Giannis Antetokounmpo scores 46 points, Khris Middleton takes over late in Bucks' 133-124 victory over Kings
SACRAMENTO, Calif. – The Milwaukee Bucks slowed down one of the hottest teams in the NBA with a 133-124 victory over the Sacramento Kings at the Golden 1 Center Monday night. It was just the second loss for the Kings (40-27) since Feb. 23.
The Bucks, who have not lost two straight games since Jan. 12-14, improved to 49-19.
“This was a great game for us coming off a loss against Golden State," Khris Middleton said. "(Sacramento) plays kind of fast, plays in a hostile environment. We were definitely look at this game as a way to get back against a great team that’s playing well with an arena that’s tough to play in.”
Bucks keep the pace in comeback win
After losing in overtime to Golden State on Saturday night, Jrue Holiday acknowledged the Bucks got a little caught up in the Warriors pace in falling behind by double digits early in the game. Though the Bucks did eventually reel in the Warriors to take a lead late, it took some work and the Warriors were on the verge of blowing the game open.
Game flow was also paramount Monday night, as the Kings came into the game as the league’s top scoring team (122.1 points per game) and No. 9 in pace, which tracks the number of possessions per game.
The Kings aren’t as fast as say, the Warriors or Indiana Pacers in terms the sheer number of shots they get up, but as Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer noted pregame the Kings move.
“When you truly embrace pace, when you truly embrace all the things that come with it, it really actually becomes as much as about that: About multiple players moving in and out of actions, the ball moving and being hard to guard and doing it for – you don’t want to get deep in the clock – but if somebody puts you deep into the clock you’re still playing with pace, you’re still moving people and moving the ball,” he said.
“I think that is kind of the ultimate form of pace, where it’s not just the first six seconds of the shot clock. I think Sacramento is doing that very, very well.”
BOX SCORE:Bucks 133, Kings 124
Evidence of that is that the Kings came into the game as the No. 2 shooting team overall (50%) and tops in two-point field goal shooting (59.2%) while also being No. 3 in free throws made. Sacramento also gets up its share of threes (No. 7 in makes and attempts).
The Bucks have been on a torrid scoring streak of their own since mid-January (123.3 points per game since Jan. 16) and have moved up to No. 11 in the league in pace – but against the top 10 teams currently in that category the Bucks are 13-7. Four of those losses have come on the road.
And, like at Golden State, the Bucks fell behind again by double digits in the first half – this time by 15 points – and once again had to claw their way back into it to eventually tie it briefly at 64 early in the third quarter.
The Kings built their lead on three-point shooting, however, making 6 of their first 11 and shooting 45.8% from deep in the first half. But, they did keep up the ball movement, as they had assists on 18 of their 23 first half baskets.
“I think we kind of imposed our will on the glass a little bit, started to get some easy opportunities and easy layups,” Bobby Portis said of the the third quarter. “I think the offense started to flow a lot better in the second half. And then we kind of slowed it down a little bit, played to our strengths, getting into our sets, making them guard us and I think that’ how we got out to that lead in the third quarter. Just imposing our will, obviously being connected on the defensive end.”
And, like at Golden State, the Bucks regained their own offensive rhythm, weathered a 12-4 Kings run that put them back down 76-68, and eventually took a 79-76 lead late in the third quarter to essentially reset the game.
“It’s part of playing on a road with a crowd like this, they get you going until you’re playing the home team’s type of game,” Middleton said. “I think we kind of fell into that trap some a little bit against Golden State, so I liked the way we handled it tonight and not let the crowd affect our game as much.”
To Sacramento’s credit, it continued to make clutch threes to stay connected to Milwaukee even though the Bucks tightened the screws on their two-point shooting (44% through three quarters). Kevin Huerter in particular was clutch from deep, making 5 threes in the fourth quarter.
But the Bucks never let the Kings really find their rhythm, as the Kings made just 44.2% of their shots in total despite shooting 42% from the three-point line.
Closing time for Khris Middleton
It seemed only fitting the Bucks led 90-87 after three quarters, setting up a fourth quarter showdown between two of the more dynamic finishers in the NBA.
