By playing with fire, the Bucks ended up getting burned on the Brooklyn floor last night. Unable to break away from a valiant Nets formation for three quarters, Doc Rivers' men finally saw the match slip through their fingers following the repeated exploits of the Schroder-Thomas pair, who outclassed the Lillard-Antetokounmpo tandem . Worrying?
The Nets in any case did better than the comparison for three quarters. After a balanced first half (48-45), Dennis Schroder's two consecutive baskets, Cam Thomas' 2+1 and Dorian Finney-Smith's opportunistic basket forced Milwaukee to react (61-54).
Gary Trent Jr's 3-pointer, Giannis Antetokounmpo's dunk and long-range arrows from Brook Lopez then Damian Lillard finally seemed to launch Milwaukee (70-71). But what followed was completely different, mastered by an imperturbable Schroder-Thomas duo.
The two first concluded the third quarter with two 3-point baskets to set the tone (83-78). The tandem then stood out on a 10-0 run with a 3-pointer and a 2+1 from Cam Thomas to relegate the Bucks to 14 points (99-85). And when Cam Thomas couldn't finish, it was Ziaire Williams who was there for the tap dance. Dennis Schroder put an end to this festival with a 3-pointer while touching to bring the score to 104-86 and avoid a suspenseful “money-time” for his team.
Solid until the end, the Nets also put on a show like the alley-oop between Cam Johnson and Nic Claxton to crown a 115-102 success, the first for Brooklyn this season.
WHAT TO REMEMBER
– The Cam Thomas Show. The offensive power of Cam Thomas is now identified by all NBA franchises, but the rear continues to flame. Cam Thomas is still off to a good start and his performance of the night confirms his encouraging start to the season. He was again a constant poison for Milwaukee, who could only see the damage in the last quarter where he scored 11 of his 32 points, actively contributing to tilting the match towards Brooklyn.
– Milwaukee still disappointing. The Bucks did not shine with their collective play (20 assists, 18 lost balls). While we were expecting a burst of pride after a setback at home against Chicago, the relays were too timid around Giannis Antetokounmpo and the whole thing ended up being shattered in the fourth quarter. Even Damian Lillard got through it with his 1/7 shooting and his 4 lost balls.
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How to read the stats? Min = Minutes; Shots = Successful shots / Attempted shots; 3pts = 3-points / 3-points attempted; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; O = offensive rebound; D=defensive rebound; T = Total rebounds; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal fouls; Int = Intercepts; Bp = Lost balls; Ct: Against; +/- = Point differential when the player is on the field; Pts = Points; Eval: player evaluation calculated from positive actions – negative actions.
