Rapid Recap: Magic 111, Bucks 109

Bucks’ last second comeback comes up one shot short

The Milwaukee Bucks got off on the wrong foot to start a difficult three-week stretch against playoff-caliber opponents by losing to the Orlando Magic, 111-109. Giannis Antetokounmpo had 37 points and 11 rebounds, but Paolo Banchero scored 29 in response to lead the Magic.

Game Recap

The Magic came out of the game hot from distance, despite being a 30.6% three-point shooting team, making four of their first five shots from deep to take a to take an early 13-8 lead. Things got heated early when Orlando’s Franz Wagner pushed Giannis mid-air as he was going for an alley-oop pass, prompting a response from Taurean Prince and Damian Lillard. Wagner was assessed a flagrant one, while Prince was given a techinal for esclating the situation. Giannis did get a bit of revenge, stealing the ball from Paolo Banchero and throwing down a cocked-back right handed dunk. Yet it would be the Magic who had the last laugh for the quarter, as they shot a scortching 8/12 from beyond the three-point line. That outlier shooting from Orlando gave them a 34-20 lead heading into the second quarter.

Orlando got the first basket of the second quarter to push their lead to a then game high 16 points before the Bucks finally started to cut into it. Lead by the bench lineup with Kyle Kuzma, the Bucks slowly trimmed the Magic’s lead down to just seven points with six minutes left in the quarter. Kevin Porter Jr kept up his strong contributions with two threes off the bench (2/2, while no other Bucks attempted one in the second). The run wasn’t enough once Orlando’s starters re-entered, going on a 10-2 run to take a 15-point lead. Both teams traded baskets before Dame nailled two free throws to send the Bucks into the locker room down 13, 60-47.

The Bucks made another run to try and cut down the Magic’s lead. After falling behind by as much as 17 points, they cut Orlando’s lead down to eight points, thanks to back-to-back three-pointers from Damian Lillard with 8:13 to go in the quarter. Yet like in the second quarter, the Magic responded to go up by 12 before Doc Rivers called a timeout with 5:19 left in the stanza. The Bucks continued to be stymied by the Magic’s defense and length, as they committed five turnovers during the quarter. They ended the thrid quarter trailing by 14, 90-76 after Banchero hit one of his two free-throws with 4.4 seconds left.

The trade for Kevin Porter Jr. looks better with each passing game, as he helped spark a 7-0 Bucks run mid-way through the first quarter to get them back within eight points. He hit a couple of mid-range shots and then threw a lob to Giannis. He then handed the baton to Prince who caught fire from deep, hitting three-straight shots from beyond-the-arc to cut the Magic lead all the way down to two points with 6:02 to play in regulation. After a Bucks timeout, Orlando went to its All-Star in Banchero who quickly turned that two-point lead into a seven-point lead with a couple free throws and a step-back three over Kuzma. With the Magic up three six and 1:09 left, Dame hit his typical clutch three to bring the Bucks within three. After Anthony fed Wendell Carter for the dunk to make it a five-point game, Green missed a contested three, but in the scramble, Giannis picked it up to slam it home and was fouled by Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. Giannis hit the free throw to make it a two point game. The Bucks then forced a turnover by Anthony with 6.6 seconds left with a chance to tie or win the game. They got the ball in Lillard’s hand, but a tough contested three over Wagner was off and the Magic clung on for the two point win.

Stat That Stood Out

The Magic’s defense was active all night, forcing the Bucks into 13 turnovers, which they turned into 21 points on the other end. The Bucks forced 10 turnovers by Orlando for 14 points.

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