Bucks 113, Suns 107 (OT): Boosted by teammates, Eric Bledsoe wins in Phoenix return

Matt Velazquez
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Bucks guard Eric Bledsoe soars to the basket vs. the Suns on Wednesday night in Phoenix.

PHOENIX - Eric Bledsoe was the focus of every fan's attention on Wednesday night at Talking Stick Resort Arena. Returning for the first time with the Milwaukee Bucks after four-plus seasons in Phoenix, the fans let Bledsoe know they weren't pleased to see him.

You might say they didn't want him to be there.

They made signs taunting the former Suns guard, who pushed for a trade and got it on Nov. 7 after a public falling out with the team. They booed him every time he touched the ball throughout the night and cheered lustily at each miscue.

Bledsoe used that attention as fuel on the way to an emotional 30-point performance against his former team. But as well as Bledsoe played, he recognized that the Bucks wouldn't have escaped with a 113-107 overtime victory without major contributions from his teammates, especially considering star Giannis Antetokounmpo was out due to right knee soreness.

"You know, my teammates did a hell of a job today," Bledsoe said. "I couldn’t credit them more. As much as I wanted to win this game, they had my back."

BOX SCORE: Bucks 113, Suns 107 (OT)

Antetokounmpo wasn't the only player missing for Milwaukee. Center John Henson was out following an eye procedure on Tuesday, forward Mirza Teletovic remained sidelined following left knee surgery on Tuesday and point guard Matthew Dellavedova missed his fourth game in a row with left knee tendinitis.

With the bench shallower than usual and coming off a pair of losses in which they looked out of sorts, the Bucks had to find a way to cobble together a win. Everyone who touched the court had to contribute or the losing skid would continue.

Conributions from up and down the roster are exactly what the Bucks got.

"This is a true character win of that group in that locker room," Bucks coach Jason Kidd said. "Shorthanded on paper, but those guys came out and fought on both ends."

Khris Middleton carried the scoring load with 40 points on 14 of 26 shooting and closed out the victory at the free-throw line in overtime with four straight conversions. Center Thon Maker, battling against bigger, more physical frontcourt players, held his own throughout the night and nailed three crucial jumpers in the fourth quarter on the way to setting career highs in points (16) and rebounds (8).

Joel Bolomboy, one of the Bucks' two-way players, backed up Maker at center and handled the who overtime period after Maker fouled out. He didn't score over his 20 minutes of action, but he held down the interior, grabbed some key rebounds and picked off a pair of passes.

DeAndre Liggins, known for his defense and willingness to do the dirty work, pestered Phoenix's guards all night long and collected five of Milwaukee's 16 steals as the Suns committed 29 turnovers. With 1:28 on the clock in overtime, he scored his first basket of the night — after playing nearly 40 minutes — beating the shot clock with a long two-point jumper that put the Bucks ahead for good.

To a man, they all wanted to earn the win for Bledsoe. But it's also a game they needed as a confidence booster for themselves, especially considering the past two losses along with the absence of Antetokounmpo and others.

“We needed it for (Bledsoe) and we needed it for us in the worst way," Middleton said. "Everybody came in and just competed today. It was a tough game, we knew that coming in, and somehow we won.”

Middleton said "somehow" because the final stretch of the game was quite the adventure.

Leading by nine points heading into the fourth quarter, the Bucks fell into a funk that has been all-too-common of late. It took about two minutes for the Suns to make that lead disappear and former Buck Greg Monroe, who was flipped to Phoenix in the trade that brought Bledsoe to Milwaukee, led the charge.

With no intimidating post presence to stop him, Monroe immediately went to work to start the fourth quarter. He deposited a hook then got fouled inside and made both free throws. Following a three-pointer by Dragan Bender, Monroe hit Bender for a layup to knot the score.

The game stayed within a four-point margin from that point on as neither team could put the other away. Then Bledsoe made some key plays.

With just under a minute left and the game tied, Suns guard Tyler Ulis tried to feed an entry pass to Devin Booker. Bledsoe was fronting Booker and anticipated the pass, contesting Booker's reception. The ball bounced off Booker and out of bounds, a call that was confirmed by replay review.

During the review, the Bucks — convinced they'd have the ball — drew up a play that worked perfectly. Bledsoe drove the paint and kicked out a pass to Liggins in the corner. He quickly moved the ball to Middleton for a three that found the bottom of the net.

Following a frenetic 30-second stretch that included the teams trading turnovers, Bledsoe seemed to clinch the win by making one of two free throws. Ulis had other plans, pump-faking at the other end and drawing a foul on Maker — a foul Maker admitted postgame was "dumb" and apologized to his teammates for — with 5.5 seconds left.

