Bucks Move to 10-8 Over Holiday

Jason Kidd’s first season in Milwaukee has been a huge success thus far, and the hot start only continued over the long Thanksgiving weekend.

The Bucks moved to 10-8 this past weekend after going 2-1 over holiday by defeating Minnesota and Detroit on the road before losing a tough one to Houston at home.

The Bucks have won three of their last four games by showing their defensive dominance, holding all three teams in those wins to under 90 points. Despite being one of the NBA’s youngest teams and starting two players under the age of 20, the Bucks have emerged as one of the league’s most impressive squads in the early going.

However, Coach Kidd hasn’t been surprised. Ahead of the team’s Tuesday night tilt in Cleveland, he talked about just how the Young Bucks have gotten to where they are through the first month.

“I don’t want to say it has been hard,” Jason said. “Energy and effort has been what we’ve talked about from day one. As a team, as individuals, what can we do to help ourselves become a better team? If we give energy and effort, the talent will come out naturally. We really concentrate on energy and effort, and everything else kind of falls into place.”

YOUTH RISING IN MINNESOTA

That energy and effort Jason has been preaching was certainly there when the Bucks hit the road to take on the Minnesota Timberwolves, and it showed up most in the fourth quarter.

The Wolves, who also boast a young-but-talented roster, gave Milwaukee all it could handle through much of the contest. The game featured 10 lead changes and 10 ties, but the largest advantage the Wolves managed was just three points.

A shaky start from point guard Brandon Knight had things looking dull in the early going on Wednesday night in Minneapolis. Knight scored just two points in the first three quarters, but he found his rhythm late by attacking the basket.

Throughout the night, the Bucks struggled shooting from outside, but they didn’t let those issues lead to struggles on the inside—or on the defensive end. Milwaukee countered its rough shooting from beyond the arc by pounding the paint for a 54-38 inside advantage.

Those efforts down low helped to keep the Bucks neck-and-neck with the Wolves and take a two-point, 72-70, lead to the final frame. That, coupled with fantastic defensive play, slated Minnesota with little left in the tank for the final 12 minutes.

The Bucks bench combined for 39 points in the first three quarters to set up an enormous fourth posted by the fresh starting unit.

“Our second group (late in the third) got defensive-minded and rebounded the ball,” J-Kidd said. “In the beginning of the fourth quarter, (the starters) picked it right back up. We found a way to win on the road.”

In the fourth, the Bucks starting five took over, holding the Wolves to 30 percent shooting to run away with a 103-86 win. Knight had 13 of his 15 points in the fourth. All five Milwaukee starters were in double figures, while Ersan Ilyasova and Khris Middleton had 12 and 11 respectively in reserve roles.

As a team, the Bucks shot 94.7 percent (18-of-19) from the free-throw line.

Wednesday’s contest marked the first game in NBA history in which four teenagers played. Not only did the four 19-year-olds play, but Giannis Antetokounmpo and Jabari Parker started for Milwaukee, while Andrew Wiggins and Zach LaVine were also in the first five for Minnesota.

The teenage duo for Milwaukee played well against the T’Wolves; Parker tallied 11 points and five rebounds while Giannis scored 13 points and ripped down eight boards. After the game, The Greek Freak said was proud to be a part of a historic moment in the league, but he also thanked Jason for putting him into a major role on the squad.

“It’s always a good day to make history,” Giannis said of being part of the four teenagers story. “First of all, we’ve got to thank our coach for starting us and giving us trust.”

Center Larry Sanders finished with 15 points in the victory, and the Milwaukee rim protector also had five blocks. Two of Larry’s swats came in the fourth quarter, including a block on Thaddeus Young with about seven minutes to go in regulation. His efforts throughout were a driving force behind the big road win.

“The big thing is we found a way to win on the road. Our defense, Larry and those guys were playing at a very high level,” Jason said.

BENCH BLASTS DETROIT

Friday night against the Pistons, it was another collective effort that gave the Bucks another win. Nine of the 10 Milwaukee players to suit up played 22 minutes or more, and four finished with double figures.

Most impressively, all four to break 10 points came in off the bench. Ilyasova paced the team with 22 points, and Jared Dudley added 16, as they ran by Detroit with ease, 104-88. Not one starter played more than 30 minutes in the contest, continuing the trend of tremendous bench play in Milwaukee.

“I don’t know if we’re looking to be first or second (in bench scoring), but if you look at the group of guys, they came off and gave us a spark and they finished the game out,” Kidd said. “That just shows the maturity of that group and also as a team we’re getting better at closing games out.”

