Jim Owczarski on the Bucks loss to Indiana in the In-Season Tournament
Jim Owczarski gives his impressions of the Milwaukee Bucks in Las Vegas during the In-Season Tournament loss to Indiana
The star-deficient Chicago Bulls once again gave the Milwaukee Bucks problems, but unlike their previous contest, the Bucks pulled out a 133-129 overtime victory Monday night at Fiserv Forum.
The Bulls, who won in overtime on Nov. 30 at the United Center without all-stars Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan, played without LaVine and Alex Caruso on Monday and saw the Bucks limit all-star center Nikola Vučević to 37.5% shooting.
Yet DeRozan scored a season-high 41 and Coby White scored 33 and the Bulls once again converted a game-tying basket in the final seconds of regulation, this time with DeRozan hitting a short jumper to tie the game with 3.7 seconds remaining to force overtime.
In overtime, the Bucks missed three free throws to keep the Bulls within striking distance until Damian Lillard knocked down a pair with 10 seconds left to clinch it at 133-129.
“It was just great to see our resolve, you know?” Bucks center Brook Lopez said of the team holding Chicago to 11 overtime points — five of which came on free throws. “I thought whoever was put in the action did a great job of stepping up and taking the challenge. Whoever was out there on the floor. Giannis (Antetokounmpo) at one time. Khris (Middleton). Dame (Lillard). Our guys were stepping it up and accepting that challenge.”
Overall Chicago was just 3 of 14 from the floor in overtime, and one of those was an uncontested DeRozan dunk.
“We switched up our matchups, our lineups a little bit, tried to take them off rhythm just a little bit,” Bucks head coach Adrian Griffin said. “I thought the Bulls played a terrific game. Every time we thought we had ‘em down they kind of fought and clawed back in the game. But, when we needed to get stops, we got stops. So that was encouraging.”
BOX SCORE: Bucks 133, Bulls 129 (OVERTIME)
Seven Bucks finished in double figures in points, including Antetokounmpo (32), Lopez (19), Malik Beasley (19), Bobby Portis (17), Lillard (14), Middleton (13) and AJ Green (12). Middleton led the Bucks with 13 rebounds and he also had six assists.
“That’s the beauty of being on a really good team,” Lillard said. “It was not a situation where I have to – obviously I’m not going to get shy, I’m not going to shy away – but I don’t have to feel the pressure ‘I have to do something.’ If I see Brook popping back, I can make that play and he’s a great player, too, and it’s a good play for our team if he makes that shot. If I see Giannis running ahead in transition or in the pocket, or if I pass it ahead to Khris or if Khris is bringing the ball up, these are all good opportunities for us because you’re playing with good players. So, that was it. It’s a luxury. But I think that’s just part of being on a good team where you understand the situation.”
Patrick Williams had 15 for Chicago while Vučević had 14 to go with 10 rebounds. DeRozan also had 11 assists.
Milwaukee improved to 16-7 in snapping Chicago’s (9-16) four-game winning streak – which started with that victory over the Bucks.
Giannis Antetokounmpo turns it up late
Giannis Antetokounmpo started the night slowly, attempting just two shots in the first half and five through three quarters. He had 12 points on 3 of 5 shooting (thanks to six free throws), and he and Adrian Griffin acknowledged the Bulls were consistently attacking him with multiple defenders.
“I’ll be very honest with you, they were double-teaming and guys were open,” Antetokounmpo said. “In the pick-and-roll they were showing hard, guys were slipping (screens), they were open again. When I got the ball in the pocket, they were coming and swarming me. Brook was open. Guys in the corner were open. I was just trying to make the right play. There’s going to be games and there’s going to be teams around the league that I’m going to draw so much attention, which sometimes me taking a shot over two guys is not the best shot. Me trying to play in the crowd is not the best shot. I think I’ve gotten to the point that I’ve accepted that.”
And though he shot the ball just five times in the first half, the Bucks did score 74 points.
But the Bulls fully erased a 14-point deficit to tie the game with nine minutes remaining in the game, and the two-time league MVP turned up his aggressiveness from there.
“At that point it doesn’t matter what they do, I tried to make something happen,” he admitted.
In the final nine minutes Antetokounmpo was 5-for-7 from the floor and 5-for-6 from the free-throw line, with his only miss coming on a 10-second violation. He scored 15 points down the stretch to give the Bucks a lead heading into the final seconds.
