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The Milwaukee Bucks couldn’t notch their third three-game winning streak of the month, losing to the New York Knicks 127-98. New York shot a staggering 21/41 from the three-point line, while the Bucks turned the ball over 16 times. Read our full summary of the game here and catch a six-minute audio recap on the Bucks+ podcast, Bucks In Six Minutes, below.
Player Grades
Ryan Rollins
32 minutes, 13 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 5 turnovers, 5/9 FG, -30
Rollins had some decent moments during the first half, but the second half was a different story. He was held scoreless on 0/2 shooting and turned the ball over three times.
Grade: D+
Kevin Porter Jr.
27 minutes, 11 points, 10 assists, 6 rebounds, 3 turnovers, 4/12 FG, -16
One of the quieter double-doubles you’ll see all season. The Knicks’ defense did a great job of making KPJ a pass-first player. He made the right reads in those spots, but couldn’t get it going f0or himself.
Grade: C-
AJ Green
30 minutes, 7 points, 2 rebounds, 2/6 3P, -17
The Knicks have always been a bad matchup for Green since he became a regular rotation player. He’s averaging 6.8 PPG in 10 career games against the Knicks, the fifth-fewest against Eastern Conference opponents, and last night was no different; the size of their wings seems to neutralize his ability to get good shots off.
Grade: D
Kyle Kuzma
27 minutes, 17 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 6/11 FG, 4/7 3P, -16
Kuzma continues to feel it from three-point range. While Doc wasn’t happy with all of his attempts, at least they’re going in right now. Kuzma did a solid job of guarding Brunson once the switch was made, helping to limit him to two points in the second half on 1/4 shooting.
Grade: B
Myles Turner
25 minutes, 19 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 4/7 3P, -20
It’s a shame Turner’s bounce-back game was wasted on a blowout like this. He did a great job limiting Karl-Anthony Towns’ offense when Doc opted to throw Kuzma (who was originally guarding Towns) on Brunson. Hopefully, these types of games will be more common for Turner down the stretch.
Grade: B
Bobby Portis
17 minutes, 14 points, 2 rebounds, 2 steals, 5/8 FG, 2/3 3P, 2/3 FT, -10
Portis provided consistent offense off the bench. It was an efficient game for BP on offense, but there were a few defensive lapses when he fell asleep and allowed a shooter to get wide open.
Grade: B-
Cam Thomas
17 minutes, 7 points, 2 rebounds, 2/9 FG, 3/3 FT, -17
After an incredible start to his Bucks tenure, now we’re seeing the bad side of Thomas’ game. He forced several bad shots, and combined with the fact that he’s a non-factor on defense, it’s hard to keep him on the floor.
Grade: D
Jericho Sims
23 minutes, 2 points, 4 rebounds, 1/1 FG, -21
In a game where the Bucks needed another big game from Sims on the glass, he failed to deliver. Jericho really struggled against the taller Knicks bigs of Towns and Robinson.
Grade: D-
Ousmane Dieng
12 minutes, 0 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 0/2 FG, -11
The usage of Dieng has been very confusing (more on that later). Despite that, Dieng failed to put points on the board and got beaten a few times on defense. He has to at least stand up as a defensive player for the Bucks as his offence develops. The two looks he did get were low percentage looks, taking a contested three over Diawara and a long step-back three that rimmed out.
Grade: D
Doc Rivers
The usage of Dieng has to be investigated. Doc talks about how much they like him, yet against a team with a lot of big wings, he played four minutes and 27 seconds in the first half. That, combined with leaving Thomas out there too long, didn’t help matters. I do give him credit for switching Kuzma onto Brunson, but the game was so out of hand at that point, did it really matter?
Grade: D+
Garbage Time: Thanasis Antetokounmpo, Gary Harris, Gary Trent Jr., Andre Jackson Jr., Pete Nance
Inactive: Alex Antetokounmpo, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Taurean Prince, Cormac Ryan
Bonus Bucks Bits
- A quick Giannis update: Doc said that he’s been progressing through individual work and live four-on-four play with no setbacks. He didn’t provide any indication of how close the two-time MVP is to returning.
- As I mentioned at the beginning of the rapid recap, Doc called out the Bucks’ need to take care of the ball. They didn’t do that, turning the ball over 16 times and allowing the Knicks to score 19 points off of those. It’s the 22nd time this season they’ve turned it over 16+ times. Their record in such games falls to 8-14.
- It was easily one of the best shooting nights for the Knicks, hitting 51.2% from three-point range; that was the third-highest percentage they’ve posted this season. Yet for Doc, the issues the Bucks had on defense were that they didn’t match the Knicks’ physicality:
“Some of the guys on their team we gave shots to, we’re fine with that, (but) we should’ve still went out and guarded it. I just thought they got everything they wanted, forget the threes for a second. Whenever they wanted to drive, they drove the ball. When they wanted to shoot, they shot the ball. I just didn’t think we met their physicality and their intensity. It’s a good lesson for them, you knew how this game was going to play, and we just didn’t meet the moment.”
- It was another good shooting performance from Kuz from beyond the arc. Over his last three games, he’s shooting an even 50% (12/24).
Up Next
The Bucks will kick off March on the road with a Sunday matinee against the free-falling Chicago Bulls. Tip-off is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. Central at the United Center. You can catch the game on FanDuel Sports Network Wisconsin.