Milwaukee vs. Brooklyn: Bucks Net Win In Brooklyn

The Milwaukee Bucks picked up their 4th consecutive win by 10+ points with a 113-94 triumph on the road against the Brooklyn Nets. It was not the best first half for the Bucks, but they still found themselves up 51-42 going into the locker room. The second half was a different story, and Milwaukee put Brooklyn away early in the third. The Bucks don’t just win, they obliterate their opponents. Here are three observations from their 39th victory of the season.

Even with the three not falling consistently, the Bucks still put up 113.

They shot just 10-of-39 (25.6%) from deep but kept finding an easy way to score against the Nets. Between Milwaukee’s starting five, they combined to shoot 5-of-23 from the perimeter. It’s not often that Brook Lopez, Khris Middleton and Malcolm Brogdon are chucking up bricks from deep, but that was the case last night. Most of their attempts were good looks, and a handful of them rimmed out. It was a strange game offensively for both sides, as the Nets made just 5 three-pointers as a team. Oy vey.

Milwaukee stymied Brooklyn on the defensive end.

The Nets, typically a very good shooting team overall, made just 32.4 percent of their shots and 11.9 percent of their threes. Point guard D’Angelo Russell made just 7-of-20 shots and was being bothered all night by whoever the Bucks were throwing at him defensively. He did not have a lot of clean looks in this one. Shabazz Napier missed all 10 of his three-point attempts, and Rodions Kurucs “made” 2-of-10 shots. In fact, the only player in the Nets starting five to shoot over 50 percent was Jarrett Allen, who made 4-of-7 shots for 8 points, 11 rebounds and 4 blocks. He also met Giannis Antetokounmpo at the rim and stifled his layup...again. He’s so good.

The Bucks had 29 assists compared to only 9 turnovers.

Brooklyn played a zone for the majority of the game, but the Bucks were still tremendously active offensively. Aside from the pristine ball movement, there was also a ton of off-ball screens and backdoor cuts happening. Not only did Giannis have his fingerprints all over the game with nine dimes, but Khris Middleton and Eric Bledsoe broke down the defense multiple times. The off-ball activity really opened up things offensively for the Bucks, especially since the three was not falling. The Bucks are already so incredibly difficult to stop offensively, it’s just not fair for their opponents when they aren’t turning the ball over. I feel bad for the rest of the NBA.

Bonus Bucks Bits

Thon Maker was the only active Buck who didn’t get a second of playing time tonight. In his stead, the Christian Woodlands got a small fix tonight, with Wood finishing down low, flashing some dribbling skill in the open court and drawing five foul shots in just three minutes.

We don’t see nearly as much Planer Pat Connaughton as we used to, so we have to enjoy what we have. Namely, this monster putback: