Not even the reigning champion Milwaukee Bucks are safe from the Oklahoma City Thunder comeback attempts.
Midway through the third quarter, Giannis Antetokounmpo checked out of the game with a 16-point Bucks lead. The MVP had just 14 points, but he didn’t need more; Milwaukee was destroying OKC on both ends.
But the Thunder inched back: a Mike Muscala 3 here, a Kenrich Williams corner 3 there, some excellent fourth-quarter defense everywhere. Suddenly, OKC cut a lead that had been as large as 20 all the way down to just two points.
It has been their signature. No lead is completely safe. Antetokounmpo had to play 36 minutes, three more than his season average. The Bucks ended up winning 96-89, but the Oklahoma City Thunder once again struck fear into their opponent, the same way they’ve been doing all season.
It wasn’t through their usual means. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had a poor game, shooting 5-for-20 from the field and missing 10 of his 12 3-point attempts. Lu Dort’s streak of 20-plus-point games ended at five.
Even the Bucks’ stat line was unexpected. Antetokounmpo was just 6-for-16 from the field. Yet his line doesn’t tell the story, as the Bucks imploded with him off the court.
Mike Muscala was somehow a plus-14 in the seven-point loss, and Ty Jerome was plus-12 in 15 minutes played.
This game was lost by a few poor stretches, most notably the Bucks’ 13-0 run over the first 3:02 of the game and the stretch in the third quarter in which the deficit reached 20. For most of the night, the Thunder played well. They tended to prevent deficits from ballooning — several times, they cut a 15- or 16-point lead to 10 — and hung around long enough to make things interesting.
Over the final three quarters, the Thunder outscored the Bucks by three points. They only allowed 16 in the fourth quarter, three of which came off intentional fouls.
Head coach Mark Daigneault was not on the sideline, but it was a good performance. OKC held the Bucks to 96. Here are a few key aspects from the matchup: