical battle for opponents, can make the game easier for when the starters come back in.

Crowder will stay in the rotation because of what he provides, and he may not have to be too relied on from three, with Green set to return and grow over these past months. As part of the bench unit, Crowder just adds to the physicality and grit of the group and he will have a big part to play this season unlike last.

Dud - Damian Lillard

As with a lot of duds recently, I am really clutching at straws with some due to the convincing nature of the Bucks' recent games and the team performances standing out more so than some of the individual performances. Damian Lillard was really good defensively but really did struggle offensively against the Thunder.

He and SGA seemed to stifle each other, which Lillard deserves his props for, as he held the OKC guard to just 12 points. Lillard himself only scored 11 points, the third lowest of the season, with six rebounds and five assists on 33.3 percent shooting.

Defensively, Lillard has really stepped up, which is what the Bucks needed most, as their defense against opposing guards was horrible for most of the season. Now they, seem to be getting it nailed down. I don't think this shooting performance is too much to worry about as he still hit two of five shots from deep, and we know from his time in Portland how he has these sorts of games before ramping it up in the playoffs and being the elite clutch player we know.

It wasn't the worst performance from Lillard this season with his defensive play being great, but offensively, he struggled early on. He'll be back to his best, and we know what we will get from him in these final few regular season games.

Dud - Malik Beasley

The other dud again feels harsh, as Malik Beasley didn't have a terrible performance as he finished with eight points in 25 minutes. It was defensively where he struggled early on with the Josh Giddey assignment.

Giddey finished as the Thunder's leading scorer with 19 points, nine rebounds and eight assists on 58 percent from the field and hit four of his six shots from deep. On the season, the Australian guard is averaging 11.6 points, 6.1 rebounds and 4.5 assists and is a 33 percent shooter from deep, so it was a case of him being on fire and Beasley perhaps not doing enough to get him out of his stride.

Allowing Giddey to have eight points in the first quarter and 15 at the half wasn't great. The team's defense was strong enough that it didn't really matter. When Connaughton was in the game, he shadowed Giddey multiple times, and only allowing him four points in the second half was decent. Had he been allowed to keep going, then the game could have been a lot closer than what it was.

Again, with these duds, it feels harsh after such a great team performance, and I know Beasley isn't a lockdown defender or high scorer, but there were perhaps things he could have done better, but similar to Lillard, I don't think it's too much Bucks fans should be worried about.

As team performances go I don't think it could have gone much better. Defensively, it was superb, and offensively, it was also strong. They were just a little off from three, but when the defense is that good, you can allow the leeway a bit. Middleton's return has been nothing but great for the Bucks.

Stay tuned for more Milwaukee Bucks analysis in these final few weeks of the regular season.