Rapid Recap Game 2 vs. Brooklyn: Bucks 86, Nets 125

After a worryingly uncompetitive Game 1 loss, the Milwaukee Bucks were utterly annihilated by the Brooklyn Nets tonight by the score of 125-86.

NBA.com Box Score

Kevin Durant (13 points while playing the entire period) and Kyrie Irving had their way with the Bucks defense in the first quarter, while on the other end Milwaukee looked disinterested in and incapable of scoring, with 5 turnovers, cold shooting (8/23), and essentially zero ball movement. Meanwhile, Brooklyn shot a white-hot 60.7% and led 36-19 after one.

The second quarter did not see any improvement as the Nets stayed hot and proceeded to blow the doors off the Bucks. This game felt over midway through the period as the Nets built their lead to 27 and led 65-41 going into the locker room. Milwaukee inexplicably continued going with isolation plays that Brooklyn easily snuffed out.

More of the same in the second half as Milwaukee’s offensive ineptitude continued while Brooklyn continued to make nearly every shot, even when there any semblance of defense. It seems that the Nets may have been sandbagging on defense a bit in the regular season with their 21st ranking, as Milwaukee could simply not create good looks at all this game, or this series so far. The Nets extended their lead to 30 after the third quarter, and from that 95-65 advantage held serve as the Bucks waved the white flag and inserted the bench with about 9 minutes remaining. The lead grew as big as 49 at one point.

Kevin Durant led all scorers with 32 points, only missing 6 of 18 shots. Giannis Antetokounmpo was the high man for the Bucks at only 18 points. After this gut punch, Milwaukee’s season is nearing life support as they return home down 0-2 after showing little ability to stop their opponent. They inexplicably cannot score on the other end not even mustering 90 points. Somehow, they need to bounce back after being demoralized by 39 points.

Stat That Stood Out

There are many numbers that can tell how much of a beatdown the Nets laid on the Bucks, but I’ll go with one that put the game out of reach early. The turnover differential at half was 9-3 in favor of the Nets with a 14-0 advantage in points scored off them. Those numbers eventually ended up at 16-8 and 23-9 at the buzzer. Inexcusable.

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