Bucks 102, Magic 86: Bledsoe leads the way in sloppy affair

Matt Velazquez
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Bucks guard Eric Bledsoe had a triple-double vs. the Magic on Monday night at the BMO Harris Bradley Center.

Years from now, no one is going to wax poetic words over the Milwaukee Bucks' final regular-season game at the BMO Harris Bradley Center. In fact, probably no one is going to do that in the present, either.

What transpired Monday night was an ugly game for three quarters followed by the Bucks kicking into gear and dominating the lowly Orlando Magic on the way to a 102-86 victory.

Of course, the contest wasn't without positive elements.

Chief among them was the play of Bucks point guard Eric Bledsoe. With 20 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists in 35 minutes of action, Bledsoe tallied his fourth career triple-double and first since joining the Bucks back in November.

BOX SCORE: Bucks 102, Magic 86

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“Bled’s huge for this team and we’ve been very consistent with that," Bucks coach Joe Prunty said. "For as good as he was statistically tonight, there's a lot of things that you don't see in the stat sheet that he impacts the game with, in particular his ability to pressure the ball and defend and that's critical for us."

Among the other positives were Shabazz Muhammad, who came off the bench to lead the Bucks with 22 points, and Malcolm Brogdon, who made his first game appearance since Feb. 1 and put up two points, two rebounds and an assist in 14 first-half minutes.

“I felt good," Brogdon said. "I can't say I was fatigued or anything like that. I was as prepared as I could have been. Fifteen to 20 (minutes) was being pretty optimistic. We wanted to play it safe for the first half and then the next game we can slowly build on that.”

Prior to the fourth quarter, though, Brogdon's return and Muhammad's jolt off the bench were about the only highlights for the Bucks. 

Milwaukee started the game slow, but used a 9-0 run midway through the first quarter to take control. Muhammad's nine first-quarter points helped the Bucks take a 10-point lead into the second stanza.

"I just thought I played pretty well and just the energy really started from the get-go and really helped me out throughout the game," said Muhammad, who noted that his right ankle was feeling good after missing Saturday's game as a precaution due to a sprain.

Following a solid first quarter, Milwaukee couldn't buy a bucket in the second. The Bucks missed their first 13 shots of the second quarter, going nearly seven minutes without a basket as open looks, layups and everything in between refused to go through the rim. Khris Middleton ended the drought with 5 minutes, 6 seconds until halftime when he deposited a layup off a lob pass from Bledsoe.

That layup actually tied the game. Lucky for the Bucks, their lead was large and the Magic weren't much better early in the quarter, only building a two-point lead via a 12-0 run during Milwaukee's frigid stretch.

“I thought we actually played pretty well for most of the game in terms of executing," Prunty said. "In the second quarter, we just couldn’t get the ball to go in the basket. I thought we had a lot of really good looks by multiple people.”

The game stayed close to even until the final minute of the third quarter, again with Muhammad playing a key role in a Bucks run. He got fouled on a dunk attempt and made two free throws, then Brandon Jennings made a three-pointer and Muhammad added a layup to give the Bucks a 7-0 run — and a seven-point lead — heading into the fourth.

From there, the Bucks were never threatened as they pushed their lead as high as 20 points. Middleton supplemented Bledsoe and Muhammad's efforts with 18 points, seven rebounds and six assists while Jabari Parker — who again started in place of Giannis Antetokounmpo who missed his second successive game with right ankle soreness — had 16 points and nine rebounds.

Milwaukee's win, combined with a loss by the Miami Heat, put the Bucks alone in sixth place in the Eastern Conference with one game to go. The Bucks can still finish anywhere from sixth to eighth depending on how things go the rest of the season, but they're in the driver's seat — with a win Wednesday against the Philadelphia 76ers they will clinch the sixth seed and retain their 2018 first-round pick.

BEHIND THE BOX SCORE

Still sore: Antetokounmpo missed his seventh game of the season on Monday, still dealing with a sore right ankle. He went through an intense pre-game workout with assistant coach Sean Sweeney, but that was the only court action he was allotted for the night.

"That’s part of the process in terms of getting it back and ready," Prunty said of the pregame workout. “I think the biggest thing is getting it strong enough and strong to where he can do the things we need him to do on the floor and obviously we need him to do a lot.”

With only one game remaining — Wednesday night at Philadelphia — Prunty was asked if the team was playing it safe with Antetokounmpo and would be holding him out until the playoffs.

“We’ll wait and see how it responds to this and we’ll go from there," Prunty said.

Davis from deep: Before the game, Prunty was asked his favorite memory of the Bradley Center.

His answer was surprising.

Instead of bringing up Brandon Jennings, Michael Redd or Glenn Robinson, Prunty recalled guard Baron Davis from his Charlotte Hornets days. 

Specifically Feb. 17, 2001, when Davis sank what is regarded as the longest-made basket in NBA history.

"One of the most interesting things that I ever saw here, I was scouting a game (for the San Antonio Spurs)," Prunty said. "I am sitting over in the corner and it's the end of a quarter for sure, I think it was the end of the third quarter. 

"And I have a great view of Baron Davis picking up the ball and throwing it 89 feet. And I'm watching it and I have a perfect angle. And he throws it, and like a minute later, I'm still thinking 'Now wait a second, this has a chance to go in.' I mean, that's how far he was.

"It was incredible. Just to watch the angle. To have a view of it. He was literally 10 feet in front of me, 15 feet at the most. Just an incredible shot."

UP NEXT

Teams: Milwaukee Bucks (44-37) at Philadelphia 76ers (50-30)

When: 7 p.m. Wednesday.

Where: Wells Fargo Center

About the 76ers: Philadelphia ends the season with back-to-back games. But the 76ers enter their matchup at the Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday on a 14-game winning streak, the longest in team history. Philadelphia has also clinched home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs and notched its first 50-win season since the 2000-'01 team, which lost in the NBA Finals.