[ad_1]
New York, Dec 27 (EFE).- The Milwaukee Bucks, who woke up in the last quarter with an incontestable run of 30-44, beat the Brooklyn Nets this Wednesday without brilliance and with more problems than expected, 122-144. who reserved all their figures and gave a chance to the less common ones.
After signing the 27th straight loss for the Detroit Pistons on Tuesday (the worst streak in NBA history), coach Jacque Vaughn, on Brooklyn’s second night of ‘back-to-back’, did not appeal 24 hours later to none of the nine players with the most minutes this season for the Nets.
Cam Thomas, Mikal Bridges and Royce O’Neale did dress short, but they only played in the first quarter and did not step on the court for the rest of the evening.
Due to rest or injury, Spencer Dinwiddie, Ben Simmons, Dorian Finney-Smith, Cam Johnson, Nic Claxton and Lonnie Walker also did not participate against the Bucks, leaving the New York rotation completely in the picture.
It seemed that the Bucks, after losing on Christmas Day against the New York Knicks, would have a comfortable and peaceful game ahead of them, but only in the last quarter were they able to separate themselves from the very feisty Nets and they even went behind on the scoreboard in the third period.
Giannis Antetokounmpo, wearing many t-shirts of his fans in the Nets stands, found no opposition and could only be stopped with fouls. The Greek titan scored 32 points, 10 rebounds and 8 assists with a brutal 10 of 12 shooting from the field and 12 of 17 from the line.
Khris Middleton, who after leaving his physical problems behind has improved his level in recent weeks, added 27 points and 10 assists, his best record in both categories so far this year. Damian Lillard was limited to just 12 points, but Milwaukee enjoyed a great performance from Malik Beasley (17 points with 5 triples) and Cam Payne (18 points with 5 triples).
Jalen Wilson (21 points) was the Nets’ top scorer with seven players scoring over 10 points.
Milwaukee (23-8 balance) shone on the outside with 23 of 51 in triples but its defense was once again a drain, allowing 70 points in the zone.
In exchange, he benefited from the Nets’ dismal 7 of 32 three-point shooting (15-16 balance).
The Bucks scored seven triples in a very even first quarter in which their supporting players boasted their aim from the perimeter. Beasley added two triples, Bobby Portis added another pair and Pat Connaughton hit one. Between the three of them they scored a perfect five out of five.
Antetokounmpo had seven points, four rebounds and four assists. He scored five of those points from the line against a Brooklyn defense with many problems stopping the Greek’s explosiveness.
In any case, and despite all their losses, the Nets held up very well (31-32) and poured salt on the weak and highly questioned defense of the Bucks, which allowed 18 points in the paint in the opening quarter.
Without doing anything special or taking the steamroller out for a walk, the Bucks began to tip the duel in their favor (39-47 with 6.05 until the break) thanks to the scoring talent of Middleton, who stood out with 10 points in the second quarter.
It was a few good minutes from Milwaukee while Antetokounmpo and Lillard were on the bench. Payne, with a triple, gave his team their first lead of over 10 points (45-56).
Paradoxically, the local defense grew when the Bucks stars returned to the court and the Nets closed the first half with a good feeling, only spoiled by a triple against and on Beasley’s horn.
The 59-66 score at halftime left work pending for both teams. The Bucks were a disaster protecting the zone, giving up 40 points in the first two quarters. Instead, the headaches for the Nets were in the triple, with a ridiculous 1 of 13 in favor and a painful 11 of 25 against.
Between Dennis Smith Jr., with a powerful dunk, and Day’Ron Sharpe, the Nets shook up the game after the restart, increased the pace and in less than five minutes they had already tied the game (74-74).
Antetokounmpo had to use his physical strength to support his team: he crushed a spectacular ‘alley-oop’ served by Lillard with his back and finished off another equally fabulous one on a counterattack and courtesy of Beasley.
The Bucks would reach the last quarter with +8 (92-100), but the game had entered dangerous territory with the non-regulars of the Nets playing at a very high level (they were ahead in the third period) and believing that this could be an unforgettable night for them.
In the end logic prevailed. Middleton hit a triple and MarJon Beauchamp excelled with a dunk to put a +13 in just over two minutes and the Bucks, who stepped on the accelerator when they needed it most (seven triples in the last quarter), no longer gave room to more surprises.
David Villafranca
[ad_2]
