It was a rough night for the Milwaukee Bucks on Thursday, where Jason Kidd and his team lost to the Miami Heat 96-73.
Milwaukee got off to a hot start with a 20-6 lead, but the Bucks bench quickly surrendered that lead, and the two teams were tied up at 48 at halftime.
The Bucks only managed to score 25 points in the second half, and just could not get stops on the defensive side of the floor.
“As a team we struggled on the defensive end,” Jason said. “We couldn’t guard the ball. We couldn’t grab rebounds when we had to. We gave them second opportunities. On the offensive end, we just lost our patience.”
While four of the five Bucks starters managed to score in the double digits, no Bucks player scored more than 14 points.
Giannis Antetokounmpo and Tony Snell led the team with 14 points, Michael Beasley added 13, John Henson added 12 and Jabari Parker put in 11 points.
“When we don’t pass the ball… we took turns with one guy just literally trying to drive the ball,” Jason said. “It’s a great example for our young team to understand you can get in foul trouble and still have an impact on the game. (Hassan Whiteside) did a really good job of controlling the paint, protecting the rim.”
Miami completely dominated the Bucks on the glass and in the paint, largely due to the performance of Whiteside, who finished the game with 12 points, 17 rebounds, seven blocks and two steals.
As a team, the Heat outrebounded the Bucks 74-54 and outscored Milwaukee in the paint 54-34.
NEXT UP
Looking ahead, the Bucks will face off against Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant and Golden State Warriors.
Last season the Bucks gave the Warriors one of their nine regular-season losses and ended their 24-game win streak to start the season.
Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m. CT Saturday night from the BMO Harris Bradley Center.
