MILWAUKEE _ The Milwaukee Bucks didn't even need Giannis Antetokounmpo to dominate as usual Saturday night against the struggling Magic at the brand new Fiserv Forum.
One of the league's most captivating players didn't even play in the third quarter, giving way to his teammates, who easily made short work of the visiting Orlando crew during a 113-91 blowout.
The Bucks improved to an NBA-best 6-0. It's the best start for Milwaukee since the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar days when the Bucks opened the 1971-72 season 7-0.
Meanwhile, the Magic fell to 2-4 and had issues all night, with many of them not necessarily created by the Bucks. It was difficult to pinpoint on which side of the floor the Magic struggled most.
The defense allowed plenty of Bucks open looks within their ball movement and Milwaukee shot 50 percent for the game (41 of 82).
The Orlando offensive performance was equally troubling. The Magic continued their shooting woes at 33 percent for the game (33 of 100), including 10 of 43 from 3-point range, and the shot selection on numerous trips were again questionable as the Magic failed to work the ball. The 43 3-point attempts were a franchise record.
Orlando also failed to be aggressive on the boards, an area coach Steve Clifford had stressed this week. The Bucks clobbered the Magic on the glass, earning a 57-41 advantage.
Nikola Vucevic led the Magic in scoring with 16 points and nine rebounds. He fell just short of his 227th career double-double, which would break his current tie with Shaquille O'Neal for second in Magic history.
Antetokounmpo's absence from the third quarter may have been due to a shot to the head he took early in the game on an Aaron Gordon drive to the hole. Antetokounmpo blocked Gordon's initial shot, but Gordon recovered to put back his own offensive rebound over Antetokounmpo, who rolled around on the floor briefly. He went to the bench shortly afterward, but he returned and played 16 minutes in the first half, scoring 15 points with five rebounds before the break. The Bucks held a 65-51 lead at halftime.
Antetokounmpo finished with 21 points and seven rebounds in 19 minutes. Khris Middleton added 18 points.
The Magic started the game shooting poorly and got progressively worse. As the Bucks ripped the nets in the first half, hitting 60 percent from the floor (22 of 37), including 5 of 12 from 3-point range, the Magic misfired at a clip of 37 percent (20 of 54) and hit just 6 of 21 3-pointers. To compound things, the Bucks went to the free-throw line 17 times in the opening two quarters and missed just once.
Orlando gets a bit of time to regroup before hosting the Sacramento Kings at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Amway Center.
