A 0/10 start to the 4th quarter sinks Bucks in a competitive game
The Milwaukee Bucks (1-2) have now dropped two games in a row, likely ending any hopes for them to play in the Summer League semifinal, losing to the Los Angeles Clippers (2-0) 106-91. Chris Livingston kept up his streak as the leading scorer for the Bucks, with 21 points and four rebounds. The big men duo of Pete Nance and Bogoljub Marković put up double-digit numbers for Milwaukee with 18 and 14 points, respectively. Patrick Baldwin led the Clippers with 22.
Game Recap
After a rough game against the Cavaliers, undrafted free agent Cormac Ryan was responsible for the first seven points for the Bucks, hitting a three and dishing out a couple of assists to Tyler Smith and Pete Nance. That was all part of a 7-2 run for the Bucks, but the Clippers responded with an 8-0 run to take the lead. From there, things stayed close with neither team getting a lead bigger than six. Andre Jackson Jr. woke up a bit offensively to end the frame, scoring five points, including a rare three-pointer. His two free throws helped the Bucks hold onto a one-point lead heading into the second quarter, 27-26.
Patrick Baldwin Jr. continued the strong momentum for the Clippers, hitting back-to-back threes to give the Clippers their first lead of the night, putting them up 32-27. That is as big as LA’s lead would get, with the Bucks keeping it within one to two possessions. Milwaukee was finally able to retake the lead for a brief moment with a 6-2 run, finished off by a Bogoljub Marković slam dunk. Zavier Simpson and Cam Christie erased the Bucks’ one-point lead within seconds, with Simpson scoring on a layup and Christie nailing a three. Ryan wasn’t able to get a shot up at the buzzer, as the Clippers would take a 51-47 lead heading into the locker room.
Nance started to catch some fire in the early parts of the third quarter, with him scoring five points to bring the game back within three. That helped spark Bucks overall, getting within one after a Tyler Smith putback layup with 6:32 to go in the frame. AJax seemingly found his footing in the third, scoring a layup and then a sweet alley-oop dunk with him cutting back door. Despite the Bucks’ best efforts, the Clippers continued to hold them off from tying the game or taking the lead, with Milwaukee getting within two points several times throughout the stanza. With 1:55 to go, the Bucks seemed to find some rhythm offensively, going on an 8-2 run to end the quarter. A three from Marković gave the Bucks the lead back, and they took that into the fourth quarter, 74-73.
The fourth quarter got off to as terrible a start as you could imagine for the Bucks, with the Clippers going on a 15-0 run to take a 14-point lead. The Bucks wouldn’t score their first points until the 5:16 mark, with Livingston hitting a step-back midrange jumper. All told, the Bucks went 0/10 to open the quarter. Milwaukee wouldn’t go quietly, though, as they rattled off a 10-2 run to bring the game back within single digits at 95-86 with 2:48 to play in the fourth. Yet, the Bucks’ offense stalled again, only scoring two points on a couple of Ryan free throws after he was elbowed in the face on a flagrant foul. Outside of that, it was all Clippers, as they went on a 7-2 run to mercifully put this one to an end—merciful to the people at home watching so they didn’t have to listen to Jared Greenberg and Channing Frye anymore.
Stat That Stood Out
AJax had a much-needed good game after struggling out of the gate in his first two appearances in this Summer League. The former second-round pick scored nine points, dished out six assists (but had five turnovers), four rebounds, two steals, and a block.
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