Without Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard, the Bucks lose 125-107 to the Thunder
OKLAHOMA CITY – The Milwaukee Bucks faced long odds Friday night before the game against the Oklahoma City Thunder even started with stars Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard out with injuries. The Thunder, after all, was still in the mix for the top seed in the Western Conference and tied with Denver for the second-best home record in the NBA.
But, the Bucks (49-32) kept it competitive for three quarters before the Thunder (56-25) eventually wore them down in a 125-107 loss at the Paycom Center.
Khris Middleton scored nine straight points and 11 of his 18 in the opening minutes of the third quarter to help Milwaukee get within shouting distance at 80-70 after trailing by as many as 19, but the Thunder would not let them get closer than that.
BOX SCORE: Thunder 125, Bucks 107
"Trying to be as aggressive as I can, simple as that," Middleton said of that mini-run he started. "Shots were falling, just keep trying to be as aggressive as I can."
Middleton was 7 for 10 from the floor and had seven rebounds and six assists 23 minutes to lead the Bucks.
"Just try to figure it out, be aggressive when I can, try to figure out how to create great shots for everybody else and also play team basketball at the same time," Middleton said of his mindset in playing without his two all-star teammates. "Just trying to find a balance between it all."
Brook Lopez also scored 18 points in 23 minutes. Bobby Portis had eight rebounds and four points in 21 minutes while Pat Beverley had seven assists and six points in 24 points.
Malik Beasley added 17 points as he reached double figures in scoring for the first time since April 3. He was the only starter to play 30 minutes.
The Thunder was led by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (23 points, seven rebounds), Chet Holmgren (22 points, nine rebounds) and Jalen Williams (17 points).
Bucks can still clinch the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference
Despite the loss to the Thunder, the Bucks still control their own destiny regarding the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference – they just need to beat the Orlando Magic on Sunday afternoon in Florida.
But, Doc Rivers said before the game there are some limits to just how they might accomplish that.
“Listen, we’d love to get the two seed – we have to win a game,” he said before the game Friday. “So, that’s at play. But let’s just say Sunday if Dame wasn’t right, we’re not gonna play him. Otherwise, something happens there and you’re in a lot of trouble. We want the two seed. There’s no doubt about it. But we want to be healthy, too.”
Milwaukee would clinch that position as it would give them its 50th win of the season, and the Bucks possess a tiebreaker over New York. The Knicks are the only other team behind the Bucks in the East that can win 50 games.
"Gotta win it. Simple as that," Middleton said of the regular season finale. "We came in trying to win this game even though we were shorthanded. It's the same on Sunday – try to win."
But should the Bucks lose in Orlando, there is a chance they fall out of that No. 2 position however, as New York (49-32) and Cleveland (48-33) both won Friday.
Bucks playoffs: What to know about seed, schedule, 2024 Eastern Conference standings, bracket, record and more
Here are the potential seeding scenarios for Milwaukee:
Win vs. Magic: No. 2 seed
Lose vs. Magic, both Knicks and Cavaliers lose: No. 2 seed
Lose vs. Magic, Knicks lose, Cavaliers win: No. 3 seed
Lose vs. Magic, Knicks win, Cavaliers lose: No. 3 seed
Lose vs. Magic, Knicks and Cavaliers win: No. 4 seed
"Scouting nightmare," Rivers said after the game. "We know we'll be between two and four. We do know that. That's a certainty. Other than that we don't know anything.
"The good news is no matter what, we'll be at home for Game 1. That we do know."
Second quarter Thunder run does in Bucks
Milwaukee had to work hard to manufacture shots and limit Oklahoma City’s effectiveness on offense behind the three-point line, and for a quarter-and-a-half it was working.
Though they briefly fell behind by double digits late in the first quarter and early in the second, the Bucks used a 7-0 run to pull to within 47-43 with 8 minutes, 29 seconds to go in the second quarter. The Thunder called timeout to regroup and promptly went on a 20-5 run that lasted nearly six minutes.
"I thought early on we were pretty good," Rivers said after the game. "I thought Second quarter, too many guys were makin' plays that shouldn't try to make plays and we turned the ball over. First quarter I thought the ball movement (was good), we played downhill a lot, we played through our bigs, we moved the ball, it was good basketball. Then after that, it looked like guys, everybody was trying to make plays and it's just not who most of them were. But, you know, we got a good burn. We loved to have won, but we wanted to burn some minutes and we did that."
In that stretch the Bucks were just 2 for 9 from the field and committed four turnovers that led to 12 Thunder points.
"Got out of sync a little bit," Middleton said of that game-deciding stretch. "Turnovers for sure killed us. They got in transition and you know, credit to them, they're a good team. They made tough shots, spaced the floor pretty well and took advantage of our mistakes."
Milwaukee turned it over a total of seven times and made just eight shots (on 22 attempts) in the quarter. That included a 2-for-8 showing from behind the three-point line, which offset a 4-for-7 start from deep in the first quarter that allowed them to stay connected.
Oklahoma City scored just 28 points of their own (after a 41-point first quarter), but by turning up the defense the Thunder were able to effectively put the game away.
Damian Lillard ruled out with adductor soreness
Lillard popped up on the injury report on the off day between the Bucks win over Orlando on Wednesday and the game Friday in Oklahoma City and he was ruled out Friday morning with soreness in a left adductor muscle.
“We’ve had enough, so we want to make sure everybody is good,” Rivers said of sitting Lillard.
The adductor muscles are on the inside of the leg, running from the pelvic bone to the knee. Lillard had played through soreness in his left hip on Tuesday against Boston.
The 33-year-old guard missed games on April 2-3 with what was initially called a right groin strain, which was clarified to be a right adductor strain by the time he returned to play on April 5.
Lillard had lower abdominal surgery in January, 2022 that ended his 2021-’22 campaign after 29 games. He returned to play 58 games in an all-star campaign in 2022-’23.
Five numbers
1-8 Bucks record without Damian Lillard.
4-4 Bucks record without Giannis Antetokounmpo.
18-21 Bucks road record this season. In losing Friday night, they are guaranteed to have a losing record away from Fiserv Forum for the first time since going 19-22 in 2017-18. Only Orlando (18-23) has a worse road record among current playoff-eligible teams.
224 Made three-pointers on the season for Malik Beasley after making 3 three-pointers vs. the Thunder. The single-season record of 229 was set by Ray Allen in 2001-‘02.
2/14/21 Last time the Thunder beat the Bucks. Milwaukee owned a six-game winning streak since that time.
Giannis Antetokounmpo injury update
The Bucks star suffered a painful strain of his left soleus muscle in his calf in the third quarter of the Bucks’ victory over Boston on Tuesday in Milwaukee. He began to run up the court and fell without contact. He passed an Achilles tendon test that night in the arena and an MRI was done to determine the severity of the strain. The team has not released a timeline for his return but did immediately rule him out for the remaining four games of the regular season.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Without Giannis and Damian Lillard, Bucks lose 125-107 to Thunder
