Giannis Antetokounmpo has stepped up strong, but the Bucks clearly suffered a defeat in New Orleans to the Pelicans (107-100) and are now under intense pressure from the Knicks and Cavaliers to finish second in the East.
The Bucks had a difficult night in New Orleans, defeating the Pelicans 107-100, while the Knicks and Cavaliers pursued them and strangled them for second place in the East.
Milwaukee fell to 46-27 (29-8 at home and 17-19 on the road), which felt suffocating against one of the most prominent teams in the West. Giannis Antetokounmpo scored an epic 20 points in the third period, leading his team, but Lillard and Beasley made some good passes and nothing more. The Bucks have the potential to achieve great things, but something is holding them back, three weeks before the playoffs.
New Orleans went 45-28 (21-14 at home, 24-14 on the road), a really well-balanced team that covered the absences of Brandon Ingram, Dyson Daniels and Jose Alvarado. Zion Williamson did a great job of finishing and wearing down his opponents, CJ McCollum won the game with his old friend Damian Lillard, Murphy and Valanciunas were great on defense and offense respectively, and Larry Nance even helped him out and even came off the bench significantly.
52-44 points on the boards, 13-17 points on the snap, 11-11 points off the bench, 17-2 points off fouls (the Pelicans committed only six), 17-5 points off second chances (offensive rebounds), with a steal finished. The Bucks scored 39.6% overall and 25% on three-pointers.
Giannis Antetokounmpo account
He came into the game strong, making 2-2 shots for the Bucks' first points, making two more baskets with five minutes to go, and was surprisingly focused and efficient on both ends of the floor. In the fifth minute, he sat on the bench to take his first breath, at the beginning of the second he received an air ball from a medium distance, immediately after it faded into the iron, and in the next stage he missed a three-point free throw. He couldn't find spaces, and from the moment on, the Pelicans' wall looked like the memorable wall Nick Nurse created against him when he was with the Raptors.
He opened the second half with a 0/2 shot, then made two more misses, but he had no nerves, no outbursts, staying focused and looking for “gaps”. He found the first with a foul on the field goal, continued to rush to the basket, made 2/2 for 70-58, made a surprise basket for 72-62, scored in the next one as well and thus suddenly turned into a pavement that separated for several minutes from the hosts. He scored 20 straight points for the Bucks (!) in a six-minute span, played the entire quarter again and was benched for three minutes early in the fourth quarter.
In the 42nd minute, he was accused of committing an attacking foul on Williamson. He disagreed and asked for a challenge, which Rivers accepted and was justified with the score 93-83. Lillard assisted on a 3-pointer in the 98-93 minute, committed his fifth foul in the 45th minute, avoided the sixth foul, didn't make any attempts, and in the crunch Beasley found an iron and the Bucks didn't complete the turnover they really fought for.
- 35 points
- 15/20 2 points
- Shots 5/11
- 14 rebounds
- 4 assists
- 2 errors
- 5 errors
- -2 to +/-
- At 39:11
Dodecalypta: 26-25, 61-45, 85-73, 107-100
New Orleans Pelicans (Willie Green): Murphy 15 (2/9 3-pointers, 5/5 shooting, 11 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals), Williamson 28 (9/15 2-pointers, 10/16 shooting, 5 rebounds, 2 assists) ). ), Valanciunas 17 (6/10 2-pointers, 1/3 3-pointers, 2/2 steals, 10 rebounds), Jones 11 (1 3-pointer, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 4 steals, 3 blocks), McCollum. 25 (6/15 2-pointers, 3/9 3-pointers, 4/4 shooting, 7 rebounds, 7 assists), Nance 9 (1 3-pointers, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals), Hawkins 2, Marshall, Ryan
Milwaukee Bucks (Doc Rivers): Middleton 7 (1/7 threes, 8 rebounds, 6 assists), Antetokounmpo 35, Lopez 7 (1/4 threes, 5 rebounds, 3 blocks), Beasley 20 (6/11 threes), Lillard 20.5 /10 2 pts, 3/6 3 pts, 5 rebounds, 7 assists, Portis 5 (1 3 pts, 7 rebounds), Crowder 3 (1), Connaughton 3 (1), Beverley, Green
New Orleans Pelicans statistics: 28/59 2-pointers, 8/32 3-pointers, 27/34 steals, 60 rebounds, 22 assists, 11 steals, 5 blocks, 6 turnovers, 19 fouls
Milwaukee Bucks team statistics: 24/43 2-pointers, 14/39 3-pointers, 10/19 shooting, 55 rebounds, 21 assists, 1 steal, 4 blocks, 14 turnovers, 25 fouls
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