Per StatMuse, Sacramento all-star guard De’Aaron Fox and Giannis Antetokounmpo came into the game as the No. 2 and No. 3 players in total fourth quarter scoring (Kyrie Irving is No. 1). Antetokounmpo has averaged 9.7 points and 1.4 assists in 8.9 fourth quarter minutes per game while Fox has averaged 8.6 points and 1.4 assists in 9.4 fourth quarter minutes.
Antetokounmpo began the final period on the bench, while Fox opened it by stealing the ball from Pat Connaughton and converting a three-point play going in the other direction.
Fox scored 13 points in the quarter, but the Bucks broke the game open with a 24-11 run that included six points from Antetokounmpo.
“Just comes down to individual pride," Holiday said. "I don’t think we locked in or keyed into De’Aaron, I think just as a team we all kind of took it personal and tried to win our matchup.”
The Bucks’ traditional closer – Khris Middleton – was a big part of that as well with a 13-point quarter, including a three-point play that gave the Bucks a 109-108 lead with six minutes left. They never trailed again.
“I’m just happy that he’s able to be in the starting lineup and just be out there with him together and just have the band together,” Antetokounmpo said. “I think this was the first game the whole team was healthy. And it just makes the game easier. I think me being out there makes the game easier for him and him being out there makes the game easier for me and we just tried to play off one another. I know when he’s cooking and just gotta give him the ball and just let him do what he do.”
Middleton finished with 31 points on 9-of-15 shooting, including a 5-for-8 showing from behind the three-point line and a perfect 8-for-8 mark from the free throw line.
“Oh, I love it. I love it," Holiday said. "Looks like Khris is really peaking at the right time. No, I think just him getting comfortable, being able to play big games like this, make big plays in big moments, seeing him out there and having fun it’s good to us. I’m glad to see it.”
Middleton also had nine assists in 34 minutes.
“Khris was really special,” Budenholzer said. “He had a stretch in the third quarter, he had a stretch in the fourth quarter down the stretch. The ball was in his hands, the execution, the decision making, the shotmaking, was high level. It’s good to see Khris kind of getting; that’s close tot what you paly in a regular season game. I think he played the whole fourth quarter, which is another kind of good sign for him.”
Giannis Antetokounmpo dominant in return for Bucks
The MVP candidate played in his first game since March 5 and he came out of the gates on fire, making 10 of 13 shots in the first half – including a catch-and-shoot three-pointer – in scoring 21 points. He also knocked down a 14-footer, but he was intentional in attacking the rim. One of his few misses was a transition layup that looked like he may have wanted to avoid dunking the ball with his sore right hand, but he immediately came back down the court and flushed it.
He was 8 for 9 in the painted area in the first half.
Antetokounmpo had missed the last two games with soreness in the hand, which Budenholzer attributed first to the sprained right wrist in Chicago on Feb. 16 and contact on the hand in Washington on March 5. He had missed three games overall in a row with one lost to illness in Orlando.
“You kind of miss it, but at the end of the day it’s a decision that you have to make,” Antetokounmpo said. “I gotta get healthy. I want to be 100%. I want to just do my part and the team to be great. I did everything I could necessary just to be in a good position to be able to just go out there and compete with my teammates.”
Antetokounmpo continued his attack on the Kings in the second half, spinning around double teams and finishing through three defenders on several occasions. He had 40 points on 17 of 25 shooting to go with 10 rebounds by the end of the third quarter.
His first points of the fourth quarter was a pretty finger roll over the entire Kings defense, and the Kings just had no answer for him down the stretch. Antetokounmpo finished with 46 points, 12 rebounds and four assists.
“Obviously he had a great bounce tonight, was aggressive, attacked,” Budenholzer said. “I think we gotta continue to work on our spacing, giving him great lanes and driving opportunities. But, when he had a few days off and he’s able to kind of take care of his body, get his lifts in, do all that stuff, we reaped the benefits of that tonight.”
It was Antetokounmpo's 12th game this season with at least 40 points and the 41st regular season game of his career with at least 40.
“It’s a fresh body – you saw what it was,” Middleton said. “When that guy feels close to 100%, there’s nothing you can do.”
Antetokounmpo takes over another Abdul-Jabbar record
With his 21st shot attempt against the Kings, a powerful spin move through three Kings that resulted in a three-point play, Antetokounmpo surpassed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for No. 1 all time in field goal attempts in Bucks franchise history. Abdul-Jabbar put up 10,787 two-point shots in his six seasons in Milwaukee from 1969-75.
