Bucks Split Midwest Weekend

Jason Kidd’s Milwaukee Bucks squad had struck up a strange trend going into the weekend. The Bucks (20-19) rode a five-game road winning streak and a four-game home losing streak into a back-to-back, but they fell back toward the mean.

After topping the Minnesota Timberwolves (5-30) 98-84 to snap that four-game skid at home, the Bucks turned around and fell 95-87 on the road to the Chicago Bulls (26-12).

BIG SECOND BOOSTS BUCKS

Coach Kidd added an old name with young legs to a 10-day contract this past week by signing frequent alley-oop partner Kenyon Martin. The now 37-year old used to catch lobs in abundance from Jason back in the glory days in New Jersey before the Nets moved to Brooklyn in 2012.

Martin played just eight minutes on Friday night at home in the win over Minnesota, stopping a 4-game losing streak at BMO Harris Bradley Center, but he put together six points, two rebounds and a block including a trademark alley-oop dunk from O.J. Mayo.

“I thought he did a really good job for not playing since February,” Coach Kidd said. “It worked out, to start the fourth quarter to be able to get him in our defensive schemes. The elbow jump shots he knocked down. For his teammates to understand, no matter what age, he can still play above the rim and O.J. showed that (with his pass) tonight.”

Once again, Coach Kidd utilized his whole roster in the victory; not one player logged more than 30 minutes in the game. Brandon Knight scored 14 points, while John Henson and O.J. Mayo each had 12 off the bench. Mayo scored all his points from beyond the arc, by going 4-for-4.

Coach Kidd was pleased with the attacking mentality of his team, turning over Minnesota 19 times and making 12-of-19 3-pointers (63.2%), but he is concerned about the team’s inability to value the ball. Milwaukee turned the ball over 23 times.

“We don’t want to be passive,” Kidd said, “but also we have to be a little more careful with the ball. You never want to sub for guys making a turnover, but if that’s what we have to do, at some point we’ll have to address it that way.”

The Wolves ended the first with a slight lead, up 22-19, but the Bucks took control in the second. John Henson led the way with seven points, while Mayo followed with six, both coming off the bench.

Then with two minutes before the half, Giannis Antetokounmpo cut down the lane and received a bounce pass from Zaza Pachulia; Giannis took off for a two-handed jam in front of a crowd of 15,480. Giannis finished with 10 points and seven rebounds in 29 minutes.

The Bucks held the Wolves to 37.5 percent shooting in the second, held a 34-16 scoring advantage and took a 53-38 lead into halftime.

Milwaukee locked down defensively in the third, holding Minnesota to 28.6 percent shooting to preserve that lead for the final frame. Down the stretch, Milwaukee’s turnovers gave the Wolves some hope, but the Bucks hit shots when they needed to in order to salt away the win.

J-Kidd talked about his team’s turnover issues after the game, and identified a few areas where they Bucks an improve.

“I want guys to be aggressive and make plays for each other, and hopefully we can get those turnovers to come down a bit,” Jason said. “The full-court passes, the throw-aheads, if you feel it’s not going to be completed, then don’t throw it. It’s real simple.”

TOO MUCH PAU

Ever since joining the Chicago Bulls from the Los Angeles Lakers in the offseason, Pau Gasol has been money for his new squad, and he paid the biggest dividends thus far Saturday night against the Bucks.

The Bulls big man went off for 46 points, 18 rebounds, three assists and a steal, and he was simply too much for Milwaukee in the eight-point defeat.

“He was comfortable right from the first shot of the game,” J-Kidd said of Gasol’s performance. He’s won championships and he knows how to play the game the right way. You could see that tonight. He dominated the game.”

The Bucks responded well to Coach Kidd’s lesson on taking care of the ball by cutting the turnover total from the Minnesota game in half against Chicago, coughing it up just 11 times.

This time it was the energy on the defensive end that crippled Milwaukee. Gasol scored the first seven points of the game and outscored the Bucks in the first quarter by himself, 20-19.

The Bulls were without star point guard Derrick Rose, so Kirk Hinrich stepped up and scored 16 points in 35 minutes. Hinrich and Gasol were the only players in double-digits for Chicago, yet Milwaukee just couldn’t find a way to pull in front.

Brandon Knight paced Milwaukee with 20 points, five assists and five rebounds. Dudley added 15 points off the bench and Mayo had 12.

Forward Antetokounmpo struggled with foul trouble, drawing five fouls in the first three quarters while being limited to four points and six rebounds.

“We’ve got to help him understand, he’s getting a lot of reach-in fouls right now so he’s got to make a conscious effort,” Jason said of Giannis.

Milwaukee trailed the whole first half, but was able to pull in front with a 12-2 run to start the third quarter. Knight made two big-time jumpers in the run, but the Bulls had a run of their own to regain the lead, scoring 10 straight to go up 60-51 with 4:43 to go in the third.

It was no surprise that the Bulls went to Gasol in the final period to tighten the bottle cap on the game, as he had a driving layup that made it 87-75 with 4:01 remaining in regulation. He finished with four straight free throws, surpassing his previous career best of 44 points for Memphis against Seattle on March 28, 2006.