It’s been a season full of accomplishments for the Milwaukee Bucks in their first year under coach Jason Kidd and in their final outing before the All-Star break, the young Bucks made history.

Milwaukee topped the Sacramento Kings 111-103 for their 30th victory of the season, which effectively doubled their win total from last season. That feat makes the 2014-15 Bucks the first team in NBA history to double their direct predecessor’s win total before the All-Star break. Coach Kidd has brought a stark change in culture with him to Milwaukee and success has followed a lot sooner than was expected. But after the game, he deflected credit for his team’s seemingly instant turnaround to the players.

“It goes to the guys in the locker room who put on the uniform every day,” he said. “Those guys truly believe in one another. They believe in the coaches, they believe in management and ownership. You get the vibe that there’s a lot of positive stuff going on in the locker room and the arena. “

Atlanta Hawks vs Milwaukee Bucks

The victory was also the team’s sixth straight win at home, where the buzz around the Bucks is growing with each passing . Fittingly, a Milwaukee team that has thrived in large-part due to the chemistry and unselfishness of its players accomplished the unique 30-win feat with a full-team effort where five players finished in double figures and all 11 players to check in made the scoring column. That kind of teamwork, Coach Kidd noted, has laid the groundwork for a remarkable start to the season.

“You can see in the stat line, there are always five or six guys in double figures. The guys are sharing the ball. I think they really believe in team. It isn’t just one guy we count on, we count on everybody and I think they really believe that.”

Indeed, the stat sheet was once again loaded with outstanding performances by Bucks players in both starting and reserve roles. Reserve shooting guard O.J. Mayo paced the team scoring-wise with 21 points off the bench, while starting point guard Brandon Knight tallied 20 points, six rebounds and five assists in the victory. Swingman Giannis Antetokounmpo had 13 points and seven rebounds and and Milwaukee’s other versatile vet Khris Middleton posted the first double-double of his career with 15 points and a career-high 10 rebounds.

Sacramento Kings v Milwaukee Bucks

Starting center John Henson rounded out the double-digit scorers with 12 points, and tacked on five blocks and four rebounds. After the game, Henson who has been in Milwaukee for three years since being drafted No. 14 overall from North Carolina in the 2012 NBA draft, talked about Kidd’s instant impact on the franchise.

“It means a lot for the city, for the team, for the organization, coaches and owners,” Henson said. “I was here for coach (Scott) Skiles and coach (Larry) Drew. It’s nice to be on the winning side and see things change and the culture change. However, we have a lot of work to do. The pressure gets harder. Coach Kidd talked to the young guys and said we have to be ready to make that push for 40-plus wins and coming into the playoffs.”

Early on, the Bucks starting crew was led by an outstanding opening quarter from Middleton, who tallied 11 points and four boards in the first frame. Henson and the team’s other starter, Jared Dudley, went for six and five points respectively to match Middleton’s 11. Despite their efforts, the two teams were knotted at 29 after one quarter. But in the second quarter, the bench came alive to turn the tide. Mayo led the way with nine points, and the Bucks shot 50 percent to take a 60-51 lead at halftime.

Sacramento Kings v Milwaukee Bucks

The Bucks then charged out of the locker room, and that’s when Knight took his turn for Milwaukee. The Bucks point guard, who will participate in the All-Star Game Skills Challenge on Saturday night, hit two threes and tallied 14 points off 6-of-9 shooting in the third, helping his squad take a commanding 87-69 lead.

“B-Knight’s playing at an All-Star level,” Coach Kidd said. “When he has the ball, we always feel like something good’s going to happen.”

Averaging 17.8 points, 4.3 rebounds and 5.4 assists per game this season, Knight was believed by many to be a snub from year’s All-Star game, and he certainly looked deserving after scoring 10 straight points to close the third quarter.

But before the Bucks could depart for the long All-Star break, they had to deal with one of the league’s other rising stars: DeMarcus Cousins, who will be representing the Kings in Sunday’s All-Star main event.

Sacramento Kings v Milwaukee Bucks

Led by Cousins — who finished with 28 points, 19 rebounds, five assists and four blocks — Sacramento wouldn’t go quietly and chipped away at Milwaukee’s large lead in the fourth. Cousins tallied 10 points and seven boards in the frame, and after the game Coach Kidd talked about the challenge he presented the Bucks.

“He’s going to touch the ball almost every time down,” Coach Kidd said of Cousins. “He missed some where we got the rebound and went the other way. He’s a talent; he’s a load. His numbers look great. It’s not that you’re going to stop him. I thought John (Henson) did a really good job and Z (Zaza Pachulia), too.”

After Cousins brought the Kings back, his teammates got hot late in the frame to make a run at Milwaukee’s dwindling lead. Ben McLemore, who matched Cousins with 10 points in the final frame, buried a three at the 2:05 mark that cut the Bucks lead to nine. Shortly thereafter, a Rudy Gay lay-in trimmed it down to eight. But after that bucket, Knight came right back with a clutch trifecta, which kept the Kings at arm’s length. From there, the Bucks went 5-of-6 from the free-throw line to close out the game.

Milwaukee has been built around talented young players, but the few veterans have taken the team a long way. Mayo, one of the elders of the group with two playoff stints under his belt, knows that they’re going to have to keep up their intensity if they expect to go sustain their success.

“We are still not content,” Mayo said. “We have a whole second half of the season left. We don’t want to mess up what we did in the first half. Teams are going to have a little bit more respect for us. If you want to be a good team, you understand other good teams are going to rev it up to get ready for the playoffs.”

That has been the modus operandi of the Bucks all season, and Coach Kidd noted as the team heads into the long break that he will keep his team focused on improving with each game. As the break commences, he knows that it only gets harder as the season goes on, but he is happy to see such success surrounding a franchise that needed a revival after last season.

“These guys really believe in one another and believe in the schemes and philosophy we have brought in since day one,” Kidd said. “They are having fun with it. You can see that out on the court. Just the family atmosphere, them believing in one another. No matter if you have 14, 13 guys playing or eight or nine, they still believe they can win when they take the floor. That’s kind of fun to be around.”

NEXT UP

The Bucks (30-23) will take the break to rest per J-Kidd’s orders before picking back up for a crucial three-game stretch, starting at home next Friday, Feb. 20, when they host the Denver Nuggets (20-33).

“We start at home with a nice home stand,” Jason said of returning against Denver and Atlanta. “This is a little different for everybody with the longer break. I told the guys, ‘Enjoy the break.’ Much needed. But for the guys who have been around, it does turn into a sprint. The better teams start to play a little bit harder and they get better. Understanding the new season (the playoffs) is just around the corner. This will be fun. This is something we’re going to go through together.”

The game against the Nuggets is the first of two straight at home in Milwaukee. But the schedule ramps up after the Nuggets leave town. The pair of matchups that follows will test just how far the Bucks have come, as they face off against two of the best teams in the Eastern Conference. On Sunday, Milwaukee will host the East-leading Atlanta Hawks (43-11). Then, immediately following that game, they’ll make the short trip down to Chicago to take on the Bulls (33-20) Monday night.

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