MILWAUKEE _ When 3-pointers aren't falling, the Milwaukee Bucks can usually rely on getting buckets in the paint. The problem for the Bucks against the Washington Wizards, though, was that even points in the paint weren't easy to come by.
Milwaukee's offensive malaise from Saturday night in Dallas carried over to Monday night at the BMO Harris Bradley Center as the Bucks suffered a 99-88 loss. The defeat marked the Bucks' second in three days against a team that had played the night before while the Bucks were coming off at least one day of rest.
The Bucks' offensive sputtered for much of the night, including going just 4 of 22 on 3-pointers. They exceeded their 46.4 points in the paint per game average with 48, but getting there was an adventure.
A team that usually hangs its hat on scoring inside, the Bucks missed numerous great looks en route to shooting just 24 of 44 from that area.
Eric Bledsoe missed an open layup in transition. Instead of attempting a layup of his own, Khris Middleton lobbed an alley-oop way high of Giannis Antetokounmpo. Gary Payton II flubbed an alley-oop finish. Antetokounmpo missed a layup on the break and then moments later sprinted out for another attempt and was blocked from behind.
Still, the Bucks remained in the game. They weathered a 14-0 Wizards run in the first quarter and roared back in the second on the strength of their defense, which had seven steals _ five by Bledsoe _ in the first half alone.
The game remained close until late in the third before Wizards guard Bradley Beal, who finished with 23 points, went on a 7-0 run by himself to help Washington take a seven-point advantage into the fourth.
That's when the wheel fell off for the Bucks. Facing Washington's second unit with Beal and All-Star guard John Wall on the bench, Milwaukee quickly fell behind by double digits. With the offense scuffling, that proved to be too deep a hole to dig out of as Milwaukee fell behind by as many as 17.
Antetokounmpo, one of the most efficient scorers in the league, had trouble finishing at the rim and went just 8 of 21 from the field on the way to scoring 23 points. Middleton added 15 points on 5 of 13 shooting and Bledsoe had 14 points and six steals in the loss.
Milwaukee's bench, which averages a league-low 23.9 points per game, contributed just 16 with two-way guard Gary Payton II leading the way with eight points in his first extended action of the season.
