A dismal fourth quarter kills the Bucks in LA
The Milwaukee Bucks kept hold of the rope for three quarters against the Los Angeles Clippers, but let go of it in the fourth, losing 127-117. Giannis starred for the Bucks with 36 points and 13 rebounds, while Damian Lillard had another (!) triple-double with 29 points, 10 assists, and 10 rebounds. For the Clippers, it was James Harden’s show all night long; he torched the Bucks with 40 points and nine assists. Norman Powell also continued his stellar year with 33 points.
Game Recap
A slow start from the Bucks didn’t hurt as much because the Clippers also couldn’t hit a shot early. Prince finally got them off the mark with a few triples, and then Giannis had a pair of elongated Euro-steps to boot, Bucks up 14-10 at the first timeout. Trent came in and continued his hot streak from deep with an early triple off the Dame assist. Then Zubac and Harden got going to level the score at 24. At the quarter’s end, the score was tied at 28.
Prince opened the second with a pair of tough threes to keep them in it following a few makes from Kawhi Leonard. The Bucks were sticking around, but got killed in second chance points; they lost the quarter 4-10 in that category. Lopez broke the deadlock at 52 with a deep pick-and-pop three, but the Bucks offence remained relatively ineffective, and they couldn’t pull away. An inexcusable defensive breakdown on the final play—off a made free throw with about three seconds left—allowed Amir Coffey to catch the ball off a full-court pass and reduce the deficit to one at the free throw line, Bucks up 59-58 at half.
A lousy start to the third on both ends allowed the Clippers to get out to a five-point advantage. The Bucks were being inpatient on offence and undisciplined on defence. The Bucks responded out of the timeout with a 5-0 run of their own. Norman Powell continued to torch the Bucks from deep, but threes from Lopez and Trent got Milwaukee the advantage once again. Then James Harden just completely caught fire with a personal 9-0 run, but the Bucks kept pace… just. Clippers up 94-93 at the end of three.
Another atrocious start to the fourth behind several live-ball turnovers had the Clips up six early, forcing Doc to call the timeout. And then… more turnovers out of the timeout… Bucks againtook a timeout down 112-100. Milwaukee then made a change of plans on defence, going to their zone, and reduced the deficit to eight. But the Bucks were simply unable to contain anything off the dribble from LA, who ran away with the win.
Stat That Stood Out
Turnovers were the death of Milwaukee in this game. They had 16 overall, with Dame and Giannis combining for eight. This allowed the Clippers to beat the Bucks 13-6 in fast-break points. The visitors also got killed on the offensive rebounds, losing 12-5, which gave LA a 24-13 advantage in second-chance points. Not a recipe to win!
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