Milwaukee Bucks Weekly: Skid Reaches 8 As Bucks Drop To Bottom Of East

The Milwaukee Bucks continued to lose, as an 0-3 week stretched their losing streak to eight games overall. It started Wednesday with a loss at home to the red-hot Portland Trail Blazers, continued with a heart-breaking overtime loss at Philadelphia on Friday and a return home to get clubbed by the Charlotte Bobcats. The Bucks have sunk to the bottom of the Eastern Conference at 2-10.

The Week That Was

Portland Trail Blazers—Wednesday, Nov. 20 (BMO Harris Bradley Center, Milwaukee)

Luke Ridnour started all three games this week at point guard. (NBA.com photo)

The week started with a visit from the Trail Blazers, who came in winners of seven straight. The Bucks got six points in the first period from Luke Ridnour and five rebounds from Zaza Pachulia, making his first start of the season, and while Wesley Matthews went wild for Portland in the period, the Bucks led 24-23 after 12 minutes after Portland had led by as many as six early.

Damian Lillard and LaMarcus Aldridge got going for the Blazers in the second quarter, with Lillard scoring eight points and Aldridge adding seven, while Mo Williams dished out four assists. Milwaukee hung around with a balanced attack, with Pachulia, Ridnour and Gary Neal each scoring five points in the period. Portland held a 53-51 lead at the break, with Matthews scoring 15 points in the Blazers and Nicolas Batum and Williams each with five assists. Ridnour scored 11 first-half points for the Bucks.

Aldridge scored 10 points and had five boards in the third period as Portland upped its lead to 70-64. Ersan Ilyasova, in his first game back from a sprained ankle, scored five of the Bucks’ 13 points in the period.

Portland was able to put it away in the fourth behind nine points from Lillard. Caron Butler and Neal each scored five points for Milwaukee.

Ridnour wound up leading the Bucks with 13 points and five assists. Pachulia and Neal scored 11 points each, with Pachulia getting a team-high eight rebounds, and John Henson had 10 points and two blocks. Aldridge had 21 for the Blazers, with Lillard adding 19 and Matthews tossing in 15. Batum and Aldridge had eight boards each for Portland and Williams posted six assists. Blazers take it 91-82.

Philadelphia 76ers—Friday, Nov. 22 (Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia)

Spencer Hawes hit a 3-pointer in the closing seconds to force overtime for Philadelphia. (NBA.com photo)

The 76ers were without power forward Thaddeus Young, who was not with the team due to personal reasons, with Daniel Orton making his second straight start for Philadelphia. Ersan Ilyasova was back in the starting lineup for Milwaukee. Caron Butler scored six points for the Bucks, but nine different 76ers scored in the first quarter—paced by five points and four assists from rookie Michael Carter-Williams and five points by James Anderson as the Sixers opened a 28-20 lead.

Milwaukee battled back in the second quarter behind 11 points from Butler and eight by Ilyasova as O.J. Mayo turned facilitator with four assists in the quarter. Lavoy Allen scored eight points and Tony Wroten handed out five assists, but the 76ers’ lead was cut to 55-53 at intermission. Butler had 17 points and Ilyasova 12 for Milwaukee while Hollis Thompson led Philadelphia with 10. Mayo checked in at the break with seven assists for the Bucks and Carter-Williams notched three steals for the 76ers.

The teams played to a draw in the third quarter. John Henson paced the Bucks with five points in the period, while Evan Turner scored seven for the 76ers, who led 75-73 at the quarter break.

Milwaukee had a 102-99 lead on a Luke Ridnour free throw with 4.7 seconds left, but Ridnour missing the first of his two shots left the door open and Spencer Hawes came through it with a ridiculous 24-footer for 3 to tie the game with 1.7 seconds remaining. Butler caught fire for Milwaukee with 16 points in the fourth quarter, while Haws had 11 and Turner eight for Philadelphia.

Turner then scored eight of the 76ers’ 13 overtime points. Mayo had four of the Bucks’ five points in the extra session.

