With a young team like Jason Kidd has in his Milwaukee Bucks, future growth always starts on the practice court.

That learning process took an enormous step forward Saturday night when the Bucks hosted one of the Western Conference’s most talented squads, the Los Angeles Clippers (16-7), and withstood a late flurry to come away with a 111-106 victory.

“Anytime we put on a uniform, it’s a learning experience,” Coach Kidd said. “Our last two practices were a great carryover. There is still some stuff we could clean up, but looking at it as a whole, guys gave great effort and played hard. That’s the way we started the season off, and I thought tonight that’s the way we played.”

Los Angeles Clippers v Milwaukee Bucks

The Bucks had played that physical game while racing out to a 10-7 start to the season, but they fell into a slump in recent weeks and had dropped five of their last six games before facing the Clips.

Meanwhile, the Clippers had won 11 of their last 13 games, but the Bucks came with a fantastic gameplan, holding their star duo of Chris Paul and Blake Griffin to just a combined 20 points off 9-of-27 shooting.

“They’re talented, they’re well-coached, they play until the end,” Jason said of the Clippers. “For our group, we play until the end. I thought we played hard tonight…the last two practices have been very physical. They’ve been competing and I thought that carried over.”

The Bucks had six players in double figures, but it was the crafty play of Brandon Knight and the tenacious effort by Giannis Antetokounmpo that carried the team to victory.
Giannis scored a career-high 20 points and grabbed five rebounds, while Knight led the team with 22 points and five assists.

Los Angeles came out firing in the first, as JJ Redick and Matt Barnes each hit twice from deep to spur the Clips to a 28-26 lead. In the second, however, Milwaukee’s defensive intensity exploded.

Los Angeles Clippers v Milwaukee Bucks

The Bucks held the Clippers to just 28.6 percent shooting and a 0-of-6 mark from three, all while pounding the paint for 14 points to take a nine-point lead to halftime. Before halftime, Milwaukee briefly stretched that lead to 10 after Giannis had a steal, which he threw up to Jabari Parker for a breakaway two-handed dunk.

Jason talked about how, while Los Angeles tried to keep pace using outside shooting, Milwaukee did it with high-percentage shots.

“You look around the league, a lot of teams shoot threes,” Jason said. “We’re a team that lives in the paint and we did knock down some threes that were open. When we shoot a high percentage in the paint it gives us a chance to win.”

Milwaukee’s shooting efficiency inside also opened up some excellent opportunities on the exterior. Kidd’s squad shot 7-of-11 from three (63.6 percent), and at a 56.6 percent clip from the field for the game, outscoring L.A. 50-36 in the paint.

“We looked back at the games against Dallas and Oklahoma City, we didn’t shoot extremely well in the paint and that’s our strength,” J-Kidd said. “Tonight we did and that’s who we are.”

Another Milwaukee calling card, outstanding collective play and bench contribution, was also vital on the night. Parker chipped in with 12 and Larry Sanders had 15 and nine rebounds from the starting lineup, while Khris Middleton scored 14 and Jerryd Bayless had 11 to lead a second unit that combined for 36, even without key players Ersan Ilyasova and John Henson.

Los Angeles Clippers v Milwaukee Bucks

In the third, the Clippers regained their touch from deep to climb back into the game. Matt Barnes scored 13 of his 26 points in the third, hitting five threes. Redick and Jamal Crawford also found the net from beyond the arc, as the team shot 5-of-7 from three-point land to make it just 72-71 Milwaukee to start the final frame.

In the fourth, the visitors kept firing from deep and took a four-point lead to start the frame. However, Jason’s team kept its poise and battled right back. Behind Middleton, Sanders, Bayless and Marshall, the Bucks mounted an 18-3 run and claimed an 11-point advantage.

Los Angeles Clippers v Milwaukee Bucks

L.A. cut that lead back to five with a little run of its own, but the Milwaukee offense just kept rolling. Antetokounmpo converted on a drive to the basket, then Knight canned a three-pointer to stretch the lead back to 10 with just under a minute to go.

“In the fourth quarter the game got tight and the referees started calling a bit more fouls,” Coach Kidd said. “No one lost his composure. Guys kept playing. We answered when they made a run and I thought that showed some growth, too.”

Barnes and Crawford each hit threes to cut the deficit to three in the waning seconds, but the Bucks converted 9-of-10 free throws in the final 30 seconds to close out the narrow victory.

Jason talked about one of the keys to the game, which was shutting down “Lob City” and limiting Griffin and DeAndre Jordan to just a combined 17 points.

“You can throw them different looks and you just hope that they miss,” J-Kidd said. ”We gave them different looks and, again, one shot. When Griffin misses a shot, (DeAndre) Jordan normally around the rim cleaning it up. We just tried to make it tough on those guys and they missed some shots down the stretch.”

NEXT UP

Milwaukee (12-12) will have Sunday off to prepare for their four-game West Coast road trip, which begins Monday night against the Phoenix Suns (12-13).

“They’re a very dangerous team that puts a lot of points on the board,” Jason said of the Suns. “They’ve got a lot of talented guys over there. This is a great place to play. The fans will be into it. For us this is a tough road game, so we have to make sure we’re there and give ourselves a chance with six minutes left to have a chance to win on the road.”

Ahead of that tilt against a Phoenix squad that boasts a dynamic backcourt trio of Eric Bledsoe, Goran Dragic and Isaiah Thomas, Coach Kidd identified ball security and the transition game among the keys to victory.

“Transition is big. This is a team that thrives off turnovers and in the open court,” he said. “Pace is key too, because they can get the ball in the paint and they can shoot the three well too. We have to take care of the ball. We have to finish, put the ball in the basket, and we have to be able to set our defense.”

The Suns come into the game desperate for a win after dropping the last five games.

Tip off scheduled for 9 p.m. ET from U.S. Airways Center. The game will be broadcast on Fox Sports Wisconsin.

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