Wizards blown out by Bucks while missing six rotation players

Wizards blown out by Bucks while missing key players originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington

WASHINGTON -- The Washington Wizards lost to the Milwaukee Bucks 140-128 on Tuesday night at Capital One Arena. Here are five takeaways from what went down...

Uphill battle

One team is an Eastern Conference juggernaut that has as good a chance as anyone to hoist the Larry O'Brien trophy this June. The other is missing six key rotation players and was just recently eliminated from postseason contention.

Not surprisingly, it was that first team, the Bucks, who emerged victorious on Tuesday night as they took out the Wizards on the road. Washington played without Bradley Beal, Kyle Kuzma, Kristaps Porzingis, Monte Morris, Deni Avdija and Delon Wright, leaving them with a shell of their roster against Giannis Antetokounmpo and Milwaukee.

The Bucks lit the Wizards up from three, just as they did in their last meeting. This time they made 22 threes, shooting 54.8% from long range.

The loss pushed the Wizards to 34-45 on the season with just three games remaining in the regular season.

Davis showed out

Johnny Davis continues to take advantage of his newfound opportunity to play a lot of minutes. In his second career start, Davis was a standout against the Bucks with a career-high 20 points on 9-for-17 shooting. He also added five rebounds and four assists, including a well-timed kick-ahead pass to Corey Kispert on the fastbreak for an easy bucket. Davis also had two blocks and two steals.

Davis also had some moments on the defensive end. He forced Jrue Holiday into a carry with some tight defense in the midrange, then not long after fought around a screen as Joe Ingles traveled. On offense, Davis had a couple of smooth crossovers to set up floaters from about 10 feet out. He also threw down his best dunk as an NBA player so far, a poster slam on Holiday that garnered an and-1. Tuesday's game seemed like another small step forward for him.

Unenviable task

Avdija, Kuzma and Porzingis being out meant three of the players most likely to guard Antetokounmpo were missing. That put quite a bit of pressure on Daniel Gafford and the guys taking their places in the rotation. Gafford then got into early foul trouble, which meant players like Jay Huff, Anthony Gill and Xavier Cooks had to do their best against one of the best and most physically dominant players in the league.

Not surprisingly, it was a long night for the Wizards. Antekounmpo put his head down and barreled through and around walls of defenders. He had 17 points and nine rebounds by halftime before finishing with a typically freakish stat line of 28 points, 11 rebounds, 10 assists, two steals and a block. The Wizards did force him into eight turnovers, though.

Huff played well

Despite having to battle Antetokounmpo all night, Huff came through with his best game as an NBA player so far. He had a career-high 17 points, nine rebounds and two steals. It came on the same day Huff was named the 2022-23 G League Defensive Player of the Year.

Huff does a solid job finishing around the rim. He's 7-foot-1, agile and has soft touch. Huff is known for his shot-blocking more than anything, but does present some potential on the offensive end. He's even a decent outside shooter, as he showed in this game by knocking down a pair of threes.

Injury updates

It's worth listing all the Wizards' injuries because there are quite a few of them and they involve key players. Beal remains out with knee soreness, while both Kuzma and Morris have ankle injuries. Porzingis is reconditioning following a bout with a non-COVID illness, while Wright is now under the weather himself. And finally, Avdija is now dealing with elbow bursitis.

Avdija, in fact, will be out on Wednesday as well before he's re-evaluated by the team. That means he will miss at least one of their final three games. With so little time left, it's fair to question how much we will see of any of these guys before the regular season runs out.