The Milwaukee Bucks were finally able to end their longest losing streak since Giannis’s rookie season, with a 116-99 win over the three-win Brooklyn Nets. Kevin Porter Jr. saw his first game action since opening night, scoring 13 points, dishing out six assists, and grabbing four rebounds in 24 minutes. Giannis led the Bucks with 29 points, eight rebounds, and two assists in just 19 minutes of game action. Rookie big man Danny Wolf led the Nets with 22 points.
KPJ was all over the first four minutes of this game. He hit a three for his first shot, just missed throwing down a lob from Giannis on a fastbreak, and had a steal that led to a Giannis dunk. The Bucks’ defense was active early, forcing five turnovers and scoring eight points off them. It helped Milwaukee go on an 8-0 run after the Nets tied it at 13-13, forcing a timeout from Brooklyn head coach Jordi Fernandez after a Kyle Kuzma dunk off a turnover. The Bucks got their lead to as many as 11 points before the Nets found their stride. In the final 1:41 of the quarter, Brooklyn outscored Milwaukee 7-3 to cut a 10-point lead down to three, with Noah Clowney hitting a three 0.6 seconds before the buzzer sounded, with the Bucks up 32-29 heading into the second.
One of the Nets’ five rookies, Danny Wolf, had himself a start to the second quarter after scoring six in the first. The former Michigan big man hit back-to-back threes before throwing down a monster jam over Kuzma to make it a 9-0 personal run. Despite his barrage, the Bucks still found themselves ahead, in large part due to KPJ. The former USC Trojan was responsible for 10 straight points for the Bucks, scoring five, then assisting on a Bobby Portis three, and a Giannis dunk. After another Nets timeout, the Bucks continued to pour it on, extending their lead to 17 points with 3:01 left in the frame. Milwaukee was up 71-53 heading into the locker room, a total tied for the second-most they’ve scored in the first half this season.
Milwaukee threw the first punch out of the half, and the blowout was on. In the first half of the quarter, the Bucks outscored the Nets 19-7 to take a 90-60 lead. In the midst of that, Giannis drained a corner three-point shot to eclipse 21,000 points in his career. The Bucks hit cruise control through most of the quarter and found themselves up 99-70, heading into the final period.
With the game well out of hand, it allowed Doc Rivers to sit Giannis from late in the third onward. Brooklyn did get the game under 20 points after Ziaire Williams scored back-to-back. Doc kept Rollins and some of the other major bench players out on the floor until the 4:55 mark of the quarter, when he subbed in Andre Jackson Jr. and Cole Anthony for the first time. On their first play together, Anthony split the double team and threw a back-door lob to Jackson, which he threw down. Jackson wasn’t the only player to dunk, with Thanasis Antetokounmpo throwing down a one-handed jam in the final 40 seconds of the game.
There has been a lot of talk about the Bucks’ rebounding this season, as they rank 29th in rebounds per game and 30th in offensive rebounding. Against the depleted Nets, they won the battle, out-rebounding them 49-44 and only allowing six offensive rebounds all game long.