WASHINGTON _ The Milwaukee Bucks have had their issues, puzzling moments and inconsistencies, but they sure do know how to close out games in the nation's capital.
For the second time in nine days, the Bucks and Washington Wizards engaged in a tight battle deep into the fourth quarter. And for the second time in nine days, the Bucks made all the right plays down the stretch, earning a 104-95 victory on Monday at Capital One Arena to complete their first road sweep of the Wizards since 2004.
"I think we lost both games before we played them," Bucks point guard Eric Bledsoe said, referring to the Bucks losing the day before each of their games in Washington. "The games we need are these types of games. Unfortunately for them, we always play them every time we lose the game before on a back-to-back."
Giannis Antetokounmpo played a major role in the victory, scoring 27 points and pulling down a career-high 20 rebounds. Those numbers made him the sixth Bucks player since the ABA-NBA merger in 1976 to surpass 25 points and 20 rebounds in the same game and the first since Ersan Ilyasova had 29 and 25 against the New Jersey Nets on Feb. 19, 2012.
He scored six of his points and grabbed eight of those rebounds in the fourth quarter alone, helping to fuel Milwaukee's victory.
"Just shows he's going to do everything to put his team in a position to win," Bucks coach Jason Kidd said.
After a tight first half, the Bucks got out to a slow start in the third quarter reminiscent of their lopsided loss to Miami on Sunday. They missed their first seven shots of the quarter and committed four turnovers before getting on the board, with Kidd calling a timeout to try to turn things around during a 9-5 Wizards run.
"The start of that third quarter was a little shaky," Kidd said. "It looked like we were back in Miami. We had some turnovers, we weren't getting shots, but I thought the guys (learned) from our mistakes yesterday."
John Henson put back a miss to get the Bucks' first field goal nearly 5 { minutes into the quarter. Then Antetokounmpo went on a tear, scoring seven straight points before Bledsoe added back-to-back threes from virtually the same spot to give Milwaukee an eight-point lead that would grow as high as 11 before the end of the period.
But the Wizards wouldn't go down easily, using a 13-0 run spanning the end of the third quarter and into the fourth to take a two-point lead. Milwaukee's three core players _ Antetokounmpo, Bledsoe and Middleton _ responded by scoring the next 13 points for the Bucks. In one play for the highlight reel, Antetokounmpo collected a rebound and snapped it backward through his legs to Middleton for a dunk.
Trailing, 93-91, with 5:55 left, the Bucks held the Wizards without a point for more than five minutes, using an 11-0 run to seal the win. Washington missed seven shots, four free throws and committed two of their season-high 24 turnovers during that span.
"It's just locking in," Middleton said of the shutdown defense late. "We match up well with them. Malcolm (Brogdon) and Tony (Snell), they did a great job on (Bradley) Beal coming off screens and Bled does a great job on (John) Wall and those are their two main guys when you're coming down the stretch, so we know if we can contain them we can live with contested shots from the other guys out there."
Wall had 27 points _ 16 in the first quarter _ and Beal added 19 in the loss.
Bledsoe started the comeback with a putback and shortly after Antetokounmpo knocked down a 22-footer. Bledsoe then split the defense for a layup and Middleton came up with the Bucks' 14th steal for a layup. Antetokounmpo then sealed the victory by banking in a 7-footer with just over a minute left.
Bledsoe had 23 points, four rebounds, four steals and three assists and Middleton added 19 points on 9-of-16 shooting to break out of his recent slump. Brogdon added 16 points to help Milwaukee shake off their loss Sunday against the Heat heading into another game against Miami on Wednesday at the BMO Harris Bradley Center.
"I thought the guys showed a lot of character playing two afternoon games," Kidd said. "I thought the guys showed a lot of heart to stay together no matter what _ calls, turnovers, missed shots, they still played. Coming down the stretch we went through Giannis, but I thought Bled did a great job of running the offense. Our defense gave us a chance to win this afternoon."
