San Antonio vs. Milwaukee, Final Score: Spurs drop close game to the Bucks 125-121

Photos by Michael Gonzales/NBAE via Getty Images

San Antonio can’t close out the Bucks in a game that came down to the wire.

The San Antonio Spurs had a tough challenge ahead of them with the Milwaukee Bucks coming to town. The young team rose to the occasion, fighting hard in a close game. Ultimately they couldn’t stop Giannis Antetokounmpo on their way to a 125-121 loss.

Antetokounmpo was unstoppable, erupting for 44 points, 14 rebounds, 7 assists and 2 steals. He was rivaled by another young “unicorn” in Victor Wembanyama. The rookie had one of his best games of the season putting up 27 points, 9 rebounds and 5 blocks, making some huge plays down the stretch, including blocking Antetokounmpo at the rim and hitting a game-tying three. He had a chance to tie the game with a few second on the clock, but passed the ball off to a wide open Tre Jones, who missed the three.

Devin Vassell led the Spurs in scoring, hitting shot after shot. He finished with 34 points on 14-21 shooting. Jones had a strong performance in his first start of the season, scoring 18 points and adding in 6 assists.

The Spurs will head to Cleveland for a matchup with the Cavaliers on Sunday for their next context.

Observations

Keldon Johnson continues to thrive off the bench. He kept the Spurs afloat in the third quarter when it appeared the Bucks may go on a run. He was +7 off the bench, adding 14 points and 10 rebounds. Cedi Osman bounced back after a few tough games, scoring 13 points and adding in 5 assists and 3 steals while he shot 3-6 from three.
The younger bench players performed well, too. Dominick Barlow brought energy off the bench, adding 6 points, 4 assists and 2 blocks. He look comfortable getting mid range shots off against the long arms of Brooke Lopez, and even met Antetokoumpo at the rim for a block. Barlow has filled in for Zach Collins in the backup center role, and earned more minutes. He did leave the game early and had to go through concussion protocol.
The Bucks are one of the best three-point shooting teams in the NBA, but the Spurs held them to just 35.3% shooting from the field. Outside of stopping Antetokounmpo, San Antonio defended quite well. They had 10 steals and forced the Bucks to turn it over 14 times.