The Milwaukee Bucks parted ways with one of their most consistent performers from the first half, but Jason Kidd is making sure his team doesn’t miss a beat as they continue their march toward the postseason.

Point guard Brandon Knight, the team’s leading scorer, was sent to the Phoenix Suns in a part of a three-team trade that landed Miles Plumlee, Tyler Ennis and reigning Rookie of the Year Michael Carter-Williams in Milwaukee.

Denver Nuggets v Milwaukee Bucks

Despite the shakeup the Bucks came out of the break sticking to the defensive-minded, team-first principles instilled by Coach Kidd and topped the Denver Nuggets 89-81. Two nights later, they took on the top team in the Eastern Conference, the Atlanta Hawks, and fell 97-86.

“Chemistry is something we have already established with our core, we traded one player,” Coach Kidd said. “We’ve been with a lot of injuries throughout the season, we’ve had everybody out almost. You play with the guys that can put on a uniform and you play basketball. Our whole thing here is energy and effort as we start building a team to compete for a championship. Its always next guy up.”

NEW BUCKS BEAT NUGGETS Denver Nuggets v Milwaukee Bucks

Against Denver at home, Jerryd Bayless started at point guard with Knight no longer with the team and Carter-Williams not suiting up due to a toe injury. Bayless stepped up and scored 11 points, had eight rebounds and seven assists in the victory at BMO Harris Bradley Center.

Six players scored in double-figures for Milwaukee; John Henson scored 14, Jared Dudley had 11, Khris Middleton had 15, OJ Mayo had 13 off the bench and Giannis Antetokounmpo had 10 points and nine rebounds.

With the All-Star break, couple days off and the trades things seem to speed up for a youngster in the NBA, but Coach Kidd was pleased with Giannis’ performance after participating in the Rising Stars Challenge and Slam Dunk competition.

“To be able to handle a trade, to handle all-star weekend, to handle meaningful games, there’s a lot to digest for a 20-year-old,” J-Kidd said. “Even though Giannis didn’t have his ‘A’ game he still had 10 and 9.”

Of the three new players that were acquired in the trade, only one suited up on Friday night: Tyler Ennis.

Ennis logged a career-high in minutes on his debut with 18 as he recorded four points, two assists and a steal and turned the ball over three times.

“Once you’re out there, its just reads and playing basketball,” Jason said. “I thought he did a wonderful job for us tonight. Turnovers are going to happen. But you can see his poise….For his first night out, with barely any practice, I thought he did a great job.”

Denver Nuggets v Milwaukee Bucks

Nuggets forward Wilson Chandler was the only problem for the Bucks. Chandler had 19 points to lead the game, but was 8-of-20 in 38 minutes. It was behind his aggressiveness that Denver was able to hang on to a lead the whole first half, until a 20-7 run by Milwaukee in the last seven minutes of the third frame put the Bucks in the drivers seat. During the run, Henson had four baskets.

“In coverage, the roll guys will be open. I was just finishing, doing what I was supposed to do and we got the lead,” Henson said.

Denver drew within 74-71 with 9:35 left in the game on Danilo Gallinari’s three from the corner. But the Bucks defense came through with less than 2 minutes left, and Middleton hit an open three from the corner with 1:24 left to give the Bucks a 10-point lead.

The victory over Denver pushed Milwaukee’s home winning streak to seven.

“This game is about rhythm. But we found a way to get stops when we had to, came up with some big rebounds in the second half,” Coach Kidd said.

HAWKS TOO HOT

While the Bucks are somewhat in flux with three new additions and the loss of a key component of their offense, the Hawks are a team who have reached the top of the East on a solid system—and that disparity showed Sunday night.

Milwaukee committed 16 turnovers in the first half, leading to 16 points by Atlanta, and finished with 25 turnovers.

“Our starters had 15 of them,” Jason said of the miscues. “Our first group has to slow down a little bit. I think at halftime they had 18 more shots than we did. No matter make or miss, we’ve got to take care of the ball.”

Mayo, who finished 15 points off the bench, scored on a drive to cut Atlanta’s lead to 74-68 early in the final quarter. But Kyle Korver had 12 points in the game, all on three-point shots, but three of them came in the fourth quarter, which deflated the comeback Milwaukee was putting together.

“They

[Atlanta] spread the floor, that’s why they’re the best in the east and if not the best in the league,” J-Kidd said. “That got guys that play inside and out, and we gave up to many second opportunities. We need to understand how important it is to make sure teams only get one shot.”

The Greek Freak and Middleton each had 19 points in the game, and also made all their free throws combining for a solid 11-for-11 from the stripe. The whole Bucks team shot 100 percent from the line, converting on all 18 attempts.

Atlanta Hawks v Milwaukee Bucks

Center Miles Plumlee made his Bucks debut and finished with four points, five rebounds and three assists in 15 minutes. Ennis, playing in his second game with Milwaukee, added four points and three assists in 18 minutes.

“It’s about getting confidence and getting comfortable,” Jason said about Ennis and Plumlee. “Mid season trades aren’t easy. I think Tyler is doing well for us, and Miles being a presence in the post, and also defensively giving us rebounds and toughness.”

The Bucks dropped to 8-18 against winning teams, a huge contrast to their 23-6 record against sub-.500 teams. The loss also snapped Milwaukee’s seven-game winning streak at home.

NEXT UP

Milwaukee (31-24) will have a quick turnaround and a big road test against the Chicago Bulls (35-21) Monday night.

The Bulls currently sit 3.5 games ahead of the Bucks at No. 3 in the East, making this a crucial seeding tilt as the playoffs draw near.

Chicago got the best of Milwaukee in the first two meetings between the nearby neighbors this season, winning Round 1 in Milwaukee 95-86, then Round 2 in Chicago 95-87.

Round 3 will tip off at 8 p.m. ET from Chicago’s United Center.

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