Jason Kidd and the Milwaukee Bucks made it three wins in a row Thursday night when they defeated the Brooklyn Nets 111-93.
The Bucks only led by one in the third quarter but blew the game open with a 14-2 run and 38-27 total quarter score.
“The ball was a little sticky there in that first half. It wasn’t moving like it was in Cleveland and then we talked about it at halftime, made the adjustments, the guys came out and great effort to start that third and moving the ball,” Jason said. “But defensively that’s where it all starts with us, when we can hold teams under 100, it gives us a chance to win.”
Giannis Antetokounmpo made a bid for another triple-double, but with such a large lead, Coach Kidd decided to give his young star a rest for the entire fourth quarter.
“I don’t know what the stats are, maybe I messed him up by not being able to get it, that’s a hot thing right now,” Jason said. “But I thought his intent was at a very high level, and when you can play like that to get rest, that you don’t have to come back in the fourth, that your teammates pick you up, I think that just shows the maturity level that our young team is starting to grow.”
Antetokounmpo finished the game with 23 points, eight rebounds, eight assists and four steals.
Jabari Parker added 22 points, while Tony Snell and Malcolm Brogdon both had solid shooting nights with both adding three three-pointers.
“I think we got the ball moving, but it all starts with our defense. We got stops, and then we got it in the open court and we started to share the ball. I thought the ball moved a lot better there in the second half,” J-Kidd said. “We got stops, we got out and ran; Giannis made some great plays offensively finding the shooters.”
Jason was very pleased with his team’s defensive performance, especially on Brook Lopez, who finished the game with only 15 points and four rebounds.
“I thought they did a great job. It’s hard to win on the road no matter who you’re playing against and Brooklyn plays hard,” Coach Kidd said. “Again, I thought the bench was into the game cheering for the guys that were on the floor.”
The Bucks will play again on Saturday night, this time hosting the Nets.
