After dropping a gimmie game against the Washington Wizards on Monday, the Milwaukee Bucks played arguably their best game of the season—due in large part because Giannis played just three minutes before leaving with a calf injury—taking down the Eastern Conference-leading Detroit Pistons 113-109. The season series now sits at 1-1. Read our full summary of the game here and catch a six-minute audio recap on the Bucks+ podcast, Bucks In Six Minutes, below.
35 minutes, 26 points, 8 assists, 2 rebounds, 2 steals, 7 turnovers, 8/18 FG, 7/7 FT, +8
Scoot keeps posting high point totals since returning. After scoring 30 against the Wizards, he dropped another 26 last night (and could’ve scored more if not for his foul trouble). He’s added a much-needed element of shot creation that this team desperately needs—especially if Giannis misses significant time.
39 minutes, 22 points, 8 assists, 4 rebounds, 2 steals, 9/16 FG, 1/6 3PT, 3/3 FT, -9
Rollins displayed a defensive masterclass on Cade Cunningham, especially late. He distributed the ball well and dropped timely mid-range jump shots to keep the offense flowing.
20 minutes, 9 points, 3 rebounds, 4 fouls, 4/4 FT, -13
The four fouls really hindered Myles’ game, as did Bobby’s performance. Turner was ok in spots; he hit a big three to give the Bucks their first lead of the game. Overall, I still want more from Turner, but he played his role alright.
40 minutes, 19 points, 2 rebounds, 2 blocks, 5/11 3PT, +8
What truly sparked the late Bucks surge was two back-to-back threes by Green. Dairy Bird came in shooting 50% from three on 6.7 attempts per game, and came away with another strong 5/11 day.
21 minutes, 4 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 blocks, 2/7 FG, -7
It wasn’t the best day offensively for Kuz, but he still put in a solid all-around game. He had a couple of big-time dunks, one of which was a lob from Bobby as the Bucks were making their comeback in the fourth quarter.
30 minutes, 13 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists, 5/13 FG, 2/8 3PT, +18
There has been a lot of mud-slinging directed at BP (some of it justified), but this was a stellar performance from him. He scored all of his points in the second half and was tremendous on the boards, giving great effort. More of this, Bobby.
22 minutes, 3 points, 1 rebound, 2 assists, 1/4 3PT, +9
It was a relatively quiet game from Trent, but he played some solid defense in the 2-3 zone. He had some open looks, but couldn’t quite capitalize on them.
30 minutes, 15 points, 14 rebounds, 7/7 FG, 1/1 FT, +12
Who would’ve expected this kind of game from Sims? He was tremendous on the boards, and he hit what ended up being the game-winning free throw after making the layup. Sims was also a big reason why the Bucks only lost by four on the rebounding margin (40-44).
Doc has been under fire from every direction the last couple of weeks (including from yours truly). While I still contend that the Bucks should let him go in the long term, he did a pretty good job with his rotations; in particular, he staggered Rollins and KPJ well so that Cole Anthony didn’t see the floor. Not a perfect game for Rivers, but a definite above-average one.
Incomplete: Giannis Antetokounmpo
DNP-CD: Pete Nance, Gary Harris, Cole Anthony, Amir Coffey, Andre Jackson Jr., Thanasis Antetokounmpo
Inactive: Taurean Prince, Mark Sears, Alex Antetokounmpo
- There was already a ton to talk about Giannis before he even set foot on the floor and got injured. Shams Charania of ESPN reported that Giannis and his agent had met with the Bucks to discuss his future, and that a resolution would be reached in the next few weeks. Doc Rivers was fiery in his pre-game remarks, saying that Giannis has never requested a trade. Here was his opening answer about the story:
“So here we go again. There’s been no conversation. It’s different in the middle of the season because the season is going on, and you have to answer these questions again. I want to make it clear, I would say one more time, but for the 50th time, it’s clearly not getting to one network (ESPN) for sure. Giannis has never asked to be traded, ever. I can’t make that more clear.”
- Kyle Kuzma was asked about how he deals with the rumors, and said that it’s all basically white noise to him now:
“That’s just the league, man. Everybody comes up in rumors; nobody really knows anything, honestly. Reporters and media they try to dig and dig, and they think they got the answers, but nobody has the answers, really. The rumors, that’s more like for the media and the fans, that’s more their hemisphere. All of us have been in trade rumors at one point in time in our careers for multiple years. It’s really just white noise, honestly, and it’s really just for the entertaining aspect for the fans and the media to have something to distract from the world.”
- Bobby Portis talked about a meeting they had as a team today to discuss what has been going on this season and to make sure everyone is on the same page:
“We’re about a quarter in for the season, just wanting to get to a little talking. Obviously, there’s been way more lows than highs over the last couple of weeks. Definitely knowing that going into tonight was a huge game, we wanted to come out here and have everyone on the same page. There’s lots going on, a lot of chatter, a lot of media chatter, whatever it is, so just trying to keep guys’ minds right, keep guys together. Everyone wants to get paid, everyone has different motivations, whatever it is, just making sure we’re together and most importantly, understanding that we have to get a win, no matter how we get it.”
- Jericho Sims notched a career-high 15 points and grabbed 14 rebounds for his fourth double-double of his career. It’s been over three years since he’s done that; that last time was on Nov. 18, 2022.
- With AJ Green’s five threes, this was the fifth consecutive game he’s had 4+ makes from beyond-the-arc—the most consecutive games in his career.
The Bucks will have today off before they host the Philadelphia 76ers for the second time this season. The Bucks lost the last meeting in overtime, 123-114, but Giannis and KPJ weren’t available for that one. The tip-off for this one is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. Central from Fiserv Forum. You can watch it on FanDuel Sports Network Wisconsin and over the air on WMLW.
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