Kevin Durant and the Houston Rockets got the better of Giannis Antetokoumpo and the Milwaukee Bucks by a final score of 122-115. A rough crunch time performance and self-inflicted wounds led to the Bucks’ fourth loss of the season. Read our full summary of the game here and catch a six-minute audio recap on the Bucks+ podcast, Bucks In Six Minutes, below.
Player Grades
Giannis Antetokounmpo
36 minutes, 37 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists, 14/25 FG, 9/14 FT, +0
It was a good game for Giannis, but it’s the first time he didn’t get a double-double
all season. More importantly, after going 7/8 from the charity stripe, Giannis went 2/6 in the fourth quarter, all during the final four and a half minute stretch that cost the Bucks the game.
Grade: B+
Myles Turner
34 minutes, 13 points, 6 rebounds, 3 steals, 3 blocks, 6/11 FG, 1/3 3PT, -17
Turner was having a difficult time staying in front of some of the Rockets players, especially Alperen Sengun. There was a stretch of three straight possessions where Sengun beat Turner inside, and it hurt them in the end. Solid offensive day and rim protection keep this grade above a C.
Grade: B-
Ryan Rollins
30 minutes, 19 points, 5 assists, 7/12 FG, 3/6 3PT, -15
Rollins made some big shots for the Bucks down the stretch, including a three that gave them a four-point cushion and a layup to tie the game. This was always going to be a difficult matchup with him having to guard Amen Thompson, but in holding him to 14 points on 6/13 shooting, he did as good a job as he could have.
Grade: B
AJ Green
26 minutes, 3 points, 4 assists, 2 steals, 3 fouls, 1/5 3PT, -6
This is a game that Green is going to want to toss into the fire after watching the film. He picked up two early fouls, which forced Doc to play Amir Coffey in the first quarter. Having to sit early made it hard for him to get going offensively. He gave effort on the defensive end, but he was unplayable while the Bucks were holding onto the lead.
Grade: D+
Gary Trent Jr.
29 minutes, 9 points, 2 rebounds, 2 steals, 3/5 3PT, -21
While the -21 is a horrible look, I’m not placing it all on Trent. There were moments where he had to guard Kevin Durant, and in a game where Giannis is playing and Kuzma is doing a good job, that shouldn’t happen. He was efficient on his threes, but you still want more from Trent.
Grade: C
Kyle Kuzma
30 minutes, 11 points, 4/7 FG, 3/6 3PT, +4
Kuz is nearing underrated defender territory. He’s had to guard a variety of players, including Karl Anthony-Towns, Josh Giddey, and now Kevin Durant. There was a stretch of time where Durant was 1/4 with Kuzma defending him in the third quarter. He also had his best three-point shooting day of the season.
Grade: A-
Cole Anthony
18 minutes, 12 points, 6 assists, 5 rebounds, 4 turnovers, 5/9 FG, +8
This was a much better day for Anthony compared to Friday. He was aggressive in the paint, only took two three-pointers, and continued to be the floor general for the bench unit.
Grade: B
Bobby Portis
24 minutes, 11 points, 4 assists, 3 steals, 4/4 FG, 2/4 FT, +9
This is more of the type of game you want from Bobby. He didn’t miss a shot from the field, took them in rhythm, and even snagged three steals. There are always going to be defensive issues, but this is a much better showing for Portis.
Grade: B-
Doc Rivers
The theme from everyone postgame was that they let this one slip away, and that partially falls on Rivers. While I understand the need to sit Kuzma late in the fourth quarter, considering he played 12:56 straight, why not give him a rest earlier in the quarter, so you could’ve used him in crunch time? The decision to throw Trent and Green back out there to defend Durant is a head-scratching one for sure.
Grade: C
Limited Minutes: Amir Coffey
DNP-CD: Gary Harris, Andre Jackson Jr., Jericho Sims, Thanasis Antetokoumpo, Mark Sears
Inactive: Kevin Porter Jr., Taurean Prince, Pete Nance, Alex Antetokounmpo
Bonus Bucks Bits
- Prior to the game, Doc Rivers gave an update about the status of Taurean Prince, who has missed the past two contests with a neck strain. He said that Prince will be out until they can get an MRI done on his neck, presumably to see the severity of the strain moving forward.
- The Bucks only scored seven points in the final 4:49 of game clock, while the Rockets scored 22 en route to the win. Giannis said that the lack of ball movement and passing really hurt them down the stretch:
“The ball was sticking a lot. When I had the ball, guys were not moving, our spacing was not good. We have to play the way we play through the first three quarters, I know in the fourth quarter you have to be smarter, but we gotta keep playing with pace, good spacing, guys gotta get in the paint, and just being smarter down the stretch.”
- I asked Kuzma what this game meant for the team as a learning experience for a team with a lot of new and younger pieces:
“Every game is a learning situation, especially for this type of team. A lot of new guys, new faces. You need these type of games. It sucks to lose, but there are some positives. You just have to learn from the things we did wrong, so we don’t do this again. That’s life.”
- The Rockets lead the league in offensive rebounding percentage, per Cleaning The Glass. Though defensive rebounding has been an issue for the Bucks this year, it’s tough to deal with Steven Adams and Clint Capela off the bench. Their 20 offensive boards led to 18 second-chance points.
- Doc Rivers said one of the biggest factors in the first half was the Bucks’ ability to turn over the Rockets and get easy baskets. In the first 24 minutes, the Bucks forced 11 turnovers, which they turned into 21 of their 61 first-half points. In the second half, they only forced six and scored nine points off those turnovers.
“I thought the difference in the game was we turned them over, so it was equal [in relation to the Rockets proficiency on the offensive glass]. But in the second half, we turned it over and they kept getting offensive rebounds, and that made it a tough game to win.”
Up Next
The Bucks will travel south to take on another team from Texas, the Dallas Mavericks, on Monday. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m. Central time from the American Airlines Center, with the action viewable on FanDuel Sports Network Wisconsin.
