Rapid Recap: Bucks 103, Blazers 118

For those of you who stayed awake, the Milwaukee Bucks opened up their 4-game West Coast swing with a frustrating 118-103 loss to the Portland Trailblazers. The loss moves the Bucks to 8-2 on the season with both of their losses coming on the road.

Giannis Antetokounmpo paced the Bucks with 23 points, 9 rebounds, and 6 assists in 37 minutes. He did shoot 11-18 from the floor, but also committed 6 turnovers. Giannis still seems to be a little uncomfortable offensively in Mike Budenholzer’s new system thus far.

Khris Middleton added 22 points, 8 rebounds, and 6 assists while knocking down 4-10 three-pointers in 36 minutes. Big man Brook Lopez was unconscious from deep early, and he ended with a season-high 22 points while hitting 6 threes. Outside of these 3 guys, no other member of the Bucks was in double figures.

The Milwaukee Bucks were unable to stop C.J. McCollum, and he was hitting everything. The shifty 2-guard finished with 40 points on 17-26 shooting and made it look relatively easy. He was slicing and dicing Milwaukee’s defense from the midrange, and behind the arc. The Bucks did do a decent job on Damian Lillard though, who finished with only 13 points on 5-15 shooting.

Portland’s second unit was excellent in this one, and when Dame and C.J. were on the bench to begin the 4th quarter, they were able to hold the lead which was ultimately the difference.

Stat That Stood Out

17: The Portland Trailblazers made 17 threes tonight against the Bucks, and a lot of those were open looks. Although the Bucks canned 16 threes of their own, the Blazers were able to keep pace and distance themselves from the Milwaukee Bucks. It will be interesting to see how head coach Mike Budenholzer tweaks his defense, as the Bucks have been getting blitzed from the three-point line the last week.