Butler finished with a season-high 38 points and eight rebounds for Milwaukee. Ilyasova added 19 points and six assists while Gary Neal had 10 points. Luke Ridnour handed out nine assists and Mayo finished with eight and Henson blocked three shots, while Butler and Ilyasova had three steals each. Turner had 27 points for the 76ers, while Hawes had 25 to go with 12 rebounds. Thompson had 16 off the bench, Carter-Williams finished with 12 points, 11 assists and five steals and Anderson also scored 12 points. The 76ers take it in overtime, 115-107.

Charlotte Bobcats—Saturday, Nov. 23 (BMO Harris Bradley Center, Milwaukee)

Khris Middleton had a game-high 20 points in a blowout loss to Charlotte. (NBA.com photo)

Back home a night after the heart-breaker in Philadelphia, the Bucks looked very much like a team that was playing a back-to-back. Gerald Henderson got off to a quick start for the Bobcats with seven points in the first quarter, while Josh McRoberts added six. Ersan Ilyasova scored six points for the Bucks in the period as Charlotte took a 25-21 lead.

Ramon Sessions came off the bench in the second quarter to score six points for the 76ers and Jeff Adrian ripped down seven rebounds in five minutes. For Milwaukee, John Henson scored six in the quarter, but Charlotte led 46-39 at halftime. Henderson paced the Bobcats with 10 first-half points, while Adrian had nine boards. Henson led Milwaukee in the first half with eight points.

The third period is when the roof caved in on the Bucks, who were just 4-for-19 (21.1 percent) from the floor in the period. Khris Middleton scored seven of Milwaukee’s 12 points in the quarter. Henderson scored seven in the period for Charlotte, McRoberts had five rebounds in the third and the Bobcats opened a 74-51 lead after three quarters.

In the fourth quarter, Al Jefferson got going for Charlotte with eight points and Sessions added seven. Middleton had seven more for Milwaukee and Brandon Knight—back from a hamstring injury—had four assists in the fourth, but the damage was done.

Jefferson had 19 points for Charlotte, while Henderson finished with 17, Sessions had 13 to go with six assists, McRoberts scored 12 points and Kemba Walker added 11. Adrian had 10 rebounds to pace the Bobcats. Middleton led the Bucks with 20 points, while Henson had 10 points and nine rebounds and Knight had seven helpers. The Bucks never led in the game and they shot just 35.3 percent (30-for-85) on the night. Charlotte won in a laugher 96-72.

Big Bucks and Deer Droppings

Big Bucks

Here’s what went well and what didn’t over the last week for the Bucks:

• Khris Middleton hit 65 percent of his shots (13-for-20), including 2-of-4 from deep for the week.
• John Henson continues to hold his own around the rim with six blocked shots in 23.3 minutes a game.
• Caron Butler seems to be shaking off his shoulder injury, hitting 47.5 percent from the floor (19-for-40) and 6-of-15 (40 percent) from 3-point range.

Deep Droppings

• The Bucks shot 41.1 percent for the week and made just 29.5 percent of their 3-pointers.
• Milwaukee got absolutely pummeled on the glass, being outrebounded 47.4-35.4 over the three games and allowing opponents to shoot 48.8 percent.
• O.J. Mayo put up a plus/minus of minus-43 for the week and shot 29.6 percent from the floor (8-for-27). He also had zero rebounds over the final two games the Bucks played.

Weekly Stat Rankings

PPG: 87.0 (30th)
Opp PPG: 97.3 (14th)
RPG: 35.4 (29th)
APG: 23.5 (9th)
SPG: 7.1 (20th)
BPG: 3.5 (t-26th)
FG%: 41.1 (t-26th)
3PT%: 29.5 (29th)
FT%: 68.9 (22nd)
O-RTG: 87.9 (30th)
D-RTG: 103.7 (20th)
TS%: 47.0 (29th)

Player of the Week

Caron Butler scored a season-high 38 points in the overtime loss to the 76ers. (NBA.com photo)

Caron Butler averaged 17.3 points, 5.7 rebounds and 1.3 steals in 28.7 minutes per game last week

Coming Up Next

Monday, Nov. 25: Detroit Pistons (The Palace of Auburn Hills)
Wednesday, Nov. 27: Washington Wizards (BMO Harris Bradley Center, Milwaukee)
Friday, Nov. 29: Charlotte Bobcats (Time Warner Cable Arena, Charlotte)
Saturday, Nov. 30: Boston Celtics (BMO Harris Bradley Center, Milwaukee)

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