The Bucks closed out their two-game home stretch on Easter with a 131-115 win over the Memphis Grizzlies to improve to 31-47. Ryan Rollins, returning from a hip strain, contributed 24 points to the Bucks’ victory, while Rayan Rupert led the Grizzlies with 33.
Game Recap
The Grizzlies, missing an alarming number of players to “injury,” jumped out to an early 9-3 lead, fueled by two-way guard Rayan Rupert’s early five points. However, the Bucks quickly embarked on a 13-0 run through three-pointers
from Myles Turner and AJ Green, and they built on their lead as the first quarter wore on. Ryan Rollins shook off ten-day forward Toby Okani on a smooth pair of dribble moves before cleanly converting a mid-range fadeaway, showing that the Bucks were beginning to find their rhythm. The Grizzlies were still in it, largely thanks to Milwaukee’s persistent defensive lapses, like Taurean Prince’s hard flagrant foul on Rupert. Cormac Ryan closed out the first frame with a buzzer-beating three to take Milwaukee up by nine, 34-25.
Rollins led Milwaukee to a dominant start to the second quarter. He used a dizzying array of body checks and step-backs to get to his spots. His eight early points in the second fueled Milwaukee’s early 12-3 run, and before long, the home side found itself up by as much as 19 points. It was obvious that the Grizzlies’ hodge-podge lineup didn’t really click; spacing worked against them on both sides of the ball, and they looked helpless against the pick-and-roll. Rupert was their only bright spot; the Frenchman poured in 25 first-half points, torching the Bucks’ defense. The Grizzlies clawed back some ground in the game by getting to the line in droves and strung together a 12-0 run, but the Bucks still held a 62-56 lead at half.
The Grizzlies and Bucks went back and forth in the third quarter. The Bucks’ offense began to take off through Rollins’ tough buckets and interior plays from Myles Turner. However, the Grizzlies took off at the same time. Rookie Walter Clayton Jr. finally woke up from his quiet first half, and Rupert continued to slice Milwaukee’s defense with his dribble. Despite Milwaukee gradually losing ground as fatigue kicked in, the Bucks ended the penultimate quarter up five, 92-87.
Olivier Maxence-Prosper’s breakaway jam trimmed Milwaukee’s once-mighty lead to just two early in the fourth quarter, and, suddenly, it felt like this game could go either way. However, Jericho Sims’ heroics halted Memphis’ momentum. His defense, denying Dariq Whitehead and Taylor Hendricks key looks at the rim, kept Memphis quiet on offense. It was his intelligent assist that found Ryan open under the rim, it was his screen that freed up Prince for an emphatic three, and it was his putback dunk to widen Milwaukee’s lead to double digits with just six minutes left of game time. Milwaukee continued to flow offensively, limiting Memphis to tough under-the-rim attempts and finding quick transition points. The Bucks accentuated their Easter Day victory with a smooth Alex Antetokounmpo midrange jumper and a technical-foul-inducing lob to Thanasis that set Fiserv on fire.
Stat That Stood Out
The Bucks’ bench scored 61 points in Sunday’s win, 32 more than the Grizzlies’. Sims’ and Ryan’s contributions in crunch time helped Milwaukee go the distance and fight off a dangerous Memphis comeback.
