Jason Kidd’s Milwaukee Bucks were up late looking for their second win against the 24-1 Golden State Warriors, but the defending NBA champions were just too good late. However, the young Bucks concluded their Western Conference road trip with a 101-95 win over the Phoenix Suns on Sunday.
However, even in the tough defeat on the road against Golden State, Coach Kidd saw an impressive performance out of his squad.
“They hit shots, and the tide turned,” Jason said. “For us, a lot of good things came out of this. We competed. If we play with that kind of energy every time we take the court, we’ll win a lot more games.”
The Bucks brought similar energy Sunday, looking to finish out a tough West Coast road trip with a victory. After three straight losses, going back to their Dec. 13 victory over the Warriors that spoiled the champs’ 24-0 start, Jason was glad his team brought passion to end the spell of disappointment.
“I think when you look at the end of the last game of a road trip, maybe feeling down, I thought the guys competed for 48 minutes. We didn’t end that first half on the right note, but I thought the energy and effort defensively in that third quarter got us going,” Coach Kidd said. “Offensively, we’re sharing the ball. Guys made big plays.”
NEARLY 24-2
The Bucks and Warriors both came out firing in a wild first quarter. Golden State was out for revenge, while Milwaukee was looking to make it a two-game series sweep over the defending NBA champions on their home floor.
Jason’s crew shot 59.1 percent, paced by a combined 23 points by Michael Carter-Williams and Khris Middleton. Through 11 lead changes and three ties through the first 12 minutes, Khris and MCW outplayed Golden State’s All-NBA backcourt. Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson combined for 19 points in the first, but Milwaukee led 36-33 after one.
The Bucks frontcourt took its turn and took control of the game in the second quarter. Giannis Antetokounmpo tallied nine points, three assists and two rebounds, while Jabari Parker had eight points. Meanwhile, Greg Monroe anchored them in the middle with four points and six rebounds in the period.
Thanks to 12 points in the paint and 60 percent shooting, Milwaukee took a 12-point lead, 70-58 into halftime.
MCW started the second have with a layup off the drive, and Middleton followed with a three to make it a 15-point advantage. Monroe later dropped in two points down low to keep that cushion, but the Warriors fought their way back.
Golden State shaved the Milwaukee lead down to three with just over three minutes to go, but the Bucks closed the quarter on a run. Carter-Williams hit a three, and O.J. Mayo was fouled shooting a three-pointer and cashed in all three points at the line. Moments later, Parker rose and slammed it home off the drive to put the Bucks back up by eight, which is where it stood going into the final quarter.
Mayo and Antetokounmpo pushed the lead to 11 early in the final period, but that’s where Draymond Green took over. The Warrior forward put together a single-handed eight-point run, which Curry then capped with three points at the free throw line to tie the game at 100.
Curry hit back-to-back buckets to give Golden State the lead for good with 2:16 to go. But even still, the Warriors weren’t done. An Andre Iguodala three-pointer made it a seven-point lead, and they went 10-of-10 from the free throw line in the final two minutes to prevent Milwaukee’s attempts at a late comeback.
STAYING HOT IN PHOENIX
J-Kidd and Milwaukee took their energy and competitive fire from Oakland into Talking Stick Resort Arena in Phoenix to face the Suns. Jason saw several carryovers from a strong performance against the Warriors.
Among them: overall defensive play and offensive ball movement. Milwaukee scored 21 points off 21 turnovers, while on the other end, eight players scored six or more points, and the Bucks tallied 25 assists.
“For us, making plays on the defensive end and on the offensive end sharing the ball. Guys were sharing and making plays, and when you draw up a play and someone else gets a shot that’s when as a coach you’re happy,” Jason said. “We feel everybody is live on our team and setting screens and sharing the ball was big going down the stretch.”
The Bucks jumped out to an early lead behind some brilliant play from Khris Middleton. The Milwaukee swingman went 3-for-3 for seven points in the first quarter. He finished with 26 and was plus-17 for the contest. He also finished with a team high seven assists.
“I thought Khris was great. He got going, John was trying to get him open and I thought Michael was trying to get him the ball and he made some shots.” Jason said. “Being able to use Khris when he gets going like that, being able to set back screens or screens for one another, and I thought Khris was unselfish by giving himself up to get a teammate a shot.”
The Bucks led by as much as 11, but the Suns closed the first on a 10-2 run to cut the Milwaukee lead to just one, 27-26, at the end of the first quarter. Phoenix built on that momentum in the second. T.J. Warren came through with 12 points off the bench, and the home team took a 53-45 lead into the half.
In the third, Jason’s crew got back to its defensive ways. The Bucks forced seven turnovers and held the Suns to 33.3 percent shooting from the floor. Phoenix led by 15 early in the third quarter, but the Bucks closed it out on a 17-3 run to go into the final period down one, 71-70.
Carter-Williams tied the game early in the fourth, but the Suns stretched it back out. At this point, Jason saw that his young point guard needed a breather. As MCW rested, J-Kidd turned to rookie Rashad Vaughn to fill the void.
The team’s first round draft pick hit a three to cut the lead to four. Middleton then followed suit after a Phoenix timeout, and Vaughn then put the Bucks in the lead, 88-86, hitting yet another shot from beyond the arc.
After the game, Jason revealed that, during a timeout, one of the team’s veteran guards in Mayo urged the first-year player to fire at will. Vaughn listened and put Milwaukee in position to win.
“Juice, one of our leaders, in one of the timeouts told Vaughn we need you to shoot the ball. And, Vaughn’s a basketball player, he can put it on the floor and get to the basket and he made two big threes after Juice had told him that he needed to shoot the ball,” Jason said. “So, it was good to see the rook respond in that positive way and understanding that we need everybody to play their role and Vaughn definitely helped…“Vaughn was up for the challenge defensively and offensively. Michael has been logging a lot of minutes for us, so I thought Michael coming in late, being fresh, being able to make plays defensively and offensively helped us win the game.”
The Suns battled back to take a two-point lead when MCW re-entered with less than two minutes to go. He knocked down a floater, and after a Mayo block, Monroe converted in the paint to put the Bucks back up by two.
Then Carter-Williams came through with a big defensive play, blocking an Eric Bledsoe shot to preserve Milwaukee’s two-point advantage. The former rookie of the year flirted with a triple-double, tallying 20 points, nine rebounds and three assists while adding a block and a steal.
“He’s got a great pace and rhythm right now to the game,” Jason said of his young point guard. “He’s finding guys, he’s attacking, meaning he’s getting downhill. And, the other side that people might not talk about is his defense. He plays on both sides of the ball for us.”
After MCW’s clutch defensive play, the Bucks closed it out at the line. In the final five seconds, Middleton went 4-for-4 from the charity stripe to put the finishing touches on a hard-fought victory and snap the team’s 12-game road losing streak.
“For us, it’s about playing hard and energy and effort. We felt like the last two games we’re starting to do that on a consistent basis,” J-Kidd told reporters. “So, streaks that’s up for the media to talk about. For us, right now, just to concentrate on our energy and effort.”
