Bucks vs. Suns Final Score: Bucks Outlast Suns in Ugly Matinee, 100-96

It wasn’t the prettiest game by any means, but the Bucks got a grind-it-out win in some afternoon action against the Phoenix Suns at the BMO Harris Bradley Center, 100-96.

Giannis Antetokounmpo led the way yet again for Milwaukee with 28 points, eight rebounds, six assists, two blocks and one steal while Malcolm Brogdon mixed in 15 of his own in a much-needed second half scoring spurt. Tony Snell finished with 13, including the finishing blow on a corner three after some nifty ball rotation by Milwaukee down the stretch. Michael Beasley also had another traditional Beasley bucket-getter day with 17 points.

For Phoenix, T.J. Warren lead the team with 23 points and five rebounds, with Devin Booker adding 15, and little-known Alan Williams bullying his way to a career-high 17 points. Eric Bledsoe had only 11 points on the day, although he tallied 9 assists.

Both teams coughed the ball up extensively, with Milwaukee at 20 turnovers and Phoenix at 21. Several of Milwaukee’s came down the stretch, with costly guffaws leading to easy Chriss slams on the other end. Milwaukee mustered only nine fast break points on the day to Phoenix’s 15, and both teams combined to hit a piddly 11 three-pointers. It was ugly from the get-go, not to mention Milwaukee nearly blowing a nine point lead in the final minutes with Giannis remaining on the bench before Kidd finally re-inserted him with 45 seconds remaining.

The game began with Milwaukee scoring, yet also not scoring. They had a steady flow of opportunities from deep, all of which were relatively open shots. Misses from Thon Maker, Tony Snell and two from Matthew Dellavedova could’ve created some separation early on. However, only Khris Middleton was able to convert in the opening minutes.

WWE doesn’t come to the Bradley Center until March 5, but wrestling fans received a sneak-peek when Marquese Chriss and Giannis Antetokounmpo got tied up as the Greek Freak attempted to go coast-to-coast. When Giannis hit the floor, Chriss stood over him, making Antetokounmpo push his legs. Thon Maker came to his teammate’s defense, which seemed to light the fuse of Chriss even more. He climbed over the basket stanchion to confront Thon. All in all, the rowdy rumble resulted in Giannis earning a technical foul.

Tony Snell came out to play! Exciting, right? Especially after his historical 0/0/0/0/0 stat line from Friday night in 28 minutes of action (no, that is not fake news). In the opening quarter, he sank seven points points and went 1-of-3 from downtown.

Bango hitting a half-court shot to win everyone some free Qdoba tacos must’ve gotten some of the Bucks excited, as they answered with a quick run that got the ignition going. It was led by Michael Beasley, who continues to look like it’s 2007 and he’s back in Manhattan, KS during his college days at K-State. In today’s action with limited minutes from Khris Middleton and Giannis Antetokounmpo, Beas stepped up when his scoring presence was needed.

However, like so many times, a Bucks lead was cut into by the opposition. Buckets by Leandro Barbosa and Alan Williams saw the Milwaukee lead dwindle to just one. Then, after a Devin Booker 3-pointer knotted things up at 38 apiece, Khris Middleton got into it with the Kentucky product on the other end of the floor, which caused the two teams to come together for Round 2 of the tussle.

The Suns took a 47-42 lead into the break, with a buzzer-beater floating shot from TJ Warren serving as the icing on the cake. Alan Williams also had a major say in the first 24 minutes for Phoenix, contributing with 15 points. He would finish with a career high in points with 17.

The second half began with a flurry of points from Giannis, who quickly poured in nine and over the course of the third quarter, he finished with 15 points. Malcolm Brogdon also made a bang with six consecutive points in a 18-5 run that saw Milwaukee take a 77-73 lead heading into the final quarter of play.

The fourth quarter continued to belong to Malcolm Brogdon. The rookie picked right where he left off in the period prior, immediately tallying seven points. Combined with the strong play from Giannis to close things out, the Bucks were able to build a lead that flirted with double-digits.

Phoenix would put up a fight in the waning minutes, thanks to the play from Marquese Chriss. A 6-0 run from the rookie slashed the lead to just a single point and forced Jason Kidd to call a timeout. During this stretch in the action, Giannis was vacant from the floor. After the break, he was finally back out there.

A Khris Middleton miss on a 3-pointer ensued in Chriss being fouled on the other end, where he would go 0-of-2 from the line. A Tony Snell 3-pointer from the corner then served as the ice cold dagger through the Suns’ heart, and the Bucks escaped with a 100-96 victory.

Thoughts

• The Greek Freak’s streak of 30+ point games came to an end as he finished with 28 points. It was head scratching to see Jason Kidd have him sit on the bench in the closing minutes of the action, especially when Phoenix was mounting their comeback.
• Tony Snell rebounded from his disastrous game on Friday night, especially being a spark in the first quarter. His scoring is necessary for this team to succeed, so him proving that one game was a fluke is a win.
• It’s becoming more and more apparent that Michael Beasley is becoming a Milwaukee folk hero and why shouldn’t he be? Fans provided him with cheers that were quite audible when he checked in. He’s being relied on heavily post-Parker and he’s making the decision of whether or not the Bucks should bring him back next season tougher and tougher. That trade for Tyler Ennis continues to remain one of the most underrated steals in the league.
• Phoenix has one of the coolest and most underrated uniform schemes in the league. It looks so clean. The only thing I don’t like is the orange “belt” on the backends of the players.
• Matthew Dellavedova continues his brutal season. Like, I’m not sure he could even hit the broad side of a barn at this point. It really is pretty frustrating to watch. Although, it was pretty cool to see him soar over the scorer’s table to go after a loose ball. But still, it feels as if a majority of his minutes could/should be going to Malcolm Brogdon, especially considering the President’s 6-0 run by himself late in the third and continued success in the fourth quarter. Related: Brogdon played the final 18 minutes of the game.
• Every time I watch the Suns, I wish the Bucks had sent John Henson and their No. 15 pick to a team in order for them to move up and be in a position to select Booker.
• Thon is a GREAT teammate. He was on the court for both rumbles and he did a great job standing up for his teammates, as he should. However, it goes beyond that, as if you watch him on the bench, he’s always standing up and alerting his knowledge to those out on the court. It’s pretty cool to watch from a young player.
• Greg Monroe seemed to be unable to do some of the most elementary fundamentals of basketball, two of them being unable to reel in a rebound and connecting on a layup down low at several pointsn today.
• Continuity reigned supreme for the Bucks today, featuring five players (G. Antetokounmpo, T. Snell, G. Monroe, M. Brogdon, M. Beasley) in double digits. As we further deepen ourselves in the playoff race, that kind of scoring will be necessary. It was also nice seeing the bench make their presence felt with 49 points.