Khris Middleton pitched in with 12, and Jerryd Bayless scored 10 as the Milwaukee bench outscored Detroit’s back-ups, 69-13. The Bucks made 13 threes on the night, all coming off the hands of reserve players.

“This was just a great team effort,” J-Kidd said. “Everyone was going to get a chance to help us win this game, and all 10 guys pitched in. We were turning down good shots in order to get better shots. That’s playing at a high level.”

Behind D.J. Augustin, the Pistons raced out to a 29-25 lead in a game that saw the lead change hands seven times. Then in the second, the Bucks’ reserves had their revenge. Dudley splashed a trio of three-pointers, and the group defensively held Detroit to just 16 points to take an eight-point lead into the locker room.

Detroit chipped three points off that lead in the third, but similar to the previous game, the Bucks just took over in the fourth.

Ersan hit a 27-foot 3-pointer to start the fourth, then converted an old-fashioned 3-point-play, and finished off his scoring streak with a lay in assisted by Kendall Marshall. In less than three minutes, the five-point Milwaukee lead ballooned to a 13-point advantage: 85-72.

Derek didn’t play his starters at all in the final frame, as the second unit dominated on both ends of the floor. Kendall Marshall added six points off the bench in the fourth and finished with nine points and eight assists in the win.

Marshall had only logged more than six minutes in two games this season, but he was selfless in 24 minutes against Detroit, leaving J-Kidd thrilled with his selflessness and overall performance.

“We played through him in that stretch,” Coach Kidd said. “We trust when he has the ball he’s going to make the right play and he’s going to find his teammates.”

The matchup was the second time the two teams faced off in the same week, both of which the Bucks won the battle on the glass. J-Kidd’s ball club had a 50-36 rebounding advantage in a win at home Tuesday and held a 44-39 edge Friday.

THE BEARD BEATS THE DEER

After winning three straight, two on the road, the Bucks had their hands full with James Harden. J-Kidd knew it was going to be a challenge.

“Harden is one of the top players in the world,” Jason said. “We just have to try and make it tough. He is going to make a lot of tough shots, he is going to have a lot of attempts at shots, but we just have to try and make it as hard as possible…do the best we can to try and keep him off the free throw line.”

Unfortunately, Jason’s forecast was right, and Harden was simply too much for the Bucks at the end of a long week. Shooting an extremely efficient 9-of-14 from the field, including 4-of-5 from the 3-point line, Harden poured in 34 points as he led his Rockets team to a 117-103 victory over the Bucks. Harden boosted his stat line even more with eight assists, six rebounds and four steals.

“You’re talking about one of the best players in the game,” Coach Kidd said. “He got going there in the second half. Giving up second and third opportunities against a team that shoots the three can put you in harm’s way, and it did tonight.”

Parker did the best he could to go pound-for-pound with Harden, but it just wasn’t enough. Parker scored a team-high 19 points and pulled down nine rebounds in the loss, while Ilyasova had 18 points off the bench and Giannis added 17 points and seven rebounds.

It was only a 7-point halftime lead for Houston after Giannis dunked the ball for the final points of the half off an O.J. Mayo assist. Going into the third quarter, the Rockets continued to feed Harden, and he continued to make play after play. Harden started slowly, taking just one shot in the first quarter. But he was 5-for-5 at the line in the second quarter and started to get into a rhythm. Then he connected for 19 points in the third quarter as the Rockets outscored the Bucks, 32-26.

“We were just trying to give him different looks,” Jason said. “We got the ball out of his hands, and then the ball tends to find the best player on the floor. They found him with the shot clock running out a couple times and he knocked down threes.”

Houston made 15 3-pointers in the game on 38 attempts, while Milwaukee only converted six 3-pointers on 19 attempts. Ironically, the Bucks killed Houston at the line, the Bucks were 31-of-35 from the charity stripe, while the Rockets only got there 16 times and converted 14 of them. 13 of the attempts were Harden’s. Donatas Motiejunas scored 20 to help Harden in the victory.

J-Kidd talked about the progression of the Rockets squad that is playing great basketball thus far this season, and how they have bought into coach Kevin McHale’s system.

“They believe in their philosophy and that’s why they’ve been one of the best teams in this league. They spread you out,” Coach Kidd said. “This is without Howard and a couple other guys. Their system works. You have to give multiple efforts on the defensive end and you’ve got to take care of the ball on the offensive end, and we didn’t do that tonight.”