Rapid Recap: Bucks 111, Grizzlies 101

And so it continues. The Milwaukee Bucks HATE losing, and wanted to show the Memphis Grizzlies just how much they hated their earlier season defeat with this decisive 111-101 victory. Milwaukee raced out to an early advantage against the Grizzlies, but a late flurry by JaMychal Green broke the Bucks lead down to 28-20 after one quarter. An up-and-down sloppy second period eventually turned into some decent offensive play by Milwaukee, as they went into halftime up 50-45. The third quarter finally featured the Bucks throttling the Grizzlies, as they stepped right into the Eric Bledsoe bear trap, who led the Bucks to a 91-73 advantage after three. The fourth quarter was nothing more than some productive garbage time that let the Grizzlies offensive rating not sink any deeper.

After breaking off the shackles that prevented his dunking the past three games, Giannis Antetokounmpo sought his revenge on the rims this evening with 27 points, 11 rebounds, three assists, one steal and two blocks. He did basically all his damage by pounding the Grizzlies in the paint, taking them off the dribble in transition and in the halfcourt.

Eric Bledsoe came through with an energizing third quarter to key the Bucks taking control in this one, and he ended with 16 points. D.J. Wilson of all people looked stellar as Bledsoe’s running mate in that period, finishing the game with 13 points. It was a quiet night for most everyone else, with Khris Middleton as the only other starter in double figures at 11.

For Memphis, Mike Conley and Marc Gasol did their best to keep the Grizzlies in it, scoring 14 apiece, but they couldn’t keep the Bucks onslaught in the second half. The rest of their starters were poo poo platters, with only the Grizzlies bench keeping them in it. JaMychal Green had 14 while Omri Casspi added 17.

Stat that Stood Out

At halftime, the Memphis Grizzlies had turned the ball over five times, with Milwaukee scoring only three points off that. At the end of the third quarter, Memphis had turned it over 13 times, with the Bucks converting that into 23 points. Eric Bledsoe and company took full advantage of sloppiness by the Grizzlies and bullied them off those turnovers for easy buckets.