Bucks 142, Wizards 129: Giannis scores 42 and Middleton passes Moncrief in record book
The Milwaukee Bucks improved to 10-4 and won their fifth straight game by beating the Washington Wizards, 142-129, Monday night in Washington. It is the sixth straight loss for the Wizards, who dropped to 2-11.
The game was not part of the In-Season Tournament, but when the Wizards head to Fiserv Forum on Friday that will count toward East Group B pool play.
Box score: Bucks 142, Wizards 129
Bucks outrun Wizards to win fifth straight
The Bucks handled business against the lowly Wizards as Jrue Holiday and the Boston Celtics loom on Wednesday night as the premier matchup between Eastern Conference contenders. The Wizards aren’t good, but they do one thing well: run.
Washington entered the game as the second-fastest paced team in the NBA at 103.96 possessions per 48 minutes, just a shade slower than the Indiana Pacers. And Milwaukee entered the game 1-2 against teams in the top five in pace.
But, the Bucks kept their focus and managed to outrun the Wizards by shooting 58.5% when the starters were in the game, and scoring a season-high 142 points.
Milwaukee also tied a season-high by scoring 70 first half points.
Giannis Antetokounmpo dominated inside by scoring 42 points on 20 of 23 shooting. He was 2 for 6 from the free throw line. Antetokounmpo added 13 rebounds and eight assists. Damian Lillard scored 22 and was 9 for 11 from the free throw line.
The pair led all five Bucks starters in double figures, as Khris Middleton (18), Brook Lopez and Malik Beasley (16 each) also had good nights shooting. Bobby Portis had 17 points and 8 rebounds off the bench.
Milwaukee native Jordan Poole scored a season-high 30 points for Washington, which finished just two points shy of an opposing team’s season-best. Poole was 11 for 26 and 3 for 9 from behind the three-point line. Five other Wizards reached double figures.
The Bucks used a 38-point fourth quarter to finally outdistance the Wizards, who took a 108-107 lead in the opening minutes of the quarter. The Bucks went on a 12-3 run after that to retake the advantage.
Khris Middleton passes Sidney Moncrief on scoring list
After missing Saturday’s game against Dallas on the back end of a back-to-back, Middleton suited up Monday and passed another franchise legend on the all-time scoring list when he climbed past Hall of Famer Sidney Moncrief for No. 4 with his 13th point with a third quarter floater.
Middleton moved into the top five Nov. 13 against Chicago, passing Michael Redd. He now has 11,600.
Moncrief scored 11,594 points in 10 seasons with the Bucks from 1979-89. Next up for Middleton is Glenn Robinson, who is No. 3 with 12,010 points. Robinson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (14,211) and Antetokounmpo (16,673) are the only three Bucks to score 12,000 points in their careers in Milwaukee.
“Hopefully I can get a couple more spots up there,” Middleton said after passing Redd. “I told Giannis I’m going for his record next. Know I got a ways to go. It’s a cool accomplishment for myself and hopefully I can keep going up that list.”
5 numbers
5 Games this season in which Brook Lopez has recorded at least four blocked shots, all in the last 10 games. Since the Bucks incorporated the drop back into its defensive profile on Nov. 3 against New York, the Bucks’ center has swatted 39 shots (3.9 per game).
10 Straight points scored on field goals by Antetokounmpo in the first quarter before Malik Beasley added a three-pointer.
23 Minutes for Middleton, a season-high. His previous high was 21:51 Friday against Charlotte.
24-12 Advantage in paint scoring by the Wizards after the first quarter, despite the fact all 10 of Antetokounmpo’s came in the painted area. It set the tone all game for Washington, which outscored Milwaukee 84-64 in the paint. It was the most points scored by an opponent, by far, in that area against the Bucks (Toronto had 66 on Nov. 1).
37.0 Antetokounmpo’s points per game over his last six contests. Since being ejected against Detroit on Nov. 8, Antetokounmpo has scored 54 points vs. Indiana (Nov. 9) and posted consecutive 40-point efforts against Dallas and Washington.
Did you notice?
Second-year guard AJ Green got early minutes on Monday for the second straight game. The Bucks are down rotational wings Jae Crowder (adductor surgery) and MarJon Beauchamp (right ankle sprain), and the pair were shooting 51% and 44% from behind the three-point line, respectively. Green played less than 10 total minutes in the first three games after Crowder’s injury, but Dallas and Washington are two of the faster-paced, offensive-minded teams in the league.
Green competes on the defensive end, but he can be instant offense behind the three-point line. He hit 2 threes in 2 minutes vs. Charlotte on Nov. 17 and then went 2 for 4 from deep and scored eight points in 11 minutes vs. Dallas. He was off on Monday, however, going 1 for 4 from the field and missing both of his three-point attempts.
Johnny Davis sees limited time; Patrick Baldwin Jr. doesn't play
La Crosse native and University of Wisconsin alumnus Johnny Davis began the day questionable to play against the Bucks with a left elbow sprain but was upgraded to available by tip-off. Davis got six minutes of action for Washington, and had a rebound and an assist. He played just over two minutes on Friday against New York. The No. 10 pick in the 2022 draft has appeared in seven games. He is shooting 50% from behind the three-point line in limited action (9.3 minutes per game). Last year Davis played in 28 games.
UW-Milwaukee alumnus Patrick Baldwin Jr., the No. 22 pick in the 2022 draft by Golden State, had played in just three games so far for the Wizards. He did not play vs. the Bucks.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Giannis Antetokounmpo scores 42 in Bucks' win over Wizards
