Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 29 points and grabbed 19 rebounds as the Milwaukee Bucks beat the visiting Oklahoma City Thunder, 98-85, to snap a five-game losing streak on Friday, February 19 (Saturday, February 20, Philippine time).
The Bucks haven’t lost 6 consecutive games since March 2015.
Milwaukee’s 98 points were its second-lowest of the season, but the Bucks made up for it on defense. Milwaukee hadn’t held an opponent under 90 points all season.
The Bucks grabbed control with a 21-5 run to start the 3rd quarter, going 9-of-12 from the field in the first seven-plus minutes.
On the other side, the Thunder went cold. Oklahoma City missed its first 11 shots after halftime, not making a field goal until Hamidou Diallo’s putback with 4:31 left in the 3rd.
The Thunder were just 1-of-10 from behind the arc in the 3rd, 6-of-21 from the floor overall.
Milwaukee’s Bryn Forbes, coming off the bench for the first time since February 6, was scoreless at halftime before scoring 10 third-quarter points. He didn’t score again in the 4th.
Oklahoma City didn’t go away easily, chipping away at the deficit late in the 3rd and into the 4th.
Isaiah Roby’s three-pointer just more than 5 minutes into the 4th cut the Milwaukee lead to 81-73.
After their hot offensive start to the 3rd, the Bucks hit just 4 of their next 19 shots.
The Thunder got as close as 7 but couldn’t close the gap further.
Antetokounmpo’s rebounding total was a season high, and the Bucks dominated the boards 61-46. The reigning MVP added 8 assists and shot 10 of 20 from the floor.
Khris Middleton added 20 points for Milwaukee, and DJ Augustin scored 11.
The loss was the third consecutive and the sixth in 7 games for Oklahoma City.
Luguentz Dort led the Thunder with 17 points while Shai Gilgeous-Alexander added 14. Roby, Al Horford and Hamidou Diallo each had 10 points.
Oklahoma City’s Mike Muscala missed all 6 three-pointers he tried and finished with 7 points. Gilgeous-Alexander also struggled, going just 3-of-12 from the floor.
The Thunder shot a season-low 36.5% from the floor and were just 11-of-21 from the free-throw line. – Rappler.com
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