The NBA playoffs are still a couple of weeks away, but Jason Kidd and the Milwaukee Bucks got their weekend started with a game that had all the feelings of a playoff atmosphere in a 100-97 victory over the Atlanta Hawks.
“I think it was a playoff type game. Everybody’s fighting for pole position, we’re trying to climb up the latter, Atlanta is trying to hold on to the fifth or even get up to the fourth spot,” Jason said. “So understanding intensity, I thought the guys handled it well, being on the road I thought the energy and effort was great from the guys.”
Milwaukee got off to a strong start, but the Hawks finished the second quarter on a 13-2 run to pull within two by halftime.
Then in the second half, the two teams fighting for playoff positioning had 17 lead changes and were neck and neck the whole second half.
“Again, we had the lead, our defense held another team to under 100 points, we had great opportunities to build a lead but give Atlanta credit they kept playing and they’re a very talented and well coached team,” Jason said.
In the end, it was the Bucks who made the critical plays, including a key out-of-bounds save from Giannis Antetokounmpo, two Greg Monroe layups and a couple of Khris Middleton free throws that sealed the deal.
“To find a way there late without having to take a timeout, we could play through it, the guys knew what we were executing and I thought Malcolm as our rookie handled the offense and defense well,” Kidd said, “Khris didn’t shoot the ball well but we’re going to talk about defense and he came up with some big plays for us. And I think for all of us to learn from him he never complained about the offensive end. He made the two big free-throws that help us win that game.”
Antetokounmpo had another amazing game for the Bucks, finishing with 34 points, 13 rebounds and five assists.
“You know, Go-Go Gadget, he extended. A lot of guys couldn’t do what he did, he got the deflection, the ball’s going out of bounds and he used his length very well there and gave us another offensive opportunity,” J-Kidd said. “Again, he was great. 34 points, understanding that the bigger the game, he’s tending to rise to the occasion. So we can all see he’s grown and he’s carrying us.”
The Bucks are hitting their stride just at the right time, and Kidd can see his team’s progress over the course of a long season.
“I think you go back early in the season, I don’t know a lot of the games we lost the ball bounced the wrong way or we couldn’t get a stop or we couldn’t get a shot to go for us,” Kidd said. “To take those experiences and to understand to reflect and be able to use them in the month of March, April and hopefully into May is understanding that we haven’t panicked. Understanding that we can get a stop and we can get a good shot. Make or miss we’re reliant on our defense and our defense is playing extremely well right now.”
BUCKS FALL TO BULLS
Unfortunately, Sunday afternoon wasn’t as kind to the Bucks as they fell to the Chicago Bulls 109-94.
“I just said we were a step behind. They made shots and we didn’t. We got some great looks that didn’t go down for us,” Kidd said. “Again, the way that we’ve been playing up to this game has been on our defense and this afternoon Chicago made shots and we couldn’t get stops when we had to.”
The Bucks got off to another quality start, but the Bulls outscored the Bucks in quarters two through four.
“No one’s disappointed, we just didn’t play well, it happens, that’s sport. You learn from your mistakes and that’s what we’ve done all season,” Jason said. “Those guys in that locker room know what they have to do the next time they take the floor. We don’t listen to the outside opinions, we just play the way we know we’re capable of playing. That’s playing hard and sharing the ball and we just didn’t do that tonight.”
It was another tough game for Khris Middleton, who scored 14 points but just shot 6-of-17 from the floor.
“I thought he was going great there to start the game and everybody thought he was going to have one of those big nights. Khris is a pro, he understands what he has to do. We started the second half, got him some shots and he was going,” J-Kidd said. “It’s just he can’t get frustrated, he could have gotten fouled on a couple calls didn’t get called, but he’s got to continue to keep playing. But this is a guy that understands how to fix his shot, he doesn’t need anyone to tell him. He’s also a guy that we count on defensively and again I thought he tried defensively to help us.”
Antetokounmpo led the Bucks with 22 points, eight rebounds and four assists.
On the other end it was Jimmy Butler and Rajon Rondo who led the charge for the Bulls. Butler finished with 20 points and a career-best 14 assists, while Rondo added 18 points, nine rebounds and nine assists.
“(Butler and Rondo) were good. Understand this was for their season, if they lost their season is over. They came out and they were the aggressors,” Kidd said. “Those veteran guys knew what was on the line. Another loss makes it extremely hard for them, they would have to count on other teams, but give those two credit, they came out and they were the aggressors.”
Up next, the Bucks begin a two-game road trip on Tuesday night against the Charlotte Hornets.
“Well I think they move the ball. We had struggles there moving the ball and we thought one person could do it. That’s not the way we play,” Kidd said. “Our defense, we’re just a step behind. Chicago was the better team this afternoon so you tip your hat. We’ve got to learn from this and get ready for Charlotte.”
