After getting off to a great start, the Milwaukee Bucks had some catching up to do on Friday night in a 108-105 overtime victory over the Detroit Pistons.
The Bucks took a 35-22 lead into the second quarter in what appeared to be an easy victory. But the Pistons scratched and clawed their way back into the game over the next three quarters and eventually took a lead during the third.
“It’s a great lesson learned for us (showing) that the game isn’t over because you start well,” Bucks coach Jason Kidd said.
At one point the Pistons held a 10-point lead with 5:09 remaining in the game. But through some gritty defense and clutch free-throw shooting, the Bucks were able to force overtime at 95-95.
Thon Maker was the star of the game, overtime included, where he scored five points in the extra period and 23 for the game on 9-of-12 shooting and 4-of-7 from beyond the arc.
“He picked up his teammates,” Kidd said of the rookie. “He took advantage of his minutes. He did a lot of the little things, but I thought, again, he shot the ball when he was open and he made plays on the defensive end.”
The biggest shot of the game came from Khris Middleton, who drained a second chance three-pointer against his former team to put the Bucks ahead 105-102 with 40 seconds left. Middleton finished with 25 points and 10 rebounds.
“I think it just shows where the team is at mentally and physically,” Kidd said. “Being down, maybe not playing our best there and still believing they could find a way to win.”
Giannis Antetokounmpo led the Bucks in scoring with 28 points, 14 rebounds and nine assists.
Both Antetokounmpo and Maker have shown tremendous progress this season, and a big part of that could be due to the coaching help of another future NBA Hall of Famer.
“He’s worked with (Kevin Garnett) a lot,” Kidd said. “The KG effect, not just him but the team, the way KG goes about his work ethic he’s at 100%. Thon is one that goes hard, he went hard this morning with KG and I thought he had great carryover. And he does good carryover when we do see KG. Good things happen when KG’s around.”BUCKS FALL TO MAVS
The Bucks played again on Sunday afternoon, but this time, they weren’t able to fight their way back into the game, falling 109-105 to one of J-Kidd’s former teams, the Dallas Mavericks.
“We were working into our game, and they were already into the game,” Kidd said.
Milwaukee just didn’t have it defensively, allowing the Mavericks to shot over 50 percent from the field. More specifically, they were unable to stop Harrison Barnes, who scored 31 points, including 15 in the final quarter.
“We haven’t played well in the afternoon,” Coach Kidd said. “But late (in the game) we have to make plays offensively and defensively. We had to play perfect and we didn’t.”
The Bucks had the chance to tie the game in the final seconds, but Antetokounmpo missed a 3-pointer.
A bright spot from the game was the play of the newest Buck, Gary Payton II, who was called up from the D-League late Saturday night. Payton played nine minutes and scored five points on 2-of-3 shooting.
“I thought for someone who just got here last night and was here early this morning to go over different offensive and defensive things, he did a really good job, an excellent job,” Kidd said. “Once he gets comfortable here by the end of the week, we will give him some more minutes.”
The Bucks still hold the fifth spot in the Eastern Conference and begin a three-game road trip on Tuesday against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
