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For the first time since January 6, the Milwaukee Bucks have lost a basketball game.
Well, it was definitely a unique start to this one. Since it was Greek Night, we ended up getting Thanasis Antetokounmpo in the starting lineup. And...it was fun and exciting! At one point, the Bucks would be up by as many as 12 points. Denver would float around but for the most part, the first quarter began to Milwaukee. Aided by the continued sharp-shooting of Khris Middleton (who tallied 13 points in the quarter), the Bucks led 43-35 going into the second.
Denver would start to cook things up in the second, especially from 3-point land. However, it wouldn’t stop the Bucks. The All-Star duo of Khris Middleton and Giannis Antetokounmpo (who nearly notched a trible-double in the opening 24 minutes) paced Milwaukee enough to grant them a 67-60 halftime lead.
A cold shooting Bucks team would come out of the locker room, and Denver took advantage by tying things up. While the Bucks remained icy, Denver remained hot. They’d get hot enough to the point where they’d extend their lead to double digits, their largest lead of the night to that point. It definitely ended up being a quarter the Bucks would want to forget, as Denver’s 40 points scored granted them a 100-91 lead going into the fourth.
Milwaukee would make their attempt at a comeback throughout the fourth. The Nuggets’ lead would expand to 14 points at one point, but the Bucks remained in it by just single digits throughout the fourth. However, the Bucks couldn’t get over the hump of the invincible 3-point shooting from Denver, and the visiting team escaped with a 127-115 victory.
Stat That Stood Out
Right from the beginning of this one, Denver was shooting at an insane clip. It made you wonder if they’d be able to keep it up, but that moment would never come. By the end of the game, their 3-point percentage would sit at an insane 47.8 percent. We’ve seen that as the common theme every time the Bucks have either struggled or lost this season — hot shooting from the opposing team and cold shooting from the Bucks. Definitely an outlier game, but nonetheless, still super annoying.