Henson gets it right late in Bucks' victory over Blazers
John Henson is well aware of his role.
Block shots. Don’t turn the ball over. Don’t take crazy shots. Make his lefty hook.
And something else the 6-foot-11 Milwaukee Bucks center has been fine-tuning lately.
Follow Giannis Antetokounmpo on his darting runs to the basket. If the ball spins out, Henson can get an easy tip-in if he is in the right place.
“When he’s attacking like that, he attracts so much attention and it makes it easier for me,” Henson said following the Bucks’ 93-90 victory in Portland on Tuesday night.
“I’m starting to find my spots where I need to go and get my position. So if he does miss – and he doesn’t miss long, it’s always around the rim – I need to keep going to the rim.”
Henson’s late tip-in gave the Bucks a three-point margin, and they hung on to win their ninth game in the last 11, entering a Wednesday night game against the Kings in Sacramento.
The Bucks have a chance for a 4-2 trip if they could beat the Kings at the Golden 1 Center.
Milwaukee (35-35 entering Wednesday) is seeking to secure a playoff spot over the final 12 games of the season and has a chance for a winning record for the first time under the team’s current ownership group.
The Bucks were 41-41 under coach Jason Kidd in his first season in 2014-’15 but slipped to 33-49 last season.
Kidd went to Henson in the final 4 minutes after Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum started going to the basket and breaking down the Bucks defense.
With Henson and 6-11 Giannis Antetokounmpo in the paint, the Trail Blazers could not overcome that length. Henson rejected a shot by Allen Crabbe.
Then Antetokounmpo blocked a drive by Lillard and the ball went out of bounds to Portland, but Lillard’s long three-point attempt was wide left at the buzzer.
The Bucks have succeeded on their road trip by winning the close ones, something that eluded them earlier in the season.
Milwaukee edged the Clippers by one point and held off the Lakers for a four-point win last week at the Staples Center, so the three victories have come by a total of eight points.
The Bucks lost lopsided decisions to Memphis and Golden State.
But their composure in close games is a sign of growth.
Rookie guard Malcolm Brogdon scored a key basket late in Tuesday’s game and Khris Middleton had the go-ahead basket.
“Since he’s been back he’s been our go-to-guy, our finisher at the end of games,” Brogdon said of Middleton. “He’s our finisher not just because he is a scorer but he’s a playmaker.
“He makes the great decisions at the end of games. Everybody stepped in and played their role.”
The defensive-minded unit on the floor at the end of Tuesday’s game included Henson, Antetokounmpo, Middleton, Brogdon and Tony Snell.
Kidd credited Mirza Teletovic with some big contributions early in the fourth quarter, when the veteran sank 2 three-pointers and drew a charging foul on Portland center Jusuf Nurkic.
“He comes up with a big charge,” Kidd said. “For a coach it’s hard; he’s playing well. He is making shots.
“But I gotta get Giannis back in the game. Coming in after the game, I told him (Teletovic) I had to make a decision. They went small.
“He understood and said as long as we won. That group that was out there (at the start of the quarter) shared the ball and made plays. We kept our discipline and didn’t panic when they made their run.”
The Bucks return home to meet Atlanta on Friday night and play the Chicago Bulls for the fourth and final time on Sunday afternoon. The Bucks have a chance for a rare sweep of the Bulls after winning the first three games in the series.
Then it will be back on the road to play Charlotte and Boston in a back-to-back set on Tuesday and Wednesday next week.