Friday night’s contest against the Memphis Grizzlies wasn’t a good formula for victory for Jason Kidd’s Milwaukee Bucks. Shorthanded without Michael Carter-Williams, Jared Dudley and Jerryd Bayless, the Bucks took on one of the Western Conference’s best, which brought a rested All-Star frontcourt duo in Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph.
Gasol and Randolph sat out the night before against the Washington Wizards, and with them fresh and ready to play, the Grizz cruised to a 96-83 victory.
“You have every right to rest whoever you want,” Jason said of going up against a well-rested Memphis squad. “That’s up to the coach, management, ownership. You play 82 games to put yourself in a position to find rest for your guys. This is a long season. If you’re banged up and you pick a game that guys are going to rest, those guys who are suiting up have an obligation to go out and try to win the game. You’re still trying to compete and win, so I have no problem with that.”
Giannis Antetokounmpo did what he could to lead the shorthanded Bucks on the road. The Greek Freak played 39 minutes and scored 19 points off 7-of-10 shooting in the Bucks’ loss to the Grizzles 96-83.
Khris Middleton played 37 minutes and tallied 17 points to continue his streak of strong play, but he didn’t quite have the shot he has had of late. He and inexperienced point guard Tyler Ennis, who started in place of MCW and played 36 minutes, combined to shoot 9-of-29 from the field against a stingy Memphis defense.
As Milwaukee struggled offensively, they continued to disrupt Memphis to keep it close. The Bucks turned Memphis over 15 times, which is a norm for Coach Kidd’s ball club. Milwaukee is the only team in the NBA that has forced 10 more turnovers in every game this season.
All five Memphis starters scored in double figures, led by Courtney Lee with 17 points. Randolph had 15 points and six rebounds, while Gasol added 12 points, seven rebounds and seven assists.
With Carter-Williams’ absence meant rookie Tyler Ennis made his first NBA start. The 20-year-old Ennis was just 3-for-14 from the field and scored only seven points but had a game-high 11 assists.
Milwaukee got off to a great start, taking a 14-4 lead before the Grizzlies started to develop a rhythm. Former Bucks guard Beno Udrih and Lee each hit two jumpers, and Memphis went on an 18-6 run to take a 22-20 lead after the first quarter. After the Bucks fell behind late in the first quarter, they never led again.
The Grizzlies extended their lead to 13 points in the second quarter before Ersan Ilyasova, who finished with 12 points, sparked a Bucks surge late in the half with a pair of three-pointers.
Memphis led at halftime, 49-42, and limited the Bucks to 41.2 percent shooting (14-of-34).
The key stretch was in the second and third quarters, when the Grizzlies outscored the Bucks 56-41.
“The second and third quarters, we have been struggling a little bit defensively getting stops,” Jason said. “Those have been our highest quarters giving up points.”
Milwaukee only got the margin under double-digits once in the fourth quarter after Giannis hit an eight-footer to pull within nine, 78-69 with 8:42 left. However, that’s as close as the Bucks came. Memphis responded with a 10-2 run and never looked back.
Zaza Pachulia and Ilyasova joined Antetokounmpo and Middleton in double figures, going for 14 and 12 points respectively. However, the Bucks bench was uncharacteristically sparse. Milwaukee has boasted one of the NBA’s top second units for much of the season, but injuries limited it during this contest. The reserves combined for just 14 points on 5-of-15 shooting.
Coach Kidd was pleased with Ennis’ play in the starting lineup. A young point guard, making his first NBA start after a game-time decision put MCW out for Friday night’s matchup—Coach Kidd was realistic with his expectations and pleased with Tyler’s play.
“It wasn’t a setback,” Kidd said. “The next guy was up. Tyler stepped up, and I thought Tyler played a great game.”
NEXT UP
The Bucks (34-32) have a long rest to heal up before picking back up Tuesday night in the Big Easy, where they’ll take on the New Orleans Pelicans (36-30).
The Pelicans are in fierce competition for the eighth playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. They’re just one game behind the Oklahoma City Thunder, who currently hold the coveted final postseason slot.
They’ve won nine of their last 12 games, but they’ll be hungry for a win Tuesday after falling 118-111 to the Denver Nuggets Sunday night. NOLA got the better of J-Kidd’s squad last Monday in a 114-103 final in Milwaukee.
Tipoff for the rematch is set for 8 p.m. EDT, and the contest will be broadcast nationally on NBA TV.
