The Bucks did a handful of nice things on offense Sunday night – along with shooting 50.6 percent from the field and dishing out 25 assists, all starters also scored in double figures. They, however, failed get past the Dallas Mavericks, 109-105.
The problem rooted on their defense, as three guys on the Mavs shot 63 percent or better, while also scoring no less than 17 points.
Still, coach Jason Kidd and his men should be feeling good. Milwaukee has risen from the ashes in the past month, going from as low as 10th place in the East to now being the fifth seed in the conference’s playoff standings. They are 14-4 in their last 18 games (11-7 ATS), averaging 103.1 PPG on 47.5 percent shooting.
Excluding Giannis Antetokounmpo (23.2 PPG, 8.7 RPG, 5.4 APG, 1.7 SPG, 1.9 BPG) obliterating the stat sheet, we can also expect Khris Middleton to continue making up for missed time this Tuesday night. The sweet-shooting veteran, as you may remember, missed the team’s first 50 games this season due to a hamstring injury, but has shown that he’s now healthy. Since returning to the starting lineup full-time, he’s netting 16.9 points, 4.5 rebounds, 3.3 assists, and 1.6 steals per contest.
On a night where Russell Westbrook notched his 40th triple-double of the season and joined the league’s 15,000 points club, the Thunder were unable to collect a win, as they fell to the all-but-eliminated-from-playoff-contention Charlotte Hornets this past Sunday, 110-94.
With that, we can look for Westbrook to go on his usual tear, especially since he is likely to seek revenge over the visiting Bucks, who he and the Thunder lost to last January, 98-94. In there, although “Brodie” had 30 points, seven boards, and six dimes, he only went 9-for-28 from the floor.
The All-Star guard should be joined by his two key helpers – Victor Oladipo and Steven Adams. The two combined for 38 points on 16-for-23 shooting in that previous encounter with Milwaukee, with ‘Dipo also sinking four threes and Adams swatting away three shots.
Despite OKC only going 3-4 in its last seven (2-5 ATS), the team joins the Memphis Grizzlies as a likely lock on either the sixth or seventh seed in the West for the postseason.
