Milwaukee Bucks (20-17) beat the Washington Wizards (23-16) with 110:103 (BOXSCORE) thanks to a strong closing phase. Both offensives have to fight hard – in the end Giannis Antetokounmpo makes the difference. The “Greak Freak” ends the successful series of the Wizards.
For both teams a difficult back-to-back was on the agenda this evening, but at first Milwaukee didn’t seem to be able to make up for the blowout failure against the Raptors from the previous evening. In the early stages of the game there was not much of an offensive, so that the wizards around the well-placed John Wall were able to play a quick 11-point lead. The Point Guard scored 10 points and 6 assists in the first round.
But it should stay that way for now. Shortly before the break, the game turned around: The Bucks finished the first half with a 14:4 run, with an intermediate score of 53:53, it went into the cabin. No team was able to gain a decisive advantage in the further course of the game, so the team entered the final phase (94:94) in a balanced manner.
For a short time it even became heated when Matthew Dellavedova’s fierce foul was followed by a little scuffle. The Australian was eventually sent into the cabin with a Flagrant Foul II, but the fire didn’t transmit to the game. Both teams had serious problems in the offense, just two minutes before the end it was the bucks who were the first to find their way back on track.
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Thanks to a good transition opener and a 6:0 run, the guests took the lead, shortly afterwards Eric Bledsoe (21 points, 4 assists) with a rudimentary threesome over Markieff Morris. After all, it was Giannis Antetokounmpo who made everything clear with a pull-up jumper. The wizard’s three-way attempt on the other side was blocked and the bucks brought home the victory from the free-throw line.
The “Greak Freak” with its 34 counters (12/17 FG), 12 rebounds and 7 assists was by far the best man on the floor. Beside Bledsoe he also got support from Khris Middleton, who got 20 points and 5 rebounds.
On the other hand, the complete Starting Five of the Wizards scored double-digit points, led by Bradley Beal with 20 points. John Wall scored 16 points and 16 assists, Morris played a double-double in the third straight game (14 points, 10 rebounds). After four victories in series, however, this was not enough to continue the success story.
Washington Wizards vs. Milwaukee Bucks: Click here for the BOXSCORE!
Giannis Antetokounmpo. The Greek was almost the only danger in the Bucks’ semi-field attack – and yet the Wizards didn’t manage to control “The Greak Freak”. He couldn’t be stopped with strong post-moves, safe pull-up jumpers and a good eye for the other players. Also in the transition he led Milwaukee with some strong actions.
Bradley Beal. Being his team’s top scorer is not always enough. Beal was not a factor at the beginning of the game, but he found his game late. But the scorer never quite arrived at its high level. Especially from a distance (1/7 threesome) the Shooting Guard didn’t come together, but in the Crunch-Time he took some almost unmotivated threesomes, which promised little success.
Even though Washington were much better off in the match, they managed to keep the game tight and eventually steal the victory from the capital. This was mainly due to the good transition of the Bucks. After turnovers or defensive rebounds, Giannis and Co. and used the unsorted defense of the Wizards mercilessly. In return, Milwaukee rarely emanated danger in the semi-field attack – apart from Antetokounmpo. With the 18 Fastbreak points (Washington: 5) Milwaukee more than made up for this fact.