Milwaukee Bucks head coach Jason Kidd’s team secured a victory against the New York Knicks on Saturday with team defense, one night after missing that defense against the Detroit Pistons.
Milwaukee defeated New York 106-91 after dropping Friday night’s contest against Detroit by a count of 102-95. On Saturday, the Bucks attempted just four three-pointers all night long and pounded the point for 60 points down low. That offensive discipline, coupled with a strong overall defensive effort, got the Bucks back on track.
“You look at the defensive side of the ball, that was 95 percent, the other five percent, the starting five set the tone on a back-to-back,” Jason said. It’s kind of a special situation that we shoot only one three and we score over 50 points in that first half…That just doesn’t happen in today’s game. But, it just showed that we were sharing the ball. You look at the stat sheet, guys all got their touches. But, it all started on the defensive end.”
Five Bucks were in double figures on the night, and for that, Jason also praised the play of O.J. Mayo above all. The guard was 8-of-12 from the floor, hit one of the team’s two three-pointers and turned in five assists. But mostly, J-Kidd said, Mayo orchestrated an efficient attack for Milwaukee throughout the night.
“Understand, New York is playing well and you’ve got to tip your hat off to Juice. He got guys in position and we got a lot of shots inside the arc,” Jason said of Mayo. “I thought he set the tone by running the offense and making sure guys touched the ball. I think he showed what it means to be a teammate.”
Normally a two-guard, Mayo took to playing the point extremely well. He praised Coach Kidd after the game for preparing him to take on that role while several other Milwaukee guards were out of commission.
“I really enjoy playing for J-Kidd. I really enjoy learning from him whether he’s teaching me as a player, our team or even teaching the point guards on our team,” Mayo told the media. “Just try to get better man, it definitely makes life a lot easier listening to him everyday being one of the greatest point guards who played and just teaching us as a team how to play together and make the game simple… I felt prepared. It’s like a test. Sometimes you may not study and you get a little worried, but playing under a coach like J-Kidd I felt super prepared. Everyday just learning from him.”
Mayo tallied two dimes in the first quarter, where Greg Monroe was off to at tremendous start. The new Buck had 10 points and four boards in just over eight minutes of work in the first frame. He finished with 18 points and 14 rebounds to push Milwaukee out to a 29-24 lead.
Forward Jabari Parker had perhaps his most encouraging performance of the year thus far in his return from injury. He logged a game-high 36 minutes and finished with 17 points. In the second quarter alone, he played all 12 minutes, went 4-of-6 and had eight points.
Jabari’s big night allowed Jason to lighten the workload for swingman Khris Middleton, particularly late in the contest.
“I think for Jabari, each time he’s on the floor, being able to give him consistent minutes. We’re trying to not give him a seven, eight-minute stretch. We’re trying to break that down where it’s a little bit less than that so that we can get him more minutes on the floor,” J-Kidd told the media. “I thought today he did a really good job in that fourth quarter to give Khris the opportunity to rest, and we didn’t have to come back with Khris until the three-minute mark.”
The Bucks led 52-48 at halftime and took control in the third quarter. Parker’s work late especially came in handy after the 12-minute third quarter turned in by Middleton. He had five points in that stretch, while Mayo and Giannis Antetokounmpo each had six. The Greek Freak finished with 17 points and six dimes.
Milwaukee’s defense was exceptional in the third quarter, holding the Knicks to just 33.3 percent shooting and 21 points. The Bucks used that strong frame to take an 81-69 lead into the fourth.
In the final frame, it was Michael Carter-Williams’ game. The point guard finished the night with 20 points off 9-of-16 shooting to go with five assists—and 10 of those points came in the fourth quarter.
“Michael, I thought did a really good job in the tempo, being aggressive, getting it in the paint and being able to finish,” Jason said.
J-Kidd commented on how the Bucks took the challenge of defending Knicks power forward Carmelo Anthony and big man Kristaps Porzingis as a team. Players are trusting one another and learning to play team defense over multiple games not just spurts or flashes in a single contest.
“I think everyone took the challenge but it was more or less team defense which we talked about before the game. Being able to continue to build on what we’ve been doing since that first Detroit game,” J-Kidd told reporters.
NEXT UP
The Bucks host the Portland Trail Blazers Monday night.
Milwaukee likes home cooking as their record in Wisconsin is 6-4 and they are only 2-9 on the road. The Bucks will look to add another win at home against a Blazers squad that is coming off back-to-back wins over the Indiana Pacers and Minnesota Timberwolves.
Tipoff is at 7 p.m. CT from the BMO Harris Bradley Center.
