Week In Review: Milwaukee Bucks Break Even Despite Losing Jabari Parker
Dec 20, 2014; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Clippers forward Blake Griffin (32) dunks the ball between Milwaukee Bucks guard Giannis Antetokounmpo (34) and center Larry Sanders (8) in the second half during the game at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Richard Mackson-USA TODAY Sports
Saturday, Dec.20: Milwaukee Bucks at Los Angeles Clippers
Saturday was the rematch between the Bucks and Clippers. Milwaukee defeated L.A. last week in Milwaukee, and you can imagine the Clippers wanted their revenge Saturday night.
The Clippers defeated the Bucks 106-102.
A combination of hot three-point shooting, and flashes of overwhelming talent helped lift the Clippers past Milwaukee.
J.J. Redick and Jamal Crawford both had streaky three-point shooting performances to help down the Bucks. Redick had 23 points (5-of-8 from three) and Crawford added a game-high 29 points off of the bench (3-of-8 from three).
With a small lineup, L.A was able to utilize Blake Griffin a lot more this game as well as opposed to their first contest in Milwaukee. Griffin had 24 points, eight assists, and six rebounds on 10-of-17 shooting.
With all that being said, Milwaukee could have easily walked out of L.A with a win. The game was tied at 102 with a minute and a half to play thanks to a Brandon Knight three-pointer.
While that was nice, Knight took a really bad shot just inside the three-point arc with a hand in his face with less than a minute left. Then on the other end Blake Griffin was able to tip a shot back in to give L.A. a four point lead with five seconds left.
With better decision making and defense down the stretch, the Bucks could have stolen one from another western conference power house.
Giannis had himself a night despite the loss. He played a career-high 37 minutes, had 18 points, six assists, and nine rebounds. He was all over the court Saturday night, and it was fun watching him making plays all over the place.
Kidd mentioned in the past how he doesn’t want to play his young players a lot of minutes, but with Jabari out and injuries still plaguing the team, it’ll be interesting to see how he manages these minutes.
The loss dropped Milwaukee to 14-14.
Next week Milwaukee plays three games. They play Tuesday night at home against the Hornets, Friday night in Atlanta to face the Hawks, and then Saturday night at home against the Hawks again. I’m eager to see how Milwaukee will compete with one of the top teams in the East in the Atlanta Hawks.
Next: Player Of The Week