Milwaukee vs. Oklahoma City: Bucks Survive in OKC

The Milwaukee Bucks improved to 7-3 in the early going of the 2019-2020 season with a narrow 121-119 road victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Bucks just finished a four-game Western Conference road-trip 3-1. I will take it!

Three Observations

Visibly frustrated by his first-half performance, Giannis Antetokounmpo took out his frustration in the second half against the Thunder. He was so mad, that he even kicked a hole in an OKC Thunder sign whilst walking to the locker room at halftime.

Again, he scored over 30 points with a 35 point-16 rebound double-double on Sunday. He was just getting whatever he wanted in the second half, and OKC defenders were providing no resistance in the paint whatsoever. He was efficient scoring the basketball as well, draining 13-of-19 shots overall and adding in two three-pointers, What’s scary is that it feels like he can be so much better. He finished with only three fouls as well.

Eric Bledsoe was locked in last night and helped the Bucks re-gain the lead after halftime. Going up against future Hall of Famer, and future Milwaukee Bucks point guard Chris Paul is no easy task. Bledsoe was up to the challenge though, scoring 25 points and dishing out a season-high nine helpers against his former teammate. He was attacking the rim at will and did a beautiful job distributing the basketball in pick-and-roll situations. He also made 3-of-6 three-point attempts, and it was good to see him shoot the ball with confidence.

So at what point does Sterling Brown enter the starting rotation? That is no knock on Wesley Matthews, but Sterling has been playing fantastic basketball lately. He had another strong performance against the Thunder, amassing 12 points in 18 minutes of action and hauling in three boards. Oddly enough, he finished the game minus-18 but the Bucks were operating well when he was on the floor. He was tenacious on the defensive end and continued to crash the boards relentlessly. He played an integral role in Milwaukee winning three of four games on their road trip.

Bonus Bucks

• Khris Middleton scored 10 points on 4-of-7 shooting before exiting the game in the third period with a leg contusion.
• After I tweeted out about Brook Lopez’s struggled from deep, he proved me wrong. He made 3-of-7 three-pointers including a clutch trifecta to put the Bucks in front with a few seconds left in the fourth. The reverse jinx is undefeated!

• I am still not sure why Robin Lopez sees valuable minutes on the floor.
• The Bucks turned the ball over 22 times. Not great!