Despite the wins, Bucks flirting with dangerous trend over past 2 games

The Milwaukee Bucks have been on a roll lately, going 6-1 over their last seven games and working their way up in the standings.

While wins go in the book as wins no matter how they come, the Bucks have been flirting with a rather dangerous trend over their past two contests. In wins over the Indiana Pacers and Charlotte Hornets, the Bucks blew 20-plus point leads to the point where the opposing team trailed by single digits in the final frame and still had a chance.

The Milwaukee Bucks must keep their foot on the gas

Midway through the third quarter, the Bucks led the Pacers by 25 points. It appeared things would be smooth-sailing the rest of the way, but Indiana clawed back into the game after a 16-3 surge to make it a six-point game. Thankfully, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Taurean Prince took over late to help the Milwaukee Bucks fend off this spirited Indiana run.

Against the Hornets, the Bucks were up by 20 points with seven minutes left to play. LaMello Ball and Brandon Miller, Charlotte's stars, then took over. Once leading 112-92, the Bucks found themselves in a 121-119 game with 15 seconds to play. Once again, Antetokounmpo and Prince helped them close things out scoring-wise to secure the win, knocking down some clutch free throws.

The Milwaukee Bucks cannot let this become a trend moving forward; they do not want to have every game go down to the wire, forcing stars to play hefty minutes night in and night out. When they build up these sizeable leads, it's important to stand firm and keep that intact. While they showed that they can win in clutch situations, they would certainly rather win by sustaining a 20-point lead.

Keeping their foot on the gas sounds simple, sure. Truly, sometimes, it's all about using the proper pieces in certain situations. While Gary Trent Jr. and AJ Green were both having strong games, it was somewhat odd that Andre Jackson Jr. did not see the floor in the fourth quarter of the Hornets game, as he's been one of Milwaukee's best defenders and could have tried combating Ball.

Maintaining these second half leads will likely be a talking point in Milwaukee's film sessions, and it all starts with keeping the same intensity as they had when they were up 20 to when the buzzer sounds.

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