Fresh of the All-Star break, the Milwaukee Bucks continued their resurgence, running away with it against the New Orleans Pelicans. It was the Bucks’ triumvirate at guard that led the way, with Ryan Rollins, Kevin Porter Jr., and Cam Thomas each going for 25-plus points in a game that offered strong performances across the board. 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
Ryan Rollins
35 minutes, 27 points, 2 rebounds, 6 assists,
4 steals, 2 blocks, 10/15 FG, 7/10 3PT, +14
Rollins was phenomenal all night but set the tone early, calming the Bucks with his first of seven threes after the team had two poor possessions to open the game. He was aggressive but played within the flow of the offence, and his work as a student over the past two years has clearly paid off—his Lillard-esque step-back game was on full display. Want more? Without Myles Turner, Rollins turned rim protector too, coming up with two huge swats at the rim, and hounded New Orleans’ ball handlers all night, finishing with four takeaways. He’s become so reliable his glow-up is probably under appreciated.
Grade: A
AJ Green
30 minutes, 0 points, 2 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal, 0/4 FG, 0/4 3PT, +22
Green wasn’t able to trouble the scorers, but it wasn’t as if he had a bad game—his game-high +22 is a testament to that. As has been documented, his passing game has really improved this season and he dropped an absolute dime to a cutting Nance after curling around a screen and rising up into his shooting motion. As we know, Green will find the bottom of the net more often than not, but if he can continue to add to his peripheral skill set, he’ll be that much more valuable a player.
Grade: C
Kyle Kuzma
25 minutes, 14 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal, 6/11 FG, 2/5 3PT, +15
Kuzma got the start at power forward and had quite a nice game overall. He finished explosively at the rim early and looked good on the short roll too, catching and making decisions in traffic. On one instance, he had a nice dump-off to Sims for a dunk. Like most of the Bucks, though, he offered little deterrence to New Orleans’ rim assault.
Grade: B
Kevin Porter Jr.
32 minutes, 25 points, 2 rebounds, 7 assists, 2 steals, 1 block, 10/15 FG, 0/1 3PT, 5/6 FT, +12
With Rollins and then Thomas cooking, Porter looked content to let the game come to him for much of the night. More often than not, he made the right pass and took the right shot. In the fourth, however, he took over, scoring 13 points and dishing two assists to put the game out of reach. In all, this was close to an ideal game from Porter—plenty of highs and very few lows—and he finished with just one turnover.
Grade: A
Jericho Sims
19 minutes, 4 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 blocks, 2/2 FG, +21
Sims continued his yeoman’s work on the boards in the first half and even had a beautiful touch pass to Rollins for three. Early in the third, however, he picked up his fourth foul while setting a hard screen at half court, which forced him to the bench with 8:56 left in the quarter. Still, he made his minutes count, posting a plus/minus of +21, which tells you the sort of impact he was having—even if he wasn’t quite the Zion stopper he was last time.
Grade: B
Cam Thomas
21 minutes, 27 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 11/17 FG, 1/6 3PT, 4/6 FT, +2
Thomas is just such a weapon to have off the bench and is perfectly suited to the role of microwave scorer. He absolutely dominated the second quarter—four paint buckets, two from midrange, and his lone three (to go along with three free throws). His ability to draw fouls and get to the free throw line is such a positive, especially on this team. He won’t ever fill it up with boards or assists, but that’s not what he’s on the court for. Really, you can’t ask for more than over a point per minute on 65% shooting.
Grade: A
Ousmane Dieng
22 minutes, 10 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 block, 3/6 FG, 1/1 3PT, 3/4 FT, +8
His opening dunk aside, it took a little while for the Ous to truly get loose in this one, but he got there. Dieng’s game is just silky and his versatility continued to shine. His quick feet defensively forced a travelling violation. He had a great grab-and-go then find of Nance, which should have resulted in a bucket. He hit a nasty step-back from midrange in the fourth and followed that up by getting into the paint and kicking it to Nance in the corner for three. He got to the line too. Overall, it wasn’t the explosion he had against the Thunder, but it was another quality outing. He’s a baller.
