Jason Kidd’s Milwaukee Bucks got back to the basics Wednesday night, and it brought them back to the win column.
The Bucks snapped a five-game losing streak with a 105-94 win over the Phoenix Suns at the BMO Harris Bradley Center. Khris Middleton topped all scorers with 26 points, and Jabari Parker added 21 point.
“We got stops when he had to, and Khris made shots,” Jason said. “He was making shots all night. It was really simple. We got stops and came back on the other end and scored.”
The Bucks made a strong effort guarding the three-point line, as they limited the Suns to 5-of-24 (20.8 percent) from beyond the arc. The Milwaukee defense was relentless, forcing 24 turnovers as well. Jason revealed after the game how the team was so prolific at defending the three.
“The last couple of days we played a little 4-on-4, which is harder. You take a guy off the floor, and now it’s even harder to guard the three-point line in a pick-and-roll situation. I thought the guys did a really good job the last two days of getting ready to guard the three-point line,” Jason said. “We knew that coming into tonight’s game. The league is going that way and we have to get better at it.”
The Bucks trailed the Suns 16-11 in the first quarter, but Giannis Antetokounmpo drove down the left side of the lane and finished with a dunk to narrow that lead to 16-13 with 6:55 remaining. A pair of Greg Monroe free throws pushed the Bucks lead to 22-21 with 4:30 left in the first quarter. Phoenix regained the lead, however, and took a 32-28 advantage into the second quarter.
Greivis Vasquez made his return after undergoing ankle surgery early in the season. In his first game since Nov. 27, he tossed out three assists early in the second quarter. The third went out to guard Tyler Ennis. He dropped in a reverse layup for two of his 10 points, giving the Bucks a 34-32 lead.
The Suns kept the game close throughout the second quarter, but Milwaukee started to pull away late. A Middleton long-range three-pointer with 25 seconds left in the first half gave the Bucks a 53-47 halftime lead.
Just when Vasquez returned to the Bucks backcourt, Jerryd Bayless left in the first half with an injury. Rookie Rashad Vaughn stepped up in his stead, contributing eight points and threw down less than a minute into the third quarter to put the Bucks ahead 57-47.
“I don’t know the status on Bayless, we’ll know more tomorrow, but I thought Vaughn was a positive,” Jason said. “Being able to step in when Bayless was out I thought his minutes on the floor — more defensively — were at a high level. Offensively will come…but I thought his intensity, his energy against
[Devin] Booker was at a very high level.”
The rookie guard knocked down a trey with 7:05 left in the third quarter to extend the Bucks lead to 67-53. Two minutes later, Antetokounmpo sliced through the lane for a layup to push the Bucks to a 72-60 lead.
Giannis attempted just five shots on the night, scoring 10 points. But he turned in a team-high six assists and had the Milwaukee offense humming all night long.
“Any time you have the ball 90 percent of the time it’s not always about numbers, it’s about winning, and understanding how to use those numbers to win,” Jason said of Antetokounmpo. “He has teammates who know how to score the basketball…You have to sacrifice, and I thought Giannis did a good job tonight sacrificing.”
Antetokounmpo didn’t have his usual double-double or triple-double stat line, but he made shots when it mattered. His 10 points, included a tough layup through contact with 3:22 remaining in the game to push his team to a 92-88 lead.
The Suns had fought back throughout the fourth quarter to make it a one-possession game, but Middleton ceased their hopes of a comeback victory when he drained a three-pointer right in front of the Phoenix bench with 1:05 on the clock to put the Bucks ahead 101-94.
Parker hit a couple free throws and Vaughn added one more three-pointer with 25 seconds left to wrap up the win.
NEXT UP
The Bucks host the Orlando Magic (31-43) Friday at the Bradley Center. The Magic had lost six straight prior to winning their last two games against the Chicago Bulls and Brooklyn Nets. In their most recent game, the Magic scored a season-high 139 points in a 24-point victory over the Nets.
The Bucks and Magic have split results on their two meetings this season. The Magic won at home on Nov. 27 in a 114-90 victory over the Bucks. In their most recent matchup on Jan. 26, Middleton dropped 25 points in a 107-100 win at the Bradley Center.
The game tips at 7 p.m. CT on Fox Sports Wisconsin.
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