The Milwaukee Bucks continue their drift toward the NBA draft lottery as they lost 129-114 to the Phoenix Suns on March 10 at Fiserv Forum.
The Bucks are still mathematically in the play-in race with 18 games left in the regular season, but they have lost six of their last seven games.
With Giannis Antetokounmpo back in the lineup following two days off, the team showed some fight against a hard-nosed Suns team. But, including the 15-point loss to the Suns, the Bucks have been outscored by 151 points (25.2 per game) in those six defeats.
“Phoenix plays a high pace, they draw and kick and it takes multiple effort and a lot of players to play them and we didn’t have the players with a lot of guys out,” Bucks head coach Doc Rivers said. “And i thought as the game went on, you could see it wearing us down.”
Kyle Kuzma scored 31 points through three quarters to help the Bucks stay connected, but unfortunately the Bucks gave up a 49-foot buzzer beating heave to Royce O’Neale at the end of the third that broke a 97-97 tie and gave Phoenix some momentum into the fourth.
BOX SCORE: Suns 129, Bucks 114
The Suns kept it up coming out of the fourth quarter with a 7-0 run (10-0 total) to build a 10-point lead that they stretched to 13 with four minutes to go. Milwaukee never really challenged after that.
“They didn’t change the way they played,” Antetokounmpo said. “They kept on doing a lot of ghost screens, a lot of pass, pass, pass, pass to the open guy. A lot of drive-and-kicks. They didn’t stop playing the way they played. And I think that’s why they were able to stay in the game, take the lead and keep the lead.”
Kuzma finished with 33 to lead Milwaukee while Myles Turner and Antetokounmpo scored 22 each. Ryan Rollins added 14 and seven assists while Ousmane Dieng had 12 points and 10 rebounds.
Phoenix (38-27) is amid a remarkable turnaround season that the Bucks had hoped for, as the Suns had gone 36-46 last season. The Suns changed their general manager, head coach and overhauled the roster around their franchise star, Devin Booker, and are in the mix for a playoff spot in the Western Conference.
Against the Bucks they were led by Booker’s 27. Jalen Green scored 25 points, including 14 in the first quarter. O’Neale went 7-for-11 from behind the 3-point line en route to 21 points for the Suns, including the 49-foot heave that beat the buzzer at the end of the third quarter.
Giannis Antetokounmpo forced into playmaking role
The opening moments of the game illustrated how the Suns were going to make the Bucks, and Antetokounmpo, work offensively all night long. Phoenix head coach Jordan Ott had his team quickly double and triple-team Antetokounmpo nearly at the catch to force the ball out of his hands.
They even did this as he was near the 3-point line at times.
On paper, it would have appeared to be a sound strategy, as the Bucks had not scored 100 points in five of their last nine games. But, one of the predominant issues for the Bucks in scoring is that they fall into too many isolation (one-on-one situations) and by bringing multiple players to Antetokounmpo it only encouraged ball movement.
“Him trusting was huge, especially early in the game,” Rivers said. “Trying to get him to post more. I didn’t think we did a very good job of getting him in the post in the fourth quarter so they could trap to create threes for us. We just never got to it.”
And while the Bucks haven’t been very good, when they do play well – and score – it’s when the ball is moving to secondary actions. Though Antetokounmpo had just a couple of assists in the early going, he put momentum behind the ball and the Bucks played the Suns out of that defense early.
Antetokounmpo then tried to take advantage of the single coverage and spacing in the second quarter, but his touch around the rim wasn’t entirely there as he missed a dunk and two layups. Even though he struggled through a 4-for-10 first half from the field, the early rhythm for his teammates carried on as the Bucks shot 18-for-30 (60%) around him for a 65-point half.
In the second half Phoenix again turned up the pressure, and though Antetokounmpo appeared either winded. or hobbled, he still kept the Bucks’ offense connected. He attempted just a few shots in the second half.
He winced following a missed dunk and a putback in the second quarter and then in the third quarter he appeared to be in some discomfort after he lost a jump ball to Devin Booker. He crouched on the court for several moments before resting on the scoring table for some time, a stretch that even led Rivers to check on him.
Antetokounmpo did return early in the fourth quarter and finished with 30 minutes, but the Bucks couldn’t get enough stops to overcome.
“I’m happy that I’m at 30, that means next game I’m a little bit higher,” Antetokounmpo said. “Good stuff. It definitely felt (like 30 minutes). Just gotta keep getting into game shape, game by game. It takes awhile. But I will get there.”
Myles Turner’s mystery minutes
Turner, the largest free agent signing in Bucks history for whom the team waived Damian Lillard to acquire, had not played more than 24 minutes in his first nine games out of the all-star break (Feb. 22-March 8) before playing 32 against Phoenix.
And that increase was likely due in large part to Jericho Sims and Bobby Portis Jr. being held out of action due to minor injuries. And, Turner didn’t play down the stretch, with a winded Giannis Antetokounmpo finishing out the game as a “small ball” center.
With the extra work, Turner scored 22 points on 7 of 13 shooting, including a 5-for-8 mark from behind the 3-pointagainst the Suns. He also had nine rebounds and three assists.
In playing just 21.8 minutes per game in those nine games, Turner averaged 9.1 points, 3.7 rebounds and 1.2 blocks. He had not played that few minutes in his career since logging 22.8 per game as a 19-year-old rookie in 2015-16.
“I’m trying to figure it out,” Turner said of how he’s trying to be as productive as possible in such limited time. “Honestly, I’m trying to figure all that out.
