Jason Kidd’s Milwaukee Bucks struggled in their first full game without Jabari Parker, falling to the Los Angeles Lakers, but the bench stepped up in a big way the next night out.
The Bucks outscored the Indiana Pacers in every quarter behind a combined 53 points off the bench by Mirza Teletovic (19), Greg Monroe (17) and Malcolm Brogdon (17) to take home a 116-100 victory.
“I think the performance on a back-to-back, the energy, the spirit, you could see was extremely high,” Coach Kidd said. “I thought the bench was great, but I thought the starters were good. The ball was moving, I think we had six or seven turnovers as a team. I thought Giannis was great. Mirza, (Beasley), Thon who started was huge for us; so everyone who played, even the guys onthe bench were into the game helping the guys on the floor so it was a team effort and that’s what it takes to win.”
The Bucks led in the early going, but Indiana started the third quarter on an 8-0 run to tie the game at 62. However, Milwaukee quickly answered with a run of its own.
“I think we’ve been scared a little bit of having to dig ourselves out of a hole and seeing that we got off to a good start, or a better start than we have in the past, I think guys enjoyed tonight’s game as you can see the emotion,” Kidd said. “It wasn’t easy, you know 62-62 they go on a run and the guys answer with a 9-0 run. So a lot of good stuff tonight, now can we bottle this up and finish the first half of the season on a positive note.”
It was a big night for a lot of role players, including Matthew Dellavedova, who spent a lot of time guarding Indy All-Star Paul George.
“Delly is going to do whatever it takes. We’re small, we’re shorthanded and he asked can he guard him and he was going to do everything humanly possible that he can do to make it tough,” Kidd said. “George is one of the best in the league and he makes tough shots, you just try to make it as tough, make him work that much harder so on the offensive end you can make him work too. I thought Delly did an excellent job tonight.”
Kidd was also pleased with the defensive presence and offensive skillset from his rookie, Thon Maker.
“(Maker) made huge shots. I thought his voice on defense was huge. I thought his ability to make shots on the offensive end and I thought he got fouled there when they were making a run and he got to the free-throw line to stop their run,” Jason said. “He made shots, his teammates found him, his teammates trust him when he’s on the floor as you can see and so I’ve just got to find more time for him.”
The victory leaves a good taste in the mouth of the Bucks, hoping to take that momentum into the matchup against Detroit on Monday night.
