Victor Wembanyama put a beating on Milwaukee
The Milwaukee Bucks ended their horror road trip accordingly, losing 118-144 to the San Antonio Spurs. Giannis had 35 points, 14 rebounds, and six assists, while Damian Lillard and Khris Middleton had 22 and 21 points, respectively. For the Spurs, Victor Wembanyama was simply unstoppable; he had 30 points, 14 rebounds, and six blocks. Additionally, another five Spurs scored in double digits as they ran up the score all night long. Read our full summary of the game here and catch a six-minute audio recap on the Bucks+ podcast Bucks In Six Minutes below.
What Did We Learn?
That the Bucks have lost something on defence over this road trip. They have given up 127, 110, 124, and 144 in each game. They gave up 17 points in the opening four minutes of this game. There were possessions where the Spurs would run a simple give-and-go, and the Bucks would have confusion guarding it, allowing straight-line drives to the rim. Giannis spoke pretty sternly after the game about the team’s desire on that end:
“We got to be better. Got to be better. They were scoring any way they wanted… everything was easy for them. Everybody’s got to look themselves in the mirror, come next game, and do better.”
Three Bucks
Khris Middleton was great.
Sans Giannis, Khris was probably their best player. Khris had the best plus/minus on the team (other than Pat Connaughton, who was great as well). He went 8/9 from the field and 3/4 from deep. The Spurs started each half on fire, and Middleton came in each time and gave the group a calming presence.
Brook Lopez was unable to make the same impact as he did in the first matchup.
Lopez had a rough night in this one. He went 3/8 and 0/3 from deep in a -19 performance. If you’ll remember, he went 5/11 from three in the game back in Milwaukee, which drew Wemby out of the paint and allowed Giannis and Dame to create on the inside. It should be noted that with Bobby Portis out, Brook has been asked to play a lot of minutes on this road trip, and that could have taken a toll. Doc spoke about how much Portis’ absence hurt Lopez last night and on the entire trip:
“We went into [this] game thinking we had to get him rest… I thought he looked tired. We’re asking too much out of him, we just are, and we know that. So we have to do something about it.”
Taurean Prince, please stop trying to create your own shot.
OK, this trend had been developing over the past few weeks, but Prince had some brutal possessions trying to be something he’s just not last night. Can someone tell him he’s a three-and-D role player and not a creator? I can even recall a step back three over Wemby! In what world is that a good shot? If it’s not a straight-line drive off one or two dribbles, move that thing on, man.
Bonus Bucks Bits
- Chris Paul fouled Giannis attacking the basket in the fourth quarter. Antetokounmpo took exception to what he thought was an unsportsmanlike foul. Following, the two had words for each other, which continued after the game. Clearly not happy, here was what Giannis said about the play:
“Enough’s enough, brother. I have family to feed and what makes you laugh can make can also make you cry sometimes.”
Giannis Antetokounmpo on his heated exchange with Chris Paul in San Antonio.
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www.jsonline.com/story/sports…— Jim Owczarski (@jimowczarski.bsky.social) 2025-02-01T05:33:16.629Z
- Like the last matchup, San Antonio put Wemby on Andre and let him roam, causing major issues for the Bucks’ offence and its ability to flow. I do believe in AJax’s ability to play an important role on this team, but there are matchups where it’s just very difficult to keep him out there. -22 in this game.
- AJ Green returned and looked like a guy who had missed a few games. Green logged 17 minutes and went 0/3 from the field.
- Other than the first game of the trip against the Clippers, Gary Trent Jr. has been cold from three on this trip. Trent’s gone 5/20 over the last three games.
- Keldon Johnson, who’s shooting 30% from three this season, lit the Bucks up for 24 points on 10/15 from the field and 4/5 from three. Just our luck!
Up Next
It doesn’t get any easier for the Bucks, with the Memphis Grizzlies coming to town on Sunday at 7:30 p.m. Central. Watch the game on ESPN, FanDuel Sports Network Wisconsin or stream it on our Playback and YouTube channels.
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