MILWAUKEE_Mirza Teletovic came to Milwaukee to make three-pointers. In his first five games in a Bucks uniform, the NBA record-holder for the most three-pointers off the bench in a single season unexpectedly went 5 for 18 from long range.
On Saturday night against the Sacramento Kings, though, the only surprises came when he missed.
Teletovic came off the bench hot, hitting four first-quarter threes in 6 minutes and finishing with 22 points on 7-for-9 shooting _ all threes _ as the Bucks dominated the Kings, 117-91, at the BMO Harris Bradley Center.
The Bucks' numbers from long distance were less impressive before Teletovic checked in, opening the game 0 for 5 from deep at the halfway point of the first quarter. Milwaukee then connected on five straight triples to build a double-digit lead by the end of the quarter. Matthew Dellavedova connected on the first then Teletovic caught fire, hitting the next four in a span of 2 minutes 3 seconds, including three on successive trips down the court.
In the second quarter, the Bucks extended their lead to as many as 18, staying mostly inside the arc to make it happen, though Teletovic did push his three-point streak to five before finally catching iron.
The Kings whittled the margin down as low as nine using an 11-2 run, but Tony Snell ended the threat with a three-pointer from the top of the key. Milwaukee pushed its advantage back to 17 when Giannis Antetokounmpo fed Jabari Parker for back-to-back dunks in transition, with the second including a left-handed behind-the-back pass by the Greek Freak.
At the break, the Bucks led the Kings, 61-48, with Antetokounmpo sitting at 11 points, eight assists and six rebounds.
Antetokounmpo didn't complete his first triple-double of the season in part because he only logged 10 minutes in the second half. The Bucks roared out of the break, holding the Kings to just three points over the first 8 minutes, 57 seconds of the third quarter to open up a 31-point lead. Milwaukee's defense, which swarmed Sacramento's DeMarcus Cousins all night, limited the Kings' big man to 15 points on 5 for 12 shooting while turning 15 Sacramento turnovers _ many of them on live balls, leading to uncontested breakaways _ into 29 points.
Parker, who like Antetokounmpo did not play in the fourth quarter, finished with 19 points. Antetokounmpo added 17 to go with eight rebounds and eight assists. Parker and Antetokounmpo recorded 4 steals in the victory. Rashad Vaughn joined the three-point barrage, making four on the way to 14 points off the bench.
THREE TAKEAWAYS
1. The Bucks fared well while abandoning the mid-range game. Of their 117 points, 42 came on three-pointers, 46 came in the paint and 21 came at the free-throw line, leaving just eight on midrange shots.
2. Milwaukee handled Cousins in a similar fashion to how it played New Orleans Pelicans star Anthony Davis, selling out against him to try to force tough shots or kick outs to his teammates. Kidd called it an "all hands on deck" effort and it paid off, as the Bucks build a huge lead in the third quarter and Cousins didn't play in the fourth.
3. Sacramento, which was missing Rudy Gay and Anthony Tolliver, is just not a good basketball team right now. There's no cohesion under new head coach Dave Joerger and the roster just doesn't feature much talent outside of Cousins.
NOTEBOOK
Letting it fly: After putting up the fewest three-point attempts in the NBA last season, the Bucks made a concerted effort this summer to improve their long-range shooting as well as the frequency with which they utilize the three-pointer.
Through six games, the Bucks have changed dramatically, averaging 23.8 three-point attempts per game. That mark is the highest in the three seasons that Kidd has been the head coach. In 2014-15, Milwaukee averaged 18.3 three-point attempts per game and last season, as the rest of the NBA put more of an emphasis on three-pointers, the Bucks' number dropped to 15.6 attempts per game.
"I think the three is important to us, being able to score the ball in the paint and then also the balance of shooting threes," Kidd said. "If we can get around that 30 mark of attempts we would like to make more than 10. It puts us in a good position, just the balance. We don't want to come out shooting all threes. We want to be able to have the balance of scoring in the paint. That's our strength, playing inside. Then when the opportunity presents itself with our shooters _ Jabari, Mirza, Malcolm, Delly, Tony Snell _ letting it fly."
In scouting the Bucks, Kings head coach Dave Joerger didn't see a major schematic change in regards to three-pointers. To him, it's been more about getting the ball to players who are ready, willing and able to hit shots from beyond the arc.
"It's not technical," Joerger said. "They drive in the paint and if you help then they kick it and they're kicking it to guys who are putting it up and knocking in some shots."
_As a team, the Bucks went 14 for 33 from beyond the three-point line, with the 33 attempts being the most by the team in the Kidd era.
_Rookie Thon Maker, who hit a pair of threes on Thursday for his first NBA points, missed his first attempt on Saturday night. He finished with three points on 1 for 2 shooting with six rebounds.
_Former Marquette standout Steve Novak made his first Bucks appearance of the season, playing four minutes. Jason Terry was inactive.
