Severely undermanned, the Milwaukee Bucks gave fans something to smile about in a rough season, losing to the (basically) full-strength Houston Rockets 119-113. They started with the required minimum of eight players, then went down to seven when Gary Trent Jr. got injured (but really, it was six, with Alex Antetokounmpo getting just four minutes). I know many don’t like celebrating “moral victories,” but this was truly one to celebrate. 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
Andre Jackson Jr.
23 minutes, 8 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 turnovers, 3/8 FG, 2/3 3P, +2
Was able to have an impact in different areas. Hit a few threes, including one from the left corner over Kevin Durant, which shocked many members of the Rockets’ bench.
Grade: C+
Pete Nance
39 minutes, 23 points, 3 rebounds, 9/13 FG, 5/9 3P, –4
Did most of his damage from outside, catching and shooting with confidence; the shooting development is truly incredible. Like, he had consecutive plays where he caught it in semi-transition and pulled with 18 on the shot clock like it was nothing. Also made some smart reads slipping to the basket in screening actions when he felt his man anticipating him setting the screen before he actually did.
Grade: A-
Ousmane Dieng
44 minutes, 36 points, 7 rebounds, 10 assists, 5 turnovers, 15/31 FG, 1/7 3P, -11
Ous had the game of his life, man. As the Bucks’ only creator, his usage was going to be through the roof, but he made the right decision almost every time. He successfully attacked switches and made good reads when they blitzed. It was also heartening to see him play well while shooting poorly from three, because it showed how good the rest of his game was. Also, this Houston defence is one of the most physical in the NBA; to do this against that level of physicality is amazing.
Grade: A+
AJ Green
46 minutes, 15 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists, 5/15 FG, 5/13 3P, -2
After a rough first half (1/6 from three), AJ was stellar in the second half, going 4/7 from deep. Some of the attempts were ridiculous, where he’d catch it off a DHO and allow the ball to roll in front of him as he set up his footwork to turn and shoot. When you play 46 minutes and shoot 15 threes, fatigue is going to make your shooting stats look worse.
Grade: B
Jericho Sims
35 minutes, 6 points, 20 rebounds, 2 assists, 1/5 FG, -7
Ridiculous rebounding game from Sims. Of his career-high 20 (yes, 20) boards, eight were of the offensive variety. Against that frontline? Whew. Fought as well as he could against the beefy Sengun, playing the anchor role very well.
Grade: B+
Cormac Ryan
38 minutes, 25 points, 4 assists, 9/14 FG, 4/7 3P, +0
The worst thing Cormac could have done in a game like this is play timidly, and he did the opposite. Took every chance to shoot when he was open, remained in constant motion, and did a great job screening as a guard. Went 3/4 from deep in the second half (and 6/0 from the field). Made some really nice moves in the paint, finishing with touch among the trees.
Grade: A
Doc Rivers
Well, any time you can take a team like the Rockets with seven (six) players, the coach deserves credit. At the very least, they ran good action that allowed the players to excel in the areas they’re best at. Ous was put in a bunch of screening actions; he then had to make the right calls. AJ was put in situations where he’d get chances to shoot; he just had to make them. Another example of Doc being better at coaching rag-tag crews than star-led ones.
Grade: A-
Limited Minutes: Gary Trent Jr., Alex Antetokounmpo
Inactive: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Thanasis Antetokounmpo, Gary Harris, Taurean Prince, Kevin Porter Jr., Ryan Rollins
Bonus Bucks Bits
- Doc praised his team for playing hard and smart, saying, ”they picked the right guys to pick on offensively, the traps defensively were phenomenal.” When he says “picked the right guys to pick on,” he is mostly referring to Reed Sheppard, I can assure you. People go on and on about Ime not playing Reed enough, and while there’s certainly merit to having him out there because of his elite shooting, dudes just look at him and see food when he’s on defence.
- Doc on the end of game: “Our execution was really good… I loved how unslefish this group of guys were.” Said Kevin Durant and he had a “running dialogue” throughout the game, and even Durant mentioned that the Bucks were playing the right way.
- Cormac Ryan on his night:
“It’s a blessing to be able to have the opportunity, and that’s all you can ask for… to have the chance to showcase what you can do, the work that you put in. I’ve worked tremendously hard, put a lot of faith in myself and the lord, and just trusting that and being able to go out tonight and be surrounded by a group of guys who wanted to compete… all you can do is make the most of your opportunities, and so that’s my goal down the stretch here.”
- Ryan noted that he and Ous have chemistry because they spent a lot of time together last season playing for the OKC Blue in the G League.
- The commentary team told a story about part of why Pete Nance shoots the way he does: he broke his wrist in high school and thus can’t flex it back as much as others can, which apparently changed his shot.
- Gary Trent Jr. went down with a hip contusion in the first.
Up Next
The Bucks are back at home on Friday night against the Boston Celtics. Catch the game at 7:00 p.m. CDT on FanDuel Sports Network Wisconsin.
