MILWAUKEE (AP) — This isn’t the way the Milwaukee Bucks expected to open a potential bounce-back season after consecutive first-round playoff exits.
Since winning their season opener at Philadelphia, the Bucks have lost five straight and are four games below .500 for the first time since March 2017.
Milwaukee’s start has been tough enough that it believe it took a small step forward Saturday despite losing 114-113 to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Donovan Mitchell’s jumper with three-tenths of a second left. Even so, the Bucks also blew an early 16-point lead and wasted a brilliant performance from Damian Lillard, who scored 41 points and shot 10 of 15 from 3-point range.
“We don’t sustain the game,” Bucks coach Doc Rivers said. “We haven’t been able to sustain 48 minutes.”
Rivers referenced the lulls that have proved costly. Lillard noted that they’ve had a tendency to allow an opposing player off the bench to hurt them. Both things happened Saturday, as the Bucks blew their 16-point lead in the first half thanks in part to a hot streak from Sam Merrill, who finished with 17 points.
“I think every team that’s hurt us, they’ve had somebody come in off the bench and have an impact on the game,” Lillard said. “They had a guy come in and knock down three 3s when it was bleeding and we had them down and our energy was right. He comes in and, ‘Bang, bang, bang.’”
Many of these lulls happen when either Lillard or Giannis Antetokounmpo is out of the game.
The Bucks have a roster that depends heavily on the trio of Antetokounmpo, Lillard and three-time All-Star forward Khris Middleton. When one of those players isn’t available, the Bucks struggle.
That was apparent last season. Counting its first-round playoff loss to Indiana, Milwaukee had Antetokounmpo, Middleton and Lillard all available for only five of its final 39 games. The Bucks went 18-21 over those last 39 games.
And it’s growing increasingly evident this year as well while the Bucks await Middleton’s return.
Middleton still hasn’t made his season debut as he recovers from surgery to each of his ankles. Without Middleton in the lineup, Antetokounmpo and Lillard haven’t received enough help.
Antetokounmpo had 37 points and 11 rebounds while shooting 17 of 22 at Memphis, but the Bucks still got blown out 122-99 after shooting 9 of 42 from 3-point range and struggling in transition defense.
Lillard scored 41 points and Antetokounmpo had 34 on Saturday, and Taurean Prince added 16 points while shooting 6 of 7. But the rest of the Bucks combined to score just 22 points while shooting a combined 9 of 31.
Rivers acknowledged the need to get more from the bench.
“We’ve got to figure that out,” Rivers said. “That’s on us. We have not found the correct rotation yet.”
Antetokounmpo said there is a sense of urgency to get this turned around as soon as possible, even this early in the season. But the two-time MVP also was encouraged by the way the Bucks played Saturday.
After shooting a combined 17 of 73 on 3-point attempts in losses at Boston and Memphis, the Bucks were 18 of 39 from 3-point range against the Cavaliers. Antetokounmpo noted the Bucks had better spacing and played at a better pace.
“That doesn’t mean we’re going to go to a five-game winning streak or a 10-game winning streak,” Antetokounmpo said. “But I know that we’re playing better. We trust one another better. The ball is moving. There’s a lot of good things that we can do. That’s all we can control.”
That attitude remains prevalent in the locker room even as the Bucks keep coming up short.
“There’s no frustration,” Prince said. “The expectations are still here. We’re still optimistic. We’ve just got to figure some things out.”
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