Sports Editorial (USA), February 12 (EFE).- The Bucks’ defense, always suspicious throughout this season, was this Monday Milwaukee’s lethal weapon to crush the Denver Nuggets, current champions of the NBA, 112-95.
Since Doc Rivers came to the bench, the Bucks have accumulated a discreet 3-5, but in their last two games, Giannis Antetokounmpo’s men have left their rivals below 100 points (120-84 against the Charlotte Hornets last Friday) .
This Monday’s victory was especially impressive since at the end of the third quarter they were already leading by 28 points and were able to give their figures a rest in the outcome.
Antetokounmpo gave a master class with 36 points (imperial 14 of 19 on field goals), 18 rebounds and 5 assists. The Greek titan beat a also sensational Nikola Jokic with 29 points (13 of 25), 12 rebounds and 8 assists.
The Serbian lost 5 balls, but even so the big difference between Milwaukee and Denver was the contribution of the companions. Damian Lillard (18 points without playing in the last quarter) and Bobby Portis (13 points and 8 rebounds) supported Giannis but Jamal Murray was left with only 3 points next to Jokic and did not play in the second half due to discomfort in his shin.
The Nuggets, who were coming off another resounding defeat against the Sacramento Kings (135-106), also lost Kentavious Caldwell-Pope during the match, who only played the opening quarter and who no longer took the court due to hamstring pain. .
In total, the Bucks (35-19 balance) shot 50% from the field and a huge 47.1% in triples (16 of 34) while the Nuggets (36-18) crashed with a 38.3 % on field goals and 27.5% from the perimeter.
Defense leads the way
The night couldn’t have started worse for the Nuggets, who missed 8 of their first 9 shots and found themselves down 11-2 in less than 4 minutes.
Mike Malone’s timeout partially stopped the Bucks who had started with a very good attitude on defense and running as much as they could on offense.
Although the key to Denver’s awakening was Jokic, who finished the opening quarter with 14 points so that the Colorado team did not bleed to death at the first change (28-23).
The defense plus transition recipe continued to give excellent results to the locals, who gave a good boost to the scoreboard until they were close to 20 points difference (43-26 with 7.17 until the break).
Malone called two timeouts without stopping the gale and the last play that led to that second stoppage perfectly summarized the situation of the night: Jokic received a two for one with Antetokounmpo in the help, the Bucks stole the ball and Lillard assisted the counterattack to a Portis that excelled with a dunk.
Despite all the traps that the Bucks set for him, Jokic continued to score with great ease.
The problem for Denver was the rest, since neither Murray, nor Michael Porter Jr. nor Aaron Gordon could find their way to the basket. Their first half was such a horror that they combined for a pitiful 2 of 15 shooting and only 6 points.
Antetokounmpo experienced quite the opposite, overwhelming in the zone with 26 points (10 of 12 shooting) and 9 rebounds.
The Greek surpassed Jokic in a high-level duel with 23 points (10 of 18) and 6 rebounds and the Bucks went to halftime with a large advantage (60-44) and after having forced 8 turnovers on their rivals.
There was no response from the Nuggets after the restart, who also blamed Murray’s absence in the second half. Gordon responded with 11 points in the third quarter but it was insufficient against the Milwaukee avalanche.
Antetokounmpo was still imposing in the zone, but in that period the best of the Bucks was Lillard with 14 of the 18 points he achieved throughout the evening
With their stars at full capacity, the Bucks put up a devastating 91-63 at the end of the third quarter and the last quarter was a mere formality.
By: EFE
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2024-02-13 06:19:08
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