Jason Kidd and the Milwaukee Bucks didn’t finish where they hoped in 2015-16, but the season still brought some terrific times for the young squad.
As J-Kidd and Co. work toward owning the future, we’re counting down their Top 5 games from this past season, starting with a brilliant glimpse of the future provided by three of the team’s youngest players.
No. 5: Giannis, Jabari and Ennis Nullify Magic
With seven games remaining, the Bucks were out of the playoff race, but they surely didn’t show it in a 113-110 win over the Orlando Magic at the Bradley Center on April 1.
Throughout the season, the growth of Giannis Antetokounmpo and Jabari Parker was on display, as the two often played big roles in the Bucks’ outcomes. In this game in particular, the pair was making the right passes and shots all night, with Parker knocking down one shot that gave the Bucks just enough to pull out a win.
With just over 10 seconds left in the game, Parker was being guarded closely by 7-foot center Nikola Vucevic near the basket with the Bucks trailing 110-109. Parker wasn’t deterred, as he muscled his way around the other side of the basket and finished with a layup to put the Bucks ahead by one.
“I was just trying to make the right play,” Parker said. “I figured that everybody was in the paint. I had the outside advantage.”
With 3.8 seconds remaining, Tyler Ennis stepped up to the free throw line and knocked down both shots to give the Bucks a three-point cushion. That earned the 21-year-old point guard some high praise from his coach.
“Tyler’s not going to panic,” Jason said. “He’s a guy, no matter what the score, he’s always calm. He’s a point guard that is always under control. His teammates trust him.”
An Evan Fournier three-point heave at the other end fell short for the Magic and the Bucks escaped with a win.
Antetokounmpo was integral in the win, scoring 18 points, pulling down 11 rebounds and dishing out 11 assists for one of his five triple-doubles of the season. Parker led all scorers that night with 26 points, adding seven rebounds and five assists.
Milwaukee grabbed an early lead over the Magic, maintaining control nearly the entirety of the first quarter and holding a 31-22 advantage at the end of one period. The Magic eased back into the game throughout the second quarter, however, and took a 57-55 lead over the Bucks with 11 seconds left in the first half. Khris Middleton, who finished the season nearly 40 percent from the three-point arc, splashed a 27-foot three-pointer to allow the Bucks to regain the lead right before halftime 58-57.
Parker and Antetokounmpo went to work in the third quarter. With 11:03 remaining in the period, Antetokounmpo spun down the lane and threw the ball behind a defender’s back to Parker, who finished with a dunk to give the Bucks a 63-57 lead.
At 8:54, Antetokoumpo drove baseline and found Parker on the other end, and Parker slammed it for a 69-59 lead.
“We’ll see some of his finishes tonight on the highlight film,” Jason said of Parker.
The 10-point lead withered away once again, as the Magic closed in, and by the end of the quarter, the Bucks trailed 85-84.
In the fourth, the roles reversed and it was the Bucks trying to play catch-up. At 7:56 in the final period, Parker drove from the three-point arc and leapt for another dunk, this time cutting the Magic lead to three, 96-93.
The Magic held strong for most of the quarter, but at 1:16, Ennis drove for a layup to push the Bucks in front 109-108. A pair of Vucevic free throws on the other end switched the lead back to the Magic, but Parker made him pay on the other end to change that.
The poise shown by Ennis at the free throw line, and the tough play of Parker late, came as shining examples of the maturity Jason’s young players showed late in the season, giving Milwaukee optimism for what’s to come in the future.