“I mean, it’s just been; I think everybody in the organization is trying to figure it out. It’s different lineups, different combination of guys. At times we like to go to switching lineups so they put Jericho or (Kyle Kuzma) or (Ousmane Dieng) out for my position. All I can do is go out there and just stay consistent. I put my work in every single day to be available and be healthy and whatever is asked of me to do, to go out there and do it.”
Turner missed the last game before the break (Feb. 12) and the first game out of it (Feb. 20) with a right calf strain, but upon his return to the court Doc Rivers said the veteran was not on a minute restriction.
In his first 50 games of the year Turner played 28.5 minutes per game, down from the 30.2 he played while helping Indiana to the NBA Finals a year ago.
Kyle Kuzma scores 10,000th career point
Kuzma carried the game ball up to the podium following the game, and said that growing up he had two goals: Play in the NBA and score 10,000 points.
“Random,” he said. “Just so random how it happens.”
He said he knew he was getting close to the milestone in the last several games, and came into the contest against Phoenix with 9,969. He hit the magic number on his final basket in a 16-point third quarter.
“I was praying this morning, I told God, you know it’d be pretty cool if you know, I could score like 30 tonight because I knew where I kind of was,” Kuzma said. “And I had 33. You can’t make it up, honestly.”
He became the 414th player in the history of the NBA to score that many points. Antetokounmpo, who is currently 42nd all-time with 21,469 points, noted that Kuzma is one of the highest-scoring members of the 2017 draft class. Only Cleveland’s Donovan Mitchell, Boston’s Jayson Tatum, San Antonio’s De’Aaron Fox and Miami’s Bam Adebayo have scored more.
“It doesn’t really matter what people say about you or what people think about you, if you stay consistent to the game and you keep on showing up every single day, milestones like this happen,” Antetokounmpo said. “I’m definitely happy for him. He played very, very good tonight. He was very decisive, very aggressive, get to his spot, was playing the right way. I’m happy that he was able to hit a milestone like this.”
Did you notice?
Suns guard Jalen Green crossed up and, potentially, pushed off on Bucks defender Ousmane Dieng early in the first quarter, sending Dieng sliding to the floor. Green then took a beat, point at Dieng, and knocked down a 20-footer much to the delight of his teammates on the bench. The jumper was part of a 14-point first quarter for Green, who was 5 of 7 from the field overall and 2-for-2 from behind the 3-point line. He also made two free throws.
5 numbers
1.3: Percent chance the Bucks could make the play-in tournament heading into the game, per ESPN analytics.
13.9: Percent chance the Bucks could win a top-four pick in the NBA draft lottery heading into the game, per the lottery-tracking web site www.tankathon.com.
7: Games Pete Nance has left to play for the Bucks, due to the rules of his two-way contract. The Bucks have 18 games left. Nance played his 32nd game vs. Phoenix. He has not played in 11 games he was active for. (He has been inactive for 21 games.)
Should the Bucks wish to have Nance play more games, or any postseason games should they make it that far, they would have to waive a current player off the 15-person roster and sign Nance to a standard contract.
15-18: Bucks record at home with eight games left. They have not had a losing record at Fiserv Forum in the arena’s history. The last time Milwaukee had a losing record at home was in the 2013-14 season (10-31).
2006-07: The last time a team coached by Doc Rivers finished the season with a losing record (24-58 in Boston). The Bucks must finish the season 14-4 to prevent finishing below .500 this season. Rivers has only had two losing seasons in his previous 26 seasons leading Orlando, Boston, the Los Angeles Clippers, Philadelphia and the Bucks.
Is Giannis playing?
Yes.
After taking the second night of a back-to-back off on March 8 while he works his way back from a severe calf strain, Antetokounmpo will be back in the lineup vs. the Suns. He is playing under a minutes restriction, however. Antetokounmpo played 27 minutes vs. Utah on March 7.
Milwaukee Bucks injury report
Taurean Prince returns after neck surgery
Forward Taurean Prince was upgraded to questionable to play vs. the Suns, which is indication that his return from a November neck surgery is imminent. Before the game Doc Rivers said he expects Prince to get minutes.
Prince began the season playing in the team’s first eight games, but he said a hard hit from Indiana center Tony Bradley on Nov. 3 exacerbated an issue in his neck that required surgery for him to continue playing.
The Bucks never ruled Prince out for the season – and he always maintained he was going to play again at some point. So, just ahead of his 32nd birthday (March 22), it appears Prince will be back in uniform.
Bucks probable starting lineup
What time is the Bucks game?
Tip off is scheduled for 7 p.m. CT.
What channel is the Bucks game on?
The game will be broadcast locally on FanDuel Sports Network Wisconsin with Lisa Byington, Wesley Matthews and Melanie Ricks on the call.
NBA playoff standings
The Bucks are currently out of the postseason picture entirely. Here are the play-in standings in the Eastern Conference heading into game play on March 10:
No. 7: Miami (36-29): The Bucks and Magic have split the season series 1-1. Milwaukee travels to Miami on March 12.
No. 8: Philadelphia (34-30): The 76ers have won the season series over the Bucks, winning the first three games. The Bucks head to Philadelphia to end the season on April 12.
No. 9: Atlanta (33-31): The Bucks and Hawks have split the season series 1-1. Milwaukee travels to Atlanta on March 14.
No. 10: Charlotte (32-33): The Bucks own the tiebreaker over the Hornets having won the season series 3-1.
No. 11: Milwaukee (27-36): The Bucks have had better luck against the play-in teams to date, as they are just 5-14 against the top six seeds in the conference.
Bucks vs. Suns odds
Phoenix is a 1.5-point favorite over Milwaukee, with the over/under set at 217.5 points per BetMGM.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Suns beat Bucks 129-114 despite big nights from Kuzma, Turner
Reporting by Jim Owczarski, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