It is the third franchise record Antetokounmpo has set this season, first passing Hall of Famer Bob Dandridge for most minutes played and then surpassing Paul Pressey for assists. It is the 10th franchise record Antetokounmpo has set thus far.
He is three games away from passing Junior Bridgeman for most games played by a Bucks player.
Sabonis a handful for Bucks
Domantas Sabonis is familiar with the Bucks and their defense after spending years in Indiana, and in the early going he tried to take Lopez off the dribble and forced help from Antetokounmpo and Middleton – which led to open threes for Keegan Murray and Harrison Barnes. Lopez was not happy with his teammates, demonstrably telling them to stay with their assignments.
But Sabonis was a handful for the Bucks’ defensive player of the year candidate, going 8 for 12 for 17 points in the first half while handing out eight assists and pulling down five rebounds. Sabonis was 7 for 9 in the paint, including several strong finishes directly on Lopez.
Lopez opened the second half with consecutive denials of Sabonis however, as the Bucks tried to reset after falling behind by as many as 15 in the first half and trailed 62-53 at the break.
Sabonis, an all-star this season, continued his assault on the Bucks in all facets coming out of the half, but Lopez and the Bucks held him to just two points in the decisive fourth quarter. Lopez finished with 23 points and eight rebounds of his own, along with three blocked shots.
“Brook’s so good, and people need to know that. (He) is good, bro," Holiday said. "Like, I don’t see anybody else doing that. The way, I mean, how strong Sabonis is, how physical he is, Brook taking it and still being able to block shots, alter shots, get the rebound, taking an elbow to the face and knocking down threes then defending Giannis. Like, that fool’s good. And he had 20 tonight."
Sabonis had a triple-double early in the fourth quarter and finished with 23 points, 17 rebounds and 15 assists. It was his 10th triple-double of the season, which tied him with Dallas’ Luka Dončić for second in the league.
“He’s so talented, getting his own bucket, getting his own looks,” Lopez said. “He’s great at making plays for teammates and really gets their offense going. He does so much for them, so you have to respect everything he does and just definitely be ready for him. I’m glad I had my teammates there to have my back tonight and back me up.”
Five numbers
5 Games the group of Antetokounmpo, Middleton, Holiday, Lopez and Allen started together. The last time they did was Dec. 9.
14 Straight victories for the Bucks over the Kings, dating back to the 2016-17 season.
16-3 Bucks record when the Big Three play together in the same game.
31 Points Antetokounmpo and Middleton combined for in the third quarter. The Bucks scored 37 as a team in taking a lead into the fourth.
43 Place on the all-time assists list for Holiday, who passed Kenosha native Nick Van Exel on Monday.
The stare from Giannis 😶#NBA || #FearTheDeer pic.twitter.com/KcH3J7YoEr
— Bally Sports Wisconsin (@BallySportWI) March 14, 2023
A Twitter List by journalsentinel
More:How loading up the roster has set the Milwaukee Bucks up as the best team in the NBA
Video of the game is Brook Lopez's rim rejection of Chimezie Metu
Brook Lopez leads the league in blocked shots. He doesn't foul. And yet opponents continue think it's a good idea to try and dunk on the 7-footer. Metu was the latest in the long line of guys put on a different kind of poster by Milwaukee's defensive player of the year candidate, as Lopez just handed Metu's dunk attempt right back to him in the first quarter.
The Brook Wall. 🚫 pic.twitter.com/hMnfYSqPLU
— Milwaukee Bucks (@Bucks) March 14, 2023
Bucks injury report
Wesley Matthews (right calf strain), probable
Giannis Antetokounmpo (right hand soreness), available
Joe Ingles (left knee injury management), out
Who do the Bucks play next?
Milwaukee heads right out to Phoenix to take on the Suns at the Footprint Center at 7 p.m. Tuesday. The game lost a bit of luster as Kevin Durant (ankle) will miss the contest, but the Suns still have Devin Booker, Chris Paul and Deandre Ayton leading the team.
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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Giannis scores 46 points in Bucks 133-124 victory over Kings
