What does Patrick Beverley bring to the Milwaukee Bucks?
What does new guard Patrick Beverley bring to the table? Bucks reporter Jim Owczarski shares his thoughts on the Point Forward Podcast.
MEMPHIS — Damian Lillard took a deep breath of resignation after another layup failed to reach the bottom of the net with just over seven minutes left.
Brook Lopez pursed his lips as his layup clattered back and forth about a minute later.
Lillard then threw his hands up after his attempt to throw to Giannis Antetokounmpo with 2:52 left wasn't high enough and was intercepted, leading to a three-pointer the other way.
It was a night like that for the Milwaukee Bucks, who lost 113-110 to the Memphis Grizzlies on Thursday night at FedExForum. The Bucks had layups and three-pointers that didn't go down, while the undermanned Grizzlies had shots that beat the shot clock buzzer and got career nights from GG Jackson II (27 points) and Ziaire Williams (27 points) when they hustled and their goals led the way to an upset win over the Eastern Conference contenders on national television.
BOX score: Grizzlies 113, Bucks 110
Earlier in the week, the Bucks appeared to be on the verge of putting together a winning streak, but they entered the break with back-to-back losses to Miami and Memphis teams that lacked star power but were brimming with desire. They are now 35-21 and 3-7 under new head coach Doc Rivers. Memphis improved to 20-36.
Milwaukee next plays in Minneapolis on February 23rd.
The Bucks can't stop the Grizzlies in the fourth quarter
The Bucks rallied from a 10-point third-quarter deficit thanks to five points early in the fourth quarter from Lillard and two Antetokounmpo baskets and an assist from Jae Crowder to take a 102-101 lead with 3:30 to play, but the Bucks scored just two more points — and didn't make a field goal — as the game was still within reach and the Grizzlies extended their lead to 113-104 with less than a minute left.
Malik Beasley knocked down two missed three-point free throws from Lamar Stevens on consecutive possessions with 45 and 29 seconds left to bring the Bucks to within 113-110. Jae Crowder then charged at Vince Williams Jr. with 11.2 seconds left for a potential game-winning possession, but the middle of the court stalled as the Grizzlies shot through Lopez's screen for Lillard, knocking Lillard to the ground. He recovered the ball, kicked it to Lopez, who fired it right back to the guard, but Lillard had to throw a 35-footer that missed the target.
Lillard scored 24 points on 7 of 21 shooting, including 3 of 13 from behind the three-point line. Beasley was 3 of 10 from behind the three-point line and scored nine points, while Lopez had 14 points and 11 rebounds. Bobby Portis added 15 points off the bench for the Bucks.
Giannis Antetokounmpo continues to play with knee tendonitis
Antetokounmpo played his 15th straight game on Thursday after initially being downgraded from probable to questionable due to right patella tendonitis following the team's morning shootaround in Memphis.
The 7-foot-2 player didn't look worn out as he regularly beat the interior of the smaller Memphis defense to score 35 points. His only two misses came on mid-range jumpers, as Antetokounmpo shot a perfect 15 of 15 from the restricted zone. And when the Grizzlies tried to surround him, Antetokounmpo delivered 12 assists.
He first reported the problem on Feb. 4 at Utah after scoring 48 points in a 40-minute night against Dallas on Feb. 3.
Although he hadn't missed a game since the tendonitis struck before the Jazz started, Antetokounmpo's minutes dropped to 32.2 over the last six games (though a few misses contributed), and he averaged 26.3 points and 10, 5 rebounds per game – both below his season averages of 30.7 and 11.4.
However, his assist total has increased to 7.0 per game during this period.
Antetokounmpo is expected to play in the NBA All-Star Game on Sunday.
He was the league's leading vote-getter and captain of the Eastern Conference team, which includes teammate Lillard and is coached by Rivers.
After offseason surgery on his left knee, Antetokounmpo is back on the Bucks' roster as a regular for the first time in years. He's only missed two games (November 15 and January 17) – the team is 1-1 without him – and he's on pace to play in his most games since his first MVP season in 2018-19 Played 72 games.
Did you notice?
On Memphis' final possession of the first quarter, they ran the clock down to the final seconds, and the Bucks' new point guard, Patrick Beverley, held his hands above his head and began the “speaking” motion with his fingers to his teammates to get behind talking more. One of the first things Doc Rivers said about the Bucks' defense was that they weren't performing at a high enough level and Beverley would help bring that element to this unit.
Andre Jackson Jr. is called upon to spark Bucks
In the third quarter, the Bucks struggled to find a foothold defensively, and the young, hungry Grizzlies, with two two-way players and a player on a 10-day contract, pushed the pace to compete in a nationally televised game broadcast game to make a name for themselves against one of the better teams in the league. So, with 2 minutes, 59 seconds left and the Bucks trailing 82-77, Doc Rivers turned to Andre Jackson Jr. for a lift. It was the rookie's first real rotation minutes since Rivers took over as coach, but unfortunately for Jackson Jr. and the Bucks, he was warned for three fouls and missed a 7-foot floater as the Grizzlies pushed their lead to up to ten expansions.
Five Pay
4:05 There was still time left when the match ball was exchanged for a spare ball as the ball, which had been used throughout the game, fell into a spectator's drink.
4-5 First-half fouls called for Memphis and then third-quarter fouls called for the Grizzlies as Antetokounmpo and Lillard tried to get to the rim more aggressively. The latter gave the Bucks the bonus for the final two minutes of the frame.
9 Available players for the Grizzlies, one above the league minimum to start a game.
12-14 Bucks record on the road. They lost 15 away games throughout last season.
47 Seconds into the second half, Rivers called a timeout. The Grizzlies' Williams hit an open corner three near the end of the shot clock to start the quarter with a 60-57 lead, but after Beasley missed a three-pointer, no one came back in transition defense and Williams got an easy layup 62- 57. The Grizzlies scored 37 points in the quarter and led by as many as 10 before taking a 94-85 lead in the fourth quarter.