SACRAMENTO, Calif. _ There was no messing around, no playing down to an inferior opponent, no sluggish defense or ball-sticking offense from the Milwaukee Bucks on Tuesday night at the Golden 1 Center against the Sacramento Kings.
Instead, the Bucks did exactly what they were supposed to do in dispatching the youthful, turnover-prone Kings, 112-87, to improve to 2-1 on their current road trip and bounce back from an embarrassing loss to the Utah Jazz on Saturday night in Salt Lake City.
The Bucks got off to a solid start, converting five first-quarter steals into seven points and established control in the latter stages of the opening period. Then in the second, Milwaukee turned on the jets and never looked back.
With Eric Bledsoe, Khris Middleton and Giannis Antetokounmpo leading the way, the Bucks embarked on a 12-0 run over a span of less than three minutes to turn a close game into a blowout, opening up a 19-point lead. Bledsoe, who finished with 21 points to go along with five rebounds, five assists and three steals, played a central role in the second quarter, collecting 13 points to aid Milwaukee in ballooning its lead to 24 points at halftime.
Milwaukee kicked things up a notch further in the third quarter, pushing the margin as high as 36 points. This time it was Antetokounmpo's turn to show out _ possibly knowing that his night would be over as soon as he subbed out.
Antetokounmpo relentlessly attacked Sacramento's overmatched defenders, piling up 19 third-quarter points on 6-of-8 shooting while making 6 of 8 free-throw attempts. There were nifty layups, fadeaway jumpers, a wide-open, three-pointer that caught nothing but net and an emphatic dunk for good measure.
Antetokounmpo indeed never returned after subbing out late in the third quarter. The NBA's minutes-per-game leader heading into the contest logged a season-low 26 minutes, efficiently ending the night with 32 points, five rebounds, five steals and four assists.
Middleton, whose availability was in question after he missed shootaround because of illness, chipped in 12 points and a pair of assists in 23 minutes. Back in the starting lineup after coming off the bench the past two games, Tony Snell was a perfect 3 of 3 from the field with a pair of triples for nine points. As a team, the Bucks finished with 27 assists on 42 baskets.
Milwaukee's struggling defense righted itself against the mercurial Kings, which were playing the second leg of a back-to-back after claiming a surprise win over the Golden State Warriors, who were without Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant, on Monday in Oakland.
The matchup was an advantageous one for the Bucks, which have had issues defending the three-point line, as the Kings attempt the fewest three-pointers per game of any NBA team. Still, it was incumbent on Milwaukee to go out and perform _ something it has not always done against inferior opponents _ and they did just that.