Grade: B
Bobby Portis
27 minutes, 17 points, 11 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 block, 8/12 FG, 1/3 3PT, 2/2 FT, +0
If a game encapsulated the Bobby Portis experience, this was it: offence giveth, defence taketh away. He was efficient, hit the glass, and even showed some explosiveness with a dunk and a block at the rim. But his limitations as a defensive presence also stood out against a Pelicans teams that lives in the paint. Still, in a win as convincing as this one, it’s hard to knock him too much.
Grade: B
Pete Nance
22 minutes, 10 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 block, 4/8 FG, 2/4 3PT, +5
I’m not sure anyone on this team plays the game the right way more than Nance. He does the little things well, moves off ball, and keeps balls alive. But it’s his processing speed that’s most impressive—he doesn’t hesitate, making decisions so quickly (and they’re usually they’re the right ones) that it creates opportunities for himself and others. He might’ve had the game’s most important sequence too: up just six after a Zion basket, Nance helped force a turnover and then cashed a corner three on the other end. At this point, it’s clear as day—the Bucks need to find a way to make him a permanent part of the squad next year.
Grade: A-
Doc Rivers
Rivers’ toughest decision likely came pre-game when he determined who’d start. Given his recent performances, Dieng might’ve been unlucky, but the move was the right one—match-up wise and as a reminder that if Dieng wants it he has to take it. His decision to bring Thomas off the bench also deserved (and deserves) some praise, as does the way he’s managed the rotations at the guard spots (including cementing Gary Trent Jr. to the bench and giving Gary Harris a DNP, which can’t have been easy considering how valuable he’s been as a steadying force). He’s had his struggles this year, but tonight Doc got it right.
Grade: A
Garbage Time: Gary Trent Jr., Thanasis Antetokounmpo, Andre Jackson Jr.
DNP-CD: Gary Harris.
Inactive: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Myles Turner, Taurean Prince, Alex Antetokounmpo.
Bonus Bucks Bits
- The break must have treated the Bucks’ bigs well because not only did Kuzma have two early flushes, but Bobby Portis jammed a put-back—just his sixth dunk of the season.
- With three minutes to go in the first quarter, the Pelicans had doubled the Bucks’ points in the paint (20-10). It should come as no surprise—New Orleans leads the league in that category on the season.
- After a strong start by the Bucks, a 22-11 run gave the Pelicans the lead to end the first quarter.
- Jordan Poole stepped onto the court for first-quarter action after receiving DNPs over the previous nine games. He finished with just three points (1/6) in 25 minutes.
- Zion’s 14 points in the first quarter were a personal season high. Thomas took notice and dropped 18 in the second (a second-quarter career high). Yeah, he’s a bucket.
- Rollins looked smooth from long-range, hitting 4/7 triples in the first half on his way to a career-high 7/10. On the other end, the Pelicans struggled, shooting just 1/10 as a team in the first half and finishing a paltry 4/25.
- After a KPJ fast-break dunk late in the second, Wes Matthews said, “I remember when I was that athletic.” We love you, Wes, but come on now.
- The Bucks went 29/49 (59%) from the field in the first half, while the Pelicans went 29/47 (62%). Good shooting or bad defence? Considering they finished 55/92 (60%) and 47/87 (54%), it’s safe to say it was the latter.
- Portis started a perfect 7/7 from the field until finally missing one—a driving layup attempt—with about seven minutes to go in the third.
- The Bucks took the lead with 6:45 left in the second quarter and never gave it back.
- A seven-point game with eight minutes remaining in the fourth, Milwaukee went on an 20-8 run to put the game away.
- Despite playing in New Orleans, there was a distinguishable “Bucks in six” chant to end the game. I guess it is a city of culture.
- Thomas now has 77 points in 79 minutes of action with the Bucks. Let that sink in.
- Rollins, Porter, and Thomas combined for 79 points on 33/47 shooting (70%), while dishing out 15 assists and committing just five turnovers. They are 23, 25, and 24 years old. The Bucks picked up two of them after being waived and gave up just MarJon Beauchamp for the other. I won’t comment on CBS’s front office rankings. I just won’t.
Up Next
The Bucks are back in action Sunday, taking on the Toronto Raptors at home. You can find all the action on FanDual Sports Wisconsin—tip off is at 2:30 p.m. Central.
