Milwaukee vs. Miami: Bucks Play With Their Food, Lose

It looked like the Milwaukee Bucks were well on their way to a home-opening victory over the Miami Heat, holding a 21-point cushion at one point in the game. However, sloppy and stagnant offense in the third quarter let the pesky Heat back into it, and before you knew it, the visitors reclaimed the lead in the fourth.

The Bucks got their prayers answered on a buzzer-beating tip-in by Giannis Antetokounmpo to force overtime. It seemed like the Bucks would capitalize on that momentum, but they were stonewalled and Giannis fouled out on a questionable call... again.

Here are three observations from the disappointing home loss.

Giannis Antetokounmpo might mess around and average a triple-double this season.

He ended Saturday night with 29 points, 17 rebounds, nine assists, three steals, and two blocks in 29 minutes. He came out aggressive early in this one, scoring a quick seven points in the first and helped the Bucks tally 70-point first half. However, in the second half, Giannis was very sloppy offensively...uncharacteristically sloppy. He began turning the ball over at a rapid rate and finished with eight. He was also settling for perimeter jumpers when Miami was creeping back into the game and clanked all five of his three-point attempts. As dominant as he looked at times yesterday, he also looked puzzled. He also finished with a plus-minus of zero. Also... MAKE YOUR FREE THROWS!

Having Kyle Korver and Wesley Matthews on this Bucks team is a luxury.

The duo combined to score 28 points and knock down eight triples. Matthews played 30 minutes and played his typical pesky defense while also drawing a charge. Like many Bucks though, he also missed a handful of wide-open attempts that would have put the Bucks back in front. As for Korver, he attempted nine three-pointers in only 18 minutes. He was on fire in the first half but was seldom heard from after that. However, I am not complaining about nine tries from deep in 18 minutes.

It was another weird game from Khris Middleton.

He went to work early in the first on the Miami Heat, starting his afternoon with a midrange jumper before knocking down two triples. In all, he totaled 25 points, four rebounds, and three assists in a team-high 37 minutes. He took 16 shots, and while the Heat did a solid job at really making him work for his points after the first quarter barrage, he missed multiple open shots. None more than the look he got at the end of overtime to tie the game.

Bonus Bucks

• You probably shouldn’t win if you let Kelly Olynyk drop 14 points and Goran Dragic score 25.
• The Bucks need Eric Bledsoe to be 100% healthy. He just doesn’t seem “right” out there.
• Brook Lopez was laying bricks out there offensively (2-of-9 shooting), but those shots will start to fall.
• George Hill was not great in 29 minutes. He finished minus-18.
• It seemed like the Bucks missed a ton of and-one opportunities against Miami.
• Milwaukee hoisted up 54 shots from three and shot only 31.5 percent.