The Milwaukee Bucks got sweet, sweet revenge on the Orlando Magic, 116-108. In one of the most entertaining games all season, new acquisition Cam Thomas exploded for 34 points and Kevin Porter Jr. notched an 18-point, 10-rebound, 11-assist triple-double. Desmond Bane went off from deep with 31 points I guess, but it wasn’t enough.
Game Recap
Desmond Bane splashed home a couple triples early to put Orlando in front. The absence of Ryan Rollins was sorely felt; KPJ was doing slightly too much
and I wrote “Kuz crazy drive” in my notes four times. The Bucks were able to chip away at the lead thanks to free throws and the Magic sputtering, before not scoring for four minutes. That’s in part because Thomas entered the game and followed Kuzma’s lead. Jericho Sims’ heroic work on the offensive boards didn’t cancel out another two Bane threes. A woof of a 24-20 after one.
Milwaukee started strong with three turnovers in two minutes. Then Cam went nuclear, while Orlando mostly responded in kind; but hey, at least offense was happening. Despite Anthony Black picking up where he left off on Monday, the Bucks got within two after Turner’s first shot of the game (at the 3:23 mark). Ousmane “Lanky Smoove” Dieng splashed his third (!) and fourth (!!) threes—more threes in a half than DJ Wilson ever made in a game—on the way to the Bucks barely reclaiming the lead 52-51 going into the break.
The Bucks mostly held a small lead in the third. AJ Green and Jalen Suggs traded threes early, alongside some patented Jericho oops courtesy of KPJ. Fun things were happening: Dieng set a career high in threes, Paolo Banchero missed the first FT of the game around the nine minute mark, and the Tough Shot Express officially returned in the form of Cam Thomas. Indeed, Thomas pulled some ridiculous antics as Milwaukee built a game-high lead of eight. Another Suggs three left it 88-83 Bucks after three.
Milwaukee slowly frittered away their lead, with Mo Wagner sinking a couple buckets and Bane living up to his name. But the Bucks were bending without breaking, powered by Jericho’s career high in points alongside truly incredible free-throw shooting (nearly cracking the Top 25 all-time for most makes without a miss!). It went down to the wire before a Turner three (his second make of the game!) and a CAM THOMAS three put the dagger into Orlando. Let’s go Bucks!
Stat That Stood Out
24/24 free throws baby! Gotta take advantage of Giannis being out, lol.
