MILWAUKEE _ After taking the Golden State Warriors to the final minute on Saturday night, the Milwaukee Bucks knew they could play with any team in the NBA. It's something head coach Jason Kidd has emphasized, pushing his players to maintain the high level of intensity and learning how to consistently apply it, no matter the opponent.
"We talked about it for the last two days that that's the way we have to play," Kidd said. "We can accept losing if we can play that way; we don't want to lose, we want to win every game, but giving that type of effort every night we can accept that. We can learn from our mistakes and also learn from what we did right."
Against the Orlando Magic on Monday night and the BMO Harris Bradley Center less packed than it was Saturday, the Bucks didn't exactly keep the momentum going, but they did enough to snap a three-game losing skid with a 93-89 victory.
Giannis Antetokounmpo played a starring role, recording his first triple-double of the season with 21 points, 10 assists and 10 rebounds. He also had five steals and three blocks. Jabari Parker contributed 22 points, making a career-high five 3-pointers in seven attempts.
Though it ended well, the night got off to a rocky start for the Bucks. Instead of building off the performance against the Warriors, the Bucks muddled through the first few minutes, listlessly falling into a 16-2 hole. During that stretch, Kidd gave Antetokounmpo, Parker and Matthew Dellavedova, who had five first-quarter turnovers, an early hook.
With those three starters on the bench, the Bucks started to pull back into contention thanks to the hot shooting of Michael Beasley. Beasley made his first two shots off the bench and went 5 of 6 with 10 points in the quarter, and Milwaukee trailed by just seven at the end of the period.
After combining for just two points in the first quarter, Antetokoumpo and Parker broke out in the second, combining for 19 points in the frame. More importantly, Milwaukee's defense forced 10 Orlando turnovers in the quarter and 19 in the half and held the Magic without a field goal for a stretch of more than five minutes and the Bucks took a 49-44 advantage into the half.
Parker unleashed his 3-point barrage in the third quarter, making four consecutive 3-point attempts, most of which coming in catch-and-shoot situations. But the Bucks went cold late in the quarter, surrendering a 12-0 run to end the period and the Magic, who were led by 21 points from serge Ibaka, took a five-point lead into the fourth.
Milwaukee battled back to tie the score at 76 then embarked on a 9-0 run that began with an Antetokounmpo behind-the-back pass to Mirza Teletovic for a layup. The Magic responded in kind to tie the game back up at 85, but a Dellavedova 3-pointer _ assisted by Antetokounmpo _ followed Dellavedova returning the favor by dishing to Antetokounmpo for a dunk, essentially put the game away.
