Milwaukee vs. Los Angeles: Bucks Swarm Clippers

The Milwaukee Bucks took care of the visiting Los Angeles Clippers 128-118 to earn their 57th victory of the season. The win at Fiserv Forum also pushed their record to 32-6 when playing at home. The Los Angeles Clippers were without Lou Williams and Patrick Beverly last night, but the feisty Clips hung around for a little bit...until Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Bucks flipped the switch. Here are three Bucks who helped propel Milwaukee to victory.

Is there anything Giannis Antetokounmpo can’t do?

I mean, come on. Every game we are treated to a handful of plays that make our jaws drop and wonder if Giannis was actually constructed inside a Russian laboratory. In 32 minutes, he made 10-of-18 shots from the field while scoring 34 points and chipping in nine rebounds, and five assists. It was another all-around masterpiece for the NBA MVP front-runner, as Los Angeles simply had no answer for him. However, Antetokounmpo had a brief scare midway through the fourth quarter when he twisted his ankle while jogging back on offense. He was down for a few seconds before getting up and walking to the bench with a heavy limp. He tried to check back in later in the fourth with Milwaukee up 13, so crisis averted.

Khris Middleton is still dropping buckets as you are reading this.

He was unstoppable last night and did a fantastic job at getting into his comfort zone offensively to knock down easy shots. He scored 39 points while also adding nine rebounds and five assists in 33 minutes. Middleton was hitting from all angles of the floor while hitting 16-of-25 field goals, and 4-of-7 three-pointers. He was so hot, most of his made shots did not even touch the rim. Don’t look now, but he’s been on a tear since the All-Star break, averaging 20.8 points, seven rebounds, and 4.7 assists per game. Oh, and he’s knocking down 38% of his three-pointers. He is good at basketball.

Sterling Brown is a bad man.

In the best way possible. It’s hard not to be enamoured with how much energy he plays with on both ends of floor, and he has definitely boosted this Bucks’ team ceiling since returning from injury. In last night’s win, he scored a career-high 15 points on 6-of-10 shooting in 24 minutes. He also sank 3-of-6 three-point attempts and is seemingly always in the right place at the right time. He got himself a few wide open looks from deep just by staying active and moving without the ball. Look for his role to expand with the multitude of injuries the Milwaukee Bucks are dealing with at the moment.

Bonus Bucks

• Point guard Eric Bledsoe chipped in with 15 points, seven rebounds, and eight assists on Thursday night.
• Brook Lopez drained 4-of-8 shots to tally 12 points and nine rebounds.
• Ersan Ilyasova scored two points in 22 minutes, yet still ended plus-20. Oh, Ersan.
• The Bucks shot 52.3% overall and 43.2% from deep.
• Also: why was Bryan Hollins on the FSWI broadcast last night? I am still confused. I need answers, y’all.