Down Giannis, Kevin Porter Jr., Kyle Kuzma, and Cam Thomas (who was waived), the Milwaukee Bucks got their asses handed to them by the LA Clippers in a 129-96 blowout. Gary Trent Jr. led the Bucks with 20 points on 6/10 from deep, while Kawhi Leonard dominated for the Clippers with 28 points.
Game Recap
Both teams got off to a rocky start from a shooting standpoint, but it was Darius Garland and Kawhi Leonard who threw the first punch, combining for the Clippers’ first nine points, grabbing
a four-point edge over the Bucks after about four minutes. Then LA went cold for a stretch, allowing the Bucks to stay close via Ryan Rollins’ driving and Myles Turner’s shooting. Bobby Portis checked in and provided his usual spark, but it was the Clippers’ bench crew of Kris Dunn, Jordan Miller, Kobe Sanders, and Isaiah Jackson who sparked the home team to a 28-24 edge after one.
LA punched Milwaukee in the mouth to open the second, going on an 8-4 run as Doc called for a timeout just 1:31 into the period. Kobe Sanders benefited multiple times from the Bucks failing to match up in transition, bombing away for his third three of the night to put LA up 39-30. The Bucks kept the Clippers from extending their lead by more than about 10 for a good amount of time, but the talent of Garland and Leonard proved too much to handle, and the home team ballooned its advantage to 16 halfway through the period. For one, the Bucks couldn’t score, but also, they were back to their high-turnover ways, giving it away nine times in the second quarter alone. Like a boa constrictor, LA continued to squeeze the life out of Milwaukee to end the quarter, increasing their lead to 24 off the back of more Leonard dominance. Clips up 71-47 at half.
Well, if the wheels hadn’t fallen off already for Milwaukee, they did in the third, losing the quarter 37-20. The first eight minutes were dominated by old friend Brook Lopez, who nailed four triples (each followed by his signature celebration) along with a fadeaway jumper. Kawhi continued to cook, getting up to 28 points before he was done for the night. For reference, the Bucks began the quarter shooting 1/11 from the floor; they also shot their first free throw at the 3:59 mark (on a technical foul, no less) since the first quarter. Before long, we had Andre Jackson Jr. minutes, which meant garbage time had started early. LA up 108-67 after three.
TyTy Washington Jr., another old friend, was a beneficiary of garbage-time minutes as the Clippers increased their lead to 45 in short order to open the final frame. There were some nice finishes from Ousmane Dieng, some nice passes by AJax, and some nice threes by Gary Trent Jr. to finish the game. However, nothing else to write home about other than that. Before long, Thanasis checked in for his customary run around, and that was it. A good old-fashioned butt-whooping in a year to forget.
Stat That Stood Out
Milwaukee’s turnover-itis returned, giving the ball away 22 times.