Ulis made all three shots. Bledsoe was fouled on the ensuing inbound and quieted the raucous crowd by making his free throws at the other end to put Milwaukee up by three with 4.0 seconds left.

With no timeouts remaining, the Suns had to go the length of the court to try to tie the game. Kidd wanted his players to foul on the inbound to take away the chance of a game-tying three, but those attempts weren't fruitful.

Instead, Booker caught a pass 29 feet from the basket along the sideline, turned and fired up a three-pointer with Liggins in his face. The shot caught nothing but net to force overtime.

“You know that’s a make-it-or-go-home shot," said Booker, who finished with 23 points. "So, I knew I had a chance. You know, I tried to elevate. It’s just me and the hoop it felt like.”

Bledsoe opened overtime with a 17-foot jumper, but that was the last Bucks basket for nearly 3 1/2 minutes. Fortunately for Milwaukee, their defense rose to the occasion, opening the extra frame with three straight steals and keeping Phoenix off the board until T.J. Warren hit a floater to tie the score with 2:12 to go.

Malcolm Brogdon, who had 14 points on the night, missed a three at the other end but Bolomboy grabbed the rebound, setting up Liggins for his crucial, shot-clock-beating jumper with 1:28 left.

The Bucks didn't make a field goal the rest of the way, but successfully challenged the Suns on every attempt. Phoenix missed its last five shots, all from in close.

The last one came with 7.5 seconds left and Milwaukee up by two. Despite sending two guys at Booker to try to deny him the ball on an inbound, the Suns got it to Booker anyway. He curled across the top of the key and into the lane with Liggins step-for-step with him before putting up a 12-footer from the baseline. It bounced harmlessly away from the rim and Middleton corraled the rebound, getting fouled and closing out the game at the free-throw line.

“Just understanding it was a big trust game throughout," Kidd said of the victory. "We thought that maybe we’d won it there before Booker makes that tough three and for those guys to stay mentally focused and still fight and find a way to win in overtime, I thought Liggins did a great job defensively and helped us rebound the ball.”

Monroe finished with 22 points and 15 rebounds in his first matchup against Milwaukee, but it was Bledsoe and the Bucks that went home smiling.

“You know, it is what it is," Bledsoe said. "We got the win tonight. My teammates did a hell of a job today."

BEHIND THE BOX SCORE

Payton hurt: Gary Payton II earned the starting nod with Antetokounmpo and Henson out, joining Bledsoe and Brogdon in the Bucks' point-guard-heavy lineup. He picked up four first-half fouls in 8 1/2 minutes, but returned to start the second half.

He only lasted 55 seconds into the third quarter and his exit was later announced as a right ankle sprain. Payton was unable to return to the game and left Talking Stick Resort Arena in a walking boot, though he said the boot was a precaution.

Payton had five points, three assists and two rebounds in his 9 1/2 minutes of action and will be further evaluated before Milwaukee's next game.

Good shots: Following the win, Kidd approached Middleton and complimented him on his shot selection, saying he couldn't remember Middleton taking any bad shots during his 14 of 26 shooting performance. Middleton rebuffed the compliment, saying he could think of a few that weren't great.

"He's been on me about my shot selection a little bit this year," Middleton said. "It's something I've got to work on, watch film on to see where I can get better, but tonight I was just trying to be aggressive. I guess a lot of shots were going in for me."

Statitudes: The Suns outscored the Bucks in bench points, 44-8. They also outrebounded the BUcks 60-42, including a season-high 22 offensive rebounds....

The victory was Milwaukee's fifth straight against the Suns and third in a row in Phoenix....

Phoenix's two points in overtime tied a franchise record for the fewest points in an overtime period. It had happened twice before — on Jan 11, 2015 and March 20, 1999.

UP NEXT

Teams: Milwaukee Bucks (9-8) at Utah Jazz (8-11).

When: 8 p.m. Saturday.

Where: Vivint Smart Home Arena.

About the Jazz: Like the Bucks, the Jazz is fighting the injury bug. Guard Dante Exum could miss the whole season due to left shoulder surgery, guard Joe Johnson is expected to be out until December with tendon instability in his right wrist and center Rudy Gobert sustained a bone bruise in his right knee on Nov. 10 and is expected to be out several more weeks. With all those injuries, not to mention Gordon Hayward leaving for the Boston Celtics during the off-season, the Jazz has had to work to find their footing on offense. Entering Wednesday, Utah owned the sixth-worst offensive rating in the league, leaning heavily on guard Rodney Hood (17.4 points per game) and rookie guard Donovan Mitchell (14.9 points per game). The Jazz has balanced its offensive issues with a stout play at the other end, ranking sixth in the league in defensive rating.