Milwaukee Bucks head coach Jason Kidd has been emphasizing the defensive end and his team has been listening.
The Bucks shut down the Denver Nuggets Monday night, snapping a three-game skid with a convincing 92-74 victory. Last night’s contest marked the second consecutive game that Milwaukee’s defense has shown up in a big way. On Sunday night, the Bucks allowed only 87 to the Charlotte Hornets, but their offense wasn’t there. Both the defense and offense came to play against the Nuggets. J-Kidd’s group forced 24 Nuggets turnovers, earning some praise from their head coach.
“It was a carry over from last night. I thought the guys played great defensively. We got some great looks offensively that didn’t go down,” Coach Kidd told reporters. “I think, as a whole, they carried over from last night. Again, playing on a back-to-back situation, I thought the energy and effort was there defensively.”
This also marked the second straight game with Jason’s altered lineup. Point guard Michael Carter-Williams and small forward Jabari Parker once again came off the bench, while Jerryd Bayless and O.J. Mayo started. MCW and Jabari combined for 28 points, 10 assists and 10 rebounds with only two turnovers. Jason lauded their unselfish play in the victory.
“We’re looking for Michael to be able to run that group, and then also for Jabari to do what he does best and that’s score the ball,” Jason revealed. “I thought he got some great looks, he’s a very unselfish player. When you have those two coming off the bench also we look at our tempo being a little bit faster. Being able to run with Henson and it could be
[Khris] Middleton or it could be O.J. [Mayo] and then you also have some extra shooting out there when you have those type of guys out there with that group.”Parker had 10 points in the first quarter, and Khris Middleton matched that with 10 of his own thanks to three connections from beyond the arc. The Bucks shot 55.6 percent, forced nine turnovers and led 28-23 after one quarter of play.
The team’s strong defensive play continued in the second quarter, where Milwaukee generated eight points off of five turnovers. Reserve center John Henson had two blocks in the second period, and he too was on Jason’s checklist of top performers. He had eight points, seven rebounds, three blocks, two assists and a steal—and the Bucks were plus-15 with him on the floor.
“Well I think a lot of times sometimes our bigs just want to touch the ball. And, I thought tonight was a perfect example of that, him [Henson] running and being able to touch the ball,” J-Kidd told the media. “Even if he didn’t score it, just feeling involved and that goes for any basketball player, you just want to touch it or be involved. And, I thought tonight the guys did a really good job in letting him touch it and actually going to finish or make a play for a teammate.”
Milwaukee held just a two-point lead at the half, but it used defense to extend that advantage a bit in the third. The Bucks added another six turnovers to the tally. Six of their 21 third-quarter points came on fast breaks and they held an 18-9 advantage in that category on the night. Through the game, they earned a staggering 35 points off turnovers. Needless to say, the Milwaukee head coach enjoyed his team’s defensive play.
“I think you could see that guys are turning the page and understanding what we’re trying to get done defensively in the last two games,” he said. “They’re getting better.”
Jason’s squad held a seven-point lead going into the fourth, and they went right back to the well, leaning on stifling defense to close it out. Coach Kidd kept the same five players—Mayo, Bayless, Carter-Williams, Parker and Henson—on the floor for the majority of the fourth quarter, and they brought a plus-15 scoring advantage.
“One of the biggest stats for us is the plus-minus. Juice (Mayo) only had nine points and had a bigger impact of plus-23. When you have that kind of impact without scoring the ball or having a typical scoring night for him, it just shows that it was on the other end, the defensive end.”
Milwaukee held Denver to just 31.3 percent shooting in the fourth and a 37.5 percent clip throughout the game. Jason liked what he saw on Monday night, and he hopes the Bucks can carry that forward into Wednesday’s meeting with the San Antonio Spurs.
“Now we go back out on the road against a very talented team in San Antonio so we’re going to need that defense to compete and to win on the road.”
NEXT UP
The Bucks (7-11) travel to San Antonio to face the Spurs (14-4) who are undefeated (9-0) at home this season.
If Jason and Spurs coach Gregg Popovich have their way, it’ll be a defensive battle. San Antonio leads the NBA in defense, allowing just 89.8 points per game.
The contest begins at 7:30 p.m. CT at the AT&T Center and will be broadcast on FOX Sports Wisconsin.
