Milwaukee Bucks: Top 10 moments from 2017-18 NBA season

9. Big holiday wins against the Western Conference

When the NBA schedule rolls out, it’s easy to identify the “schedule losses” hidden within. One such example would have been the Bucks’ final two games of 2017, when they hosted the Minnesota Timberwolves and immediately flew to Oklahoma City to take on the Thunder the next night.

Each team was revamped since the year before, with the Timberwolves adding Jimmy Butler and the Thunder adding Paul George, among others. It would have been understandable for the Bucks to drop both games, even expected. Instead, Milwaukee’s strange, year-long dominance over the Western Conference continued as they dropped Minnesota 102-96 before heading to Oklahoma and beating the Thunder 97-95.

Giannis Antetokounmpo was excellent in both games, and at the time it seemed that Bledsoe had finally broken through, leading the Bucks in scoring against the Timberwolves for the first time that season. Against the Thunder, the Bucks hung on for the win despite 40 points and 14 rebounds from Russell Westbrook.

Milwaukee won games prior to their holiday back-to-back wins; 17 wins, in fact. But no two-game stretch was quite as impressive to that point, and it suggested something greater to come in the new year. While the dominant close to the season never materialized, those two wins were important for the team and its record.