With 33 games played and 49 left this season, the Bucks have already achieved more than what was expected of them in a full season. Having surpassed last year’s 15-win mark, the Bucks are far from settling—they want more.
Coach Kidd has rallied this young group to rank amongst the best in the NBA in a multitude of categories. 6th in fast break points per game (15.2); 5th in steals per game (9.0); 3rd is creating turnovers (16.6); and of course 1st in bench points (44.8). Even with the fall of Jabari Parker, the Bucks have simply used the “next man up” mentality to cope without the No. 2 overall pick’s absence—the Bucks have not slowed down.
Brandon Knight tallied 26 points, six rebounds and five assists as the Bucks rolled over the LeBron James-less Cavaliers in Quicken Loans Arena, 96-80.
Knight felt that the team was focused on the task at hand, regardless of the absence from the big stars.
“I think it made us a little more focused,” Knight said. “We knew their guys who come behind were going to try to take advantage of the time and play hard. Once we heard that, we kind of re-focused. We didn’t prepare for the guys who were going to be on the court; we prepared for their main guys as usual. We just try to stick to our principles no matter who we’re playing or who is on the court.”
The Bucks started in a rapid pace from beyond the arc and never looked back, knocking down seven 3-pointers in the first quarter off of nine attempts. The shooting display gave Milwaukee a 31-18 first quarter victory.
Kevin Love didn’t play in the game either, and Giannis Antetokounmpo took advantage with his 14 points, eight rebounds, five assists and three blocks.
Giannis had a big play out of the post with about three minutes left in regulation to seal the win for his team. The Greek Freak was working down low when his threat to score became apparent, creating attention from the defense. Giannis kicked the ball out to Knight who sank a 3-pointer to give the Bucks a 14-points lead.
Coach Kidd knows Antetokounmpo’s skill level can carry this team.
“He has the ability to look over the defense,” J-Kidd said of Giannis. “If he doesn’t have his little hook shot, he can find the open guy and he did that twice tonight.”
To no one’s surprise, the Milwaukee bench outscored the Cleveland bench 36-25. O.J. Mayo led the second group in scoring with 15 points, including three 3-pointers in 26 minutes of action.
Cleveland fought back in the second quarter behind eight points from Matthew Dellavedova and six from Kyrie Irving to make it just 52-47 Milwaukee at the break. Then in the third, the Bucks defense set up the victory.
Milwaukee held the Cavs to a season-low seven points in the third quarter off just 15.8 percent shooting. Meanwhile, Knight and Zaza Pachulia combined for 13 points to make it a 17-point game going into the fourth.
Irving led the Cavs with 25 points; but Milwaukee never took their foot off the pedal, eventually creating a lead as large as 22 in the fourth quarter. The Bucks moved to 10-10 on the road with their win in Cleveland Wednesday night.
NEXT UP
The Bucks will look to move to 18-16 on the year against the Indiana Pacers (12-21) on Friday night at BMO Harris Bradley Center. The Pacers have a shocking NINE players that average in double figures, led by George Hill’s 14.2 points per game.
The Bucks won the first matchup of the season 87-81 at home back on Nov. 4 when Knight led the way with 23 points.
With so many players on the Indiana roster that can score, its hard to prepare for them—anyone can have a big night.
Tip off is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. ET.
