Rapid Recap: Bucks 131, Suns 140

With the news Giannis Antetokounmpo wouldn’t play for the remainder of this road trip, the Milwaukee Bucks knew they would be without their superstar for this matchup with the Phoenix Suns. Unfortunately, their defensive effort could’ve used a jolt from Giannis as Phoenix carved them up and handed them a 131-140 loss, and their first losing streak of the season. The first and second periods were travesties defensively, with the Suns hitting everything in sight en route to a 77-59 halftime advantage. In the third quarter, the Bucks finally managed to manufacture a small run, getting it to within 102-91 when the fourth started. The script continued as written though, with no surprise ending as Phoenix’s offense prevailed.

Khris Middleton started out unable to buy a basket, but bounced back with a potent scoring afternoon in Giannis’ absence with 39 points. Eric Bledsoe added on 28 in an efficient 19 shooting attempts. Credit to them, those two always tango well when Giannis sits. Donte DiVincenzo made some great drives to the hoop, ending with 16 points and seven boards.

Devin Booker was a flamethrower the entire afternoon, posting 36 points and eight assists. Ricky Rubio tacked on a triple-double with 25 points, 13 rebounds and 13 assists. Aron Baynes continued his hot shooting to finish with 24 points.

Stat that Stood Out

The Suns may have shot the lights out from deep, but the Bucks really dug themselves a hole by not posting their usual stingy numbers at the rim. Phoenix finished the game shooting 16-24 (66.7%) there, significantly above the Bucks’ season-long figure of 54%.