Pelicans 123, Bucks 121 (OT): Jason Terry's last gasp is too late

For a moment, it looked like the Milwaukee Bucks might have found a way to survive a sloppy second half and a tense overtime period Sunday afternoon against the New Orleans Pelicans

Down by two with the clock ticking down, an offensive rebound found Jason Terry in the corner. He collected and fired off a shot that caught nothing but net for a three, sending the sellout crowd at the BMO Harris Bradley Center into a frenzy.

They didn't see the signal from the nearest referee, but the players on the court did.

“I knew it wasn’t on time," Giannis Antetokounmpo said, shaking his head.

The shot had come too late and a replay confirmed it, finalizing a 123-121 loss. It was a game the Bucks had led by as many as 18 points in the second half and had every opportunity chances to win, with the too-late three-pointer serving as the final gut-punch.

Jrue Holiday led the Pelicans with 36 points while all-star forward Anthony Davis had 27 points and 13 rebounds. Khris Middleton had 25 points to lead the Bucks.

BOX SCORE: Pelicans 123, Bucks 121 (OT)  

“Obviously we all saw what took place in terms of getting to that point," coach Joe Prunty said. "I think the biggest part of the game is the third quarter, to be honest with you. That’s pretty clear. We need to do a better job, as a coach, making sure we come out to start the third quarter with the right mindset.”

Heading into the third quarter it didn't look like overtime would be in the cards. The Bucks were cruising, leading by 17 points and playing well at both ends. Twenty-nine seconds in the third, Antetokounmpo deposited a layup to put the Bucks up by 18.

In six minutes that lead was gone. As has happened multiple times this season, the Bucks lost all urgency as the Pelicans rattled off an 8-0 run to start a 23-5 spurt to tie the game at 73 midway through the third. New Orleans won the quarter, 38-19, and led by two heading into the fourth.

"We started off slow, nonchalant then they came back and cracked us," Bucks center John Henson said.

Middleton added: "First half, we were running it down their throats, sprinting back on defense. In that third quarter, we just didn’t do anything. We let them right back in the game instead of putting our foot on their throat and ending the game right there.”

From that point, the game was played in a seven-point window. The Bucks never led by more than three while the Pelicans' largest advantage was only four.

And that layup by Antetokounmpo that put the Bucks up by 18 early in the third? That was his last made field goal of the game. He missed his final eight shots, finishing with 20 points on 6 of 18 shooting.

New Orleans kept Holiday on Antetokounmpo, with Davis waiting in the paint to swallow up Antetokounmpo with a double-team. Some of those plays ended in fouls while others concluded with unlucky rolls as Antetokounmpo missed close-up attempts throughout the night and could never get into a rhythm.

“It was kind of smart," Antetokounmpo said of the Pelicans' approach. "It was a rough night for me being in the post, getting double-teamed, having to go through a quicker guard. I think we did a good job finding other options and executing down the stretch."

With Antetokounmpo having an off night, the Bucks relied heavily on Middleton and point guard Eric Bledsoe at crunch time. Down four with under two minutes left, Bledsoe bullied his way to the hoop for a layup, Middleton nailed a tough 14-foot step-back and Bledsoe knocked down an 18-footer with 32.1 seconds left to tie the score.

Milwaukee might have gotten another shot in regulation, but Antetokounmpo was called for a push-off on Davis while going for a rebound with 14.8 seconds left.

“He sold it," Henson said. "But that’s part of basketball. Looking at the replay, Giannis would have gotten the rebound regardless, but that’s how basketball goes.”

Nikola Mirotic hoisted up a three at the buzzer that clanked off the back iron, bringing on overtime.

In the extra period, Middleton scored six of Milwaukee's seven points as the Bucks  played through him. He had a size advantage with Rajon Rondo and E'Twaun Moore often getting matched up on him and the Bucks opted to try to exploit that considering the struggles Antetokounmpo was having with his matchup.

But with 1:25 remaining, the Bucks still found themselves in a four-point hole. That margin was especially frustrating considering it came via a banked in three-pointer by Rondo that beat the shot clock on a possession where Milwaukee had done everything right defensively. A forced three-pointer by a career 30.8% long-range shooter is something you usually can live with.

“It’s hard when you’ve got Rondo banking a three-pointer, especially when you need a stop," Antetokounmpo said. "It kind of makes us be a little disappointed."

The Bucks did get a little luck to swing their way late. After the Pelicans secured an offensive rebound leading by two with the shot clock off, Antetokounmpo fouled Davis, bringing on a sideline out of bounds with 11.9 seconds left.

Rondo threw the inbound, intended for Davis, out of bounds giving Milwaukee life. The referees then took a long look at the replay monitors, concluding Davis had tipped the ball and changing the clock to 10.4 seconds. The Bucks then called a timeout on top of that to advance the ball.

Given one last chance, the Bucks went to Antetokounmpo in a play they run just about every day at the end of practice. He caught near the elbow and drove right, getting off a baseline jumper that refused to fall.

“I was already off rhythm and that messed it up more," Antetokounmpo said of the long break due to the replay and timeout. "But, hey, it’s a shot that I’ve worked on all summer, it’s a shot that I’ve hit all season long and that’s what I’m going to keep doing. I created my space, my guy wasn’t able to block my shot, it just did not fall in. That’s what I do in those situations, I try to get a shot that cannot be blocked.”

The rebound got to Terry, but it wasn't meant to be. One of the heroes of Friday's overtime win in Toronto, Terry went 0 for 7, not including that last-second three-point attempt that he didn't get off in time.

BEHIND THE BOX SCORE

Unstoppable: The Pelicans basically ran the same play during much of the second half and overtime and the Bucks just couldn't stop it, according to Middleton who said he and his teammates were all on different pages.

For the Bucks, it wasn't something they hadn't seen before. The challenge was making decisions on how to stop the multiple weapons New Orleans has.

“It’s hard," Antetokounmpo said. "When you have a roller like Davis rolling down to your basket and you have a guy like Mirotic rolling up it’s hard to choose which one you want — the three or the dunk. It’s hard to guard, especially with those two players. We’ve guarded that play in the past. It’s not that hard, but when you have Davis and Mirotic in that play it’s hard.”

Season-highs: Jabari Parker gave the Bucks everything he could offer during his limited availability off the bench on Sunday. Playing a season-high 24 minutes, Parker went 7 of 14 from the field, including 2 of 3 on three-pointers, for a season-best 18 points.

Parker didn't have a hand in things down the stretch, though, as he subbed out with 7 1/2 minutes left in the fourt quarter and never re-entered the game.

UP NEXT

Teams: Milwaukee Bucks (33-26) vs. Washington Wizards (34-25, entering Sunday).

When: 7 p.m. Tuesday.

 Where: BMO Harris Bradley Center.

About the Wizards: Entering a Sunday night game against Philadelphia, Washington had won 8 of 11 without all-star point guard John Wall, who is sidelined following left knee surgery. During that stretch, the Wizards averaged 29.8 assists per game, a strong mark considering the Golden State Warriors are the only NBA team above 30 assists per game (30.6) this season. Milwaukee has claimed two of three meetings between the teams this season, winning both January matchups in Washington.