The new-look Milwaukee Bucks headed out for four games on the West Coast, and the road hasn’t be a welcoming place for Jason Kidd’s young squad.
After dropping a pair of close games to start the trip, the Bucks lost a third, falling 106-95 to the Denver Nuggets. But despite his team’s struggles, Coach Kidd isn’t worried—instead, he is focused on the big picture and the long run for his young squad.
“For a young team this is a good learning experience going into March where everything is heightened,” J-Kidd said of his team’s slump.
One of the youngest of the bunch, Giannis Antetokounmpo, came through with best performance since the All-Star break, scoring 19 points and pulling down 11 rebounds, but it wasn’t enough to avoid a third straight loss in five days.
While a trade shook up the Bucks squad during the waning minutes of the trade deadline, the Nuggets are going through a transition as well: The organization fired head coach Brian Shaw just hours before the game. Interim coach Melvin Hunt stepped in and the Denver players responded to put an end to their 10-game losing streak at home.
Danilo Gallinari scored a season-high 26 points; Kenneth Faried had 14 points and 14 rebounds just hours after Shaw was fired.
Coach Kidd said he had dinner with Shaw on Monday night and Shaw didn’t appear to have any idea his firing was imminent.
“This wasn’t anything, I don’t think, he saw coming,” J-Kidd said after his team’s morning practice. “It’s unfortunate what happened with B-Shaw, being one of my mentors as a player and also a good friend.”
Ersan Ilyasova paced the Bucks with 21 points on 9-of-15 shooting, while Khris Middleton had 20 points, seven rebounds and six assists.
Denver led by six after three quarters and started the fourth on an 11-2 run to go up 87-72. The Bucks scored six straight points, but Denver rookie Erick Green hit a three-pointer and was fouled. He sank the free throw to make it 91-78 with 6:08 left in the final frame.
Milwaukee got within 95-89 on a triple from Giannis but Gallinari responded with his fourth three of the night at the other end.
It was an unusually quiet night for the Bucks bench, as they combined for just 24 points. Milwaukee’s big new addition, Michael Carter-Williams, struggled to find his shot as well, going just 4-of-11 from the field for 11 points, though he did dish out five assists in the process.
Meanwhile, the other two newcomers didn’t fare much better. Miles Plumlee went scoreless, and Tyler Ennis had five points on 2-of-6 shooting. As Jason explained, the Bucks are a team still looking to mesh as the postseason draws near.
“We are trying to focus in on ourselves,” Jason said. “Trying to get better, and we have new pieces that we are still trying to get used to.”
NEXT UP
The Bucks (32-28) are trying to avoid going 0-4 on this road trip, but it won’t be easy. Milwaukee is traveling to the Bay Area to face the Golden State Warriors Wednesday night. The Warriors are the No. 1 team in the Western Conference with a 46-12 record, including a 24-2 record at Oracle Arena.
This is the first meeting between the Bucks and the Warriors this season. Golden State will come to Milwaukee in late March. For Round 1, Jason will look to draw off the luck of his former team. The Brooklyn Nets handed Golden State a 110-108 loss Monday night.
Tip off is scheduled for 10:30 p.m. ET.
