On the second night of a road back-to-back, Jason Kidd’s Milwaukee Bucks stepped up for their biggest victory of the season over the Eastern Conference-leading Boston Celtics.
Giannis Antetokounmpo, Khris Middleton and Malcolm Brogdon all came through with critical contributions in a 103-100 victory over East’s current top seed—a win that Jason hopes will be a source of confidence when the postseason begins.
“This is a great character test for us. We’ve been tested all season and understanding through the ups and downs of a NBA season it’s about March and April,” Jason said. “Understanding playing your best, and you’re playing against the best in Boston on their floor on a back-to-back and just understanding how important each game and possession for us to learn for. So going forward we can always draw back from our experiences, and this is no different than any other game for us to be able to draw from to being able to trust one another on both ends.”
The Bucks led for a majority of the game, including by double-digits for a good chunk of the second quarter. It was not until late in the fourth when Boston was able to tie the game at 92 on a Marcus Smart bucket.
That’s when Rookie of the Year candidate Malcolm Brogdon took over, scoring six points and dishing out two assists in the final 2:46 of the game.
“He was great. On both ends I thought he ran the team offensively. He made plays, found guys, came up with some big shots, just showed his composure throughout that stretch there in the fourth quarter and you can see the trust his teammates and coaches have in having the ball in his hands instead of having it in Giannis or Khris’ hand,” Jason said. “He made the plays down the stretch. He didn’t panic. He kept his composure and he’s done that all season for us. We came up with stops at the end and made plays at the offensive end.”
Giannis Antetokounmpo led the Bucks with 22 points and nine rebounds, while Khris Middleton recorded 16 points, six rebounds and five assists.
“One of the two will be on the floor and Khris is a very talented player. We all know that. He’s still working his way through training camp and the first part of the season,” J-Kidd said. “We’ve asked him to do a lot early and he’s responded and that’s just the type of player and person he is. He’s all about the team and he helped his team in a position to win tonight.”
Up next the Bucks host the struggling Detroit Pistons, who are fighting to keep their playoff hopes alive.
