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The Milwaukee Bucks were able to breeze past the Washington Wizards 131-115 to earn their 38th victory of the season.
The Bucks were led by Giannis Antetokounmpo who dropped 37 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 steals in 33 minutes. He was able to get to the rim with ease, and the Wizards simply had no answer for him defensively. More importantly, though, Giannis connected on 17-of-17 free throws which are a career-best. Poor Sam Dekker never stood a chance.
Giannis going coast to coast!#FearTheDeer pic.twitter.com/thvZYWJYuF
— Cream City Central (@CreamCityCtral) February 3, 2019
Brook Lopez and Khris Middleton also played their part in helping the Bucks build a huge lead in the second half. Splash Mountain finished with 21 points and 6 rebounds while knocking down 7-of-9 shots. As for Khash, he did not disappoint with 20 points, 7 rebounds, and 6 assists. Lopez finished plus-30 and Middleton plus-28.
#KhrisMiddleton with one hand... it goes! #FearTheDeer pic.twitter.com/ERcO9JSR02
— NBA (@NBA) February 3, 2019
Stop me if you heard this before, but Malcolm Brogdon had another solid performance finishing with 15 points, 9 rebounds, and 5 assists in 27 minutes. He sank 2-of-4 shots from downtown and continues to impress. Without point guard Eric Bledsoe, that shifted Tony Snell into the lineup where he chipped in 10 points, 3 rebounds, and 5 assists. Snell was active on both ends and even had a nice Pat Connaughton-esque backdoor cut in the first half. He’s another Buck who is quietly putting together a solid season. The Bucks also got 10 points from George Hill off the bench.
As for the Washington Wizards, they are a bad basketball team right now...even though they’re better with John Wall out. They were led by Bradley Beal who scored 24 points, but also finished minus-17. Otto Porter Jr. added 18 and Jeff Green poured in 20 points including one monster jam on D.J. Wilson.
Stat That Stood Out: 30
The Bucks handed out 30 assists on 45 made field goals against Washington, and the ball was zipping around the court all night. This has played an integral role in the success of the Bucks this season, and it’s something that we failed to see much of last season. It’s quite impressive how concerted of an effort the Bucks do on making the extra pass. Countless times they passed up good shots for better shots, and that’s what separates good teams from great teams.