“I think he was just trying this best to move the ball, because we don’t always move the ball well, so he was playing it almost a little bit passive,” Lillard said of Antetokounmpo’s first half. “The moment he got aggressive I don’t think they really had much for him. I think how he kind of wasn’t as aggressive from the beginning probably played to his favor because they relaxed a little bit and then it was just like boom, downhill, layup, foul. But, anytime you’re on the floor with a player as great as he is it’s obviously a luxury to have out there.”
In the overtime, Antetokounmpo added five more points and cleared two defensive rebounds. He finished with a team-high 32 points and had 12 rebounds to go with six assists. He was 9-for-13 from the floor and 14-for-18 from the free-throw line.
“I tried to get to the free throw line, tried to get into the paint, just tried to make something happen,” he said. “That was my mentality shift. But throughout the whole game we were leading, up 10, up 15, up 14 at one point. So, the way I was approaching the game with me moving the ball and just making the right play was working. And you know, that’s what a leader does. Sometimes it’s not about you. It’s about the team getting a good shot, and I’m OK with that.
“Maybe if you asked me five years ago, I was 24, against the Toronto Raptors in the playoffs and the Detroit Pistons or we played Boston or the teams we played, maybe I wasn’t OK with that. I wanted to make something happen all the time. But now, no matter what happens I’m going to come back tomorrow and I’m still going to be me, you know?”
Did you notice?
Khris Middleton hit Brook Lopez in the chest with a pass to the corner, attempting to hit Damian Lillard popping open behind the Lopez screen. Fortunately for the Bucks, Middleton’s rocket off his teammate bounced right back to him to keep the possession alive. Middleton then swung it back to Lopez in the corner, who put it on the floor and eventually floated up a lob to Antetokounmpo for a tip-in basket that put the Bucks up 109-105.
Damian Lillard turns to playmaking in win
Bucks point guard Damian Lillard was a playmaker with a team-high nine assists on the night, but after hitting his first shot of the game he was just 1-for-14 from the field the rest of the way in regulation. And he only attempted six shots in the second half altogether, including a 46-footer at the buzzer to try to win.
He has normally offset poor shooting nights with trips to the free-throw line, but against the Bulls he was just 4 of 5 from the charity stripe in regulation (with one attempt coming off a defensive three seconds technical foul).
But it didn’t mean the Bucks wouldn’t look to him to close it out.
With the Bucks up 117-116 with 29 seconds left Lillard tried to get to the bucket, but he slipped and fell once he wrapped his dribble behind his back. It forced a Milwaukee timeout with 20.3 seconds left and 12 on the shot clock, and after Khris Middleton inbounded it to Antetokounmpo, the ball wound up back in Lillard’s hands where he made 1 of 2 free throws to give the Bucks a 118-116 lead. Unfortunately, the Bulls were able to tie it on the next possession and force overtime.
In the extra session, he went 1-for-2 and hit two free throws with 10.2 seconds left to put the Bucks up 133-129. He also assisted on Brook Lopez’s opening basket of the overtime, which put the Bucks ahead — and they would never relinquish that lead.
“It’s a lot of ways to impact the game,” Lillard said. “I’ve been in a lot of games where I didn’t shoot the ball well. Just over time, you know when you get to that point where like, shots you usually make aren’t going in, you miss one you feel like is easy, you miss a free throw and you’re like man, it’s just one of those nights. I think it’s important to keep taking those opportunities when they’re there, but you can’t just allow that to stop you from playing the game. I still made plays, I was being a playmaker.
“Defensively, I was – a couple times – matched up on bigger dudes, just trying to put a body on ‘em. Taking the challenge, switching onto DeRozan or whatever the case might be, just try to do anything you can to do to contribute to the win and not get too caught up in oh, I’m missing shots. That’s part of the game. It happens. That’s what I was thinking in my head.”
Lillard finished the game with 14 points on 3 of 17 shooting, including 2 of 9 from behind the three-point line.
5 numbers
4 First-half three-pointers made by Bucks guard AJ Green in 11 minutes. Green was 3-for-4 from deep against New York on Dec. 5. He helped Milwaukee shoot 60% (12-for-20) from behind the arc in the opening 24 minutes, which saw the Bucks take a 74-65 lead at the break. Last season Green hit at least 3 threes on seven different occasions.
