The Spurs beat the Bucks in style, tying the season series

The Spurs beat the Bucks in style, tying the season series
Photo by Ronald Cortes/Getty Images

The Spurs made easy work of the Bucks in the second half

The Spurs put down the Bucks, avenging Jan. 8’s defeat and winning their fourth game of the month. The team scored a season-high of 144 points, logged a season-high of 24 3-pointers plus annihilated the Bucks on the break.

After the game, Victor Wembanyama said, “That’s one more example of how we need to play…This one, I could feel like everyone was tired of losing.”

The Spurs were deer hunting early. They raced out to a 21-13 lead and in between, Wembanyama blocked Giannis Antetokounmpo twice at the rim. But the Bucks came stampeding back with eight straight points, forcing coach Mitch Johnson to call a timeout. Next, Keldon Johnson scored 10 points to end the quarter, but it was neck-and-neck as the Greek Freak kept getting to his sweet spots, plus Khris Middleton, who was scoreless in two of his last three games, had a renaissance in the period.

Both squads were deadlocked at 35 heading into the second quarter. K. Johnson kept shooting like John Dillinger from close and long range. On top of that, Tre Jones and Castle helped carry the team through Wembanyama’s slow offensive start. Yet, the Bucks continued ramming their way into the paint and to the line.

Then Wembanyama checked back in with six minutes left in the first half. He began to find his groove, making four free throws plus two 3-pointers and took a charge against Antetokounmpo, but the Spurs were still down 71-70 heading into intermission.

At that moment, the team was being outscored in paint points 24-22 and in second-chance points 13-5, but they were up 10-5 in fastbreak points. K. Johnson had 20 of the team’s 30 bench points.

Subsequently, the Spurs opened the third quarter, making five of seven baskets to take a five-point lead, which later ballooned to 17. Wembanyama stayed sharp as the quarter went on, making a putback dunk, three 3-pointers and three freebies. Defensively, the team held the Bucks to 30 percent shooting from 3-point range, but they weren’t as successful guarding Antetokounmpo and Lillard inside the arc.

The fourth quarter started with the Spurs ahead 115-101. Barnes and the reserve crew weren’t stopped from getting to the rim then Wemby, Vassell and Paul checked in one last time to put the finishing touches on the game.

The Spurs won 144-118. They outscored the Bucks in paint points 46-40 and fastbreak points 28-6. The Bucks had the advantage in second-chance points 27-14.

Play of the game

Wembanyama saved a wild pass from Castle then hit a turnaround 3-pointer with Antetokounmpo on his hip.

Game Notes

  • The Spurs were an offensive machine. They scored 113.1 points per 100 half-court plays, good enough for the 89th percentile of all games played this season. And they scored 182.6 points per 100 transition plays, putting them in the 95th percentile, per Cleaning the Glass. Furthermore, part of the reason they were so effective is because they took care of the ball, turning it over only four times, which is a new best this season.
  • The Spurs’ paint defense was excellent, with Wemby covering the back line and others helping promptly. Johnson gave him props for “quarterbacking the defense with his communication.” Additionally, they held the Bucks to 8.2 percentage points below the league average at the rim.
  • The team outscored the Bucks by 27 points and held them to 34 percent shooting in the second half. To boot, 144 is the most points Milwaukee has conceded all season.
  • Castle got one of the toughest assignments in the league in guarding Lillard. The hesitation move was hard for him to read, but he also bothered Lillard in full-court press. He didn’t score an efficient 20 points (35.7 percent), but his two 3-pointers early in the third quarter were a big spark for the team. After the game, Johnson said, “He’s an extremely aggressive player [who] can do so many different things…I think you see him learning on the job, and he’s making the same mistake less.”
  • K. Jonson only had four second-half points, but he gave the team a huge lift before intermission. At that point, he had eight made baskets and no other Spur had more than three. After the game, Castle said, “I feel like Keldon’s energy off the bench in the first half kind of kept us in that game…” K. Johnson was also the only one on the team to make at least 10 field goals.
  • Jeremy Sochan didn’t play that many minutes, but he was the backup center. His defensive versatility shined as he guarded Lillard and other perimeter players, and he did well as a helper. He also gets extra points for being a good teammate by preventing Antetokounmpo from getting in Chris Paul’s face towards the end of the fourth quarter.
  • Antetokounmpo got anything he wanted from 17 feet and in. He even viciously dunked on Wemby twice.
  • Vassell recovered two rebounds, which puts him at 999 for his career.

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