With Kevin Porter Jr. back, the Milwaukee Bucks put up one heck of a fight against the Miami Heat—who, granted, were down Tyler Herro, Andrew Wiggins, and Norman Powell—but couldn’t make the most of their possessions late, losing 112-105. Miami has now taken the season series 2-1. 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
Myles Turner
21 minutes, 7 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 block, 2/7 FG, 1/5 3P, –16
Turner had very little
impact on either end, with five of his seven points coming by halftime. Played just 6:39 in the second half, probably because he got blown by a fair few times. Maybe they should keep him closer to the basket…
Grade: D
Giannis Antetokounmpo
29 minutes, 31 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 3 turnovers, 12/24 FG, 0/2 3P, –8
Giannis was solid for most of the game; he kept the team afloat in the first quarter, scoring the team’s first 10 points. His athleticism and talent were massive throughout the game, and he roasted most non-Bam matchups. That said, GA’s defence was subpar yet again. Plus, taking a triple down just three with less than a minute left on a no-pass possession with 17 seconds on the shot clock… yeah, we’ve seen that movie before. Giannis talks an awful lot about “wanting to win,” but is that really true? Or is it more like, “I want to win on my terms”? I’ll say this: I’d better not hear another peep from GA accusing his teammates of playing selfishly.
Grade: B-
Ryan Rollins
32 minutes, 16 points, 5 rebounds, 10 assists, 3 turnovers, 5 fouls, 6/9 FG, 2/4 3P, +9
A solid game from Ryan, particularly because of the 10 assists and only three turnovers. He came off the bench in this one amid recent struggles and despite a rough start, played well throughout. Rollins also set some great inverted screens for Giannis late in the game, which I don’t recall him having done much of this season.
Grade: B+
Kyle Kuzma
20 minutes, 5 points, 3 rebounds, 2 steals, 2 turnovers, 4 fouls, 2/5 FG, 1/4 3P, -10
A down game for Kuz, who never really got a rhythm until midway through the fourth when he scored all five of his points. He was, however, one of the main guys on the bench cheering his teammates on, which doesn’t go unnoticed. I’ve appreciated Kuz’s attitude this year as a senior leader on this team.
Grade: C-
AJ Green
15 minutes, 3 points, 1/2 FG, 1/2 3P, +5
Woof! Like Myles Turner, I think the minute total tells the story for AJ. At least he wasn’t just shot chucking?
Grade: D
Ousmane Dieng
14 minutes, 0 points, 0/2 FG, -24
Dieng went out sick after playing just 14 minutes. Not much you can judge from.
Grade: C
Bobby Portis
26 minutes, 19 points, 5 rebounds, 8/14 FG, 2/4 3P, +8
The Heat really had nobody to guard Bobby, often trying wings and guards, but Portis just got buckets on anyone and everyone. I thought he fared OK defensively as well. Some of the matchups suited him well because of Miami’s many questionable shooters, which allowed him to give himself a cushion and keep them in front.
Grade: A-
Cam Thomas
16 minutes, 3 points, 1/3 FG, +1
Freaking yikes. I am now questioning whether Cam Thomas is even an NBA player. I think he is, but the fact that I’m asking the question is alarming. In the 10 games since the loss to the Raptors, CT is averaging 9.1 points and 2.3 assists while shooting 38.2% from the field and 26.9% from three (in just 16.2 minutes per contest). He made no impact in this game, but like AJ, it’s at least good that he hasn’t been forcing it.
Grade: D
Jericho Sims
22 minutes, 7 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 3/3 FG, +2
Another solid game from Jericho. He’s just doing more of the same: setting good screens, being composed with the ball, and showcasing his elite switchability. Again, Sims played down the stretch last night because of these qualities, including an awesome and-one to bring the Bucks within two.
Grade: B+
Kevin Porter Jr.
27 minutes, 6 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 steals, 3 turnovers, 4 fouls, 3/8 FG, 0/1 3P, -12
I’d say this was a classic Porter game (in his return after a while off, it should be noted). He did a lot of good stuff, and I don’t think the Bucks are in this game without him; his defence, passing, and rebounding were key. That said, there was also your classic KPJ bad stuff: trying to do too much, failing to shoot it off the catch when he was open. In particular, he had one costly turnover late.
Grade: C+
Taurean Prince
14 minutes, 8 points, 3/6 FG, 2/3 3P, +10
Prince finally got some shots to go after missing all four of his attempts against the Suns. For the most part, I thought TP was helpful out there as a guy who stretched the floor. However, there were a few of his classic “you’re doing too much” plays where he got overly adventurous as a driver.
Grade: C+
Doc Rivers
I thought Doc coached an OK game. There were still some head-scratching possessions in defensive transition—which, to be fair, might not even be coaching-related—but otherwise it wasn’t too bad. Rollins looked better coming off the bench (while still playing heaps of minutes and closing the game). AJ Green and Cam Thomas playing around 15 minutes seems right. Not sure Prince should be getting much more than 10 minutes at this stage, but maybe they needed a wing-sized guy with Dieng sick and Kuz not having it. From an offensive POV, I thought they were mostly solid, just couldn’t execute late, which, as we know, has as much to do with the best player as the coach. Now, if that coach might actually, I don’t know, coach said best player…
Grade: B-
DNP-CD: Gary Harris, Thanasis Antetokounmpo, Pete Nance, Gary Trent Jr.
Inactive: Alex Antetokounmpo, Cormac Ryan, Andre Jackson Jr.
Bonus Bucks Bits
- Giannis had a long quote about the thought process behind shooting a three with less than a minute left, but essentially it boiled down to, “I always shoot with confidence, but I wish I’d shot a few more threes earlier in the game so I had a better feel of it on that last shot. I never regret being aggressive.” Whatever, it’s a case of “old dog new tricks” for me at this point; I’m done reasoning with it.
- Doc on the end of the game:
“We didn’t execute great down the stretch, bottom line. I loved how we played overall. We went with the jumbo lineup, and it got us back in the game. But man, we had two or three turnovers in that stretch, a couple of tough shots. We’ve been really good overall at the end of the game. I just thought tonight we didn’t execute down the street.”
- Following his record-setting 83-point game against the Wizards, Bam Adebayo largely struggled last night, shooting 6/20 for 21 points. Many were critical of Eric Spoelstra for leaving Adebayo in the game in a blowout to get the record. Spoelstra responded to those critics in his pregame adress, saying, “I apologise to absolutely no one, period.”
- As Kyle pointed out in the rapid recap, Milwaukee’s bench scored 56 points, outscoring all non-Giannis starters combined. Relatedly, the Bucks starters all had a negative plus-minus, while the entire bench was in the positive.
Up Next
The Bucks’ road trip continues tomorrow afternoon when they face the Hawks. Catch the game at 2:00 p.m. CDT on FanDuel Sports Network Wisconsin.