3-1 Bucks’ record when playing a team after losing to them. Milwaukee followed losses to Atlanta, Toronto and Chicago with victories after suffering an initial defeat. The only team to stack victories against Milwaukee thus far this season is Indiana with wins on Nov. 9 and Dec. 7. The Bucks host the Pacers on Wednesday.
4-3 Bucks’ record vs. the Bulls since the 2022-23 season. It’s been quite the change since the second half of the 2017-18 season when Milwaukee began a 12-game winning streak that spanned four seasons. From Jan. 28, 2018, through April 5, 2022, the Bucks posted an impressive 16-1 record.
69.2 Percent shooting from the field for Giannis Antetokounmpo, which is the sixth straight game he’s shot at least 60% from the floor. That set a new career-high for the 29-year-old. He previously shot 60% or better for five straight games from Dec. 12-21, 2018. The last Bucks player to be that efficient from the field for six straight games was Jared Dudley from Jan. 22-31, 2015. The club record is seven straight.
10/29/23 Date of the Bucks’ last home loss, to Atlanta. The Bucks have now won 10 straight at Fiserv Forum since then. The Bucks had won nine straight at Fiserv Forum before the loss to the Bulls.
Alex Caruso ruled out for Bulls
Guard Alex Caruso tested out his sprained left ankle before the game but ultimately was ruled out by Chicago. Caruso hit a buzzer-beating three-pointer over Brook Lopez at the end of regulation that resulted in an overtime victory for the Bulls over the Bucks on Nov. 30.
Bucks injury report
- Pat Connaughton, out (right ankle sprain)Bucks head coach Adrian Griffin said Connaughton will get some court work on Monday and the hope is he can return to action in about a week. Connaughton sprained his ankle against Miami on Nov. 29.
- Jae Crowder, out (left adductor surgery)
- Chris Livingston, out (left ankle sprain)Griffin said the rookie injured the ankle during his G League assignment with the Wisconsin Herd.
Bobby Portis, Adrian Griffin address locker room conversation after In-Season Tournament loss to Pacers
Several Bucks players left Las Vegas feeling a bit disenchanted with the way their 128-119 loss to the Pacers ended. Antetokounmpo cited an overall lack of organization on the offensive end and said the players need to execute better down the stretch. Lillard and Middleton had a breakdown where the ball was turned over in a key spot and each spoke about being better in that situation.
A Bleacher Report story late Thursday said Bobby Portis interrupted head coach Adrian Griffin’s postgame address to the team and called for the coach, and the team, to be better.
Both Griffin and Portis addressed the report on Sunday after practice:
Griffin: “I won’t comment on what was reported. We’re a passionate group. We hate to lose. We’re a together group. I love coaching this group. We got nothing but winners and high character guys. And whatever internal dialogue happens in our locker room, it stays in our locker room. But, we had a great, great practice today. Probably one of the best practices we’ve had. I love the vibe in the gym. Great energy. Then we just get ready for Chicago.”
Portis: “Don’t want to speak too much about what’s happening in our locker room. What happens in our locker room is just sacred between us. That’s how it’s always been. Don’t know how it got reported. But, at the same time man, just a competitor. I love to compete. I think I’m a leader. I lead by voice and I lead by example as well. Just some things that I’ve grown over my career and over my time here. I’ve been here a 1,000-plus days now so the guys know me, the guys know who I am. They know I wear my heart on my sleeve. I compete at a high level on a day-to-day basis, whether the shots are going in or not, whether I’m playing well or not I’m here for the betterment of the team. So just being a leader, being a voice and whoever else’s outside opinions, outside of our team, that’s just their opinions about me or our team. I’m here for all the right reasons.”
Giannis named to first In-Season All-Tournament team
The Bucks’ run in Las Vegas ended early with a semifinal loss to Indiana on Thursday, but for his efforts over the six games the team played in the In-Season Tournament Antetokounmpo was named to the all-tournament team.
He was joined by tournament MVP LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Kevin Durant and Oshkosh native Tyrese Haliburton.
Antetokounmpo averaged 29 points per game on 64.6% shooting in the Bucks’ tournament games. He also averaged 8.8 rebounds and 5.8 assists.