Myers Leonard talks about getting a chance to play with the Bucks
Myers Leonard and Mike Budenholzer talk about the big man getting a chance to play in the NBA again with the Bucks after injury and controversy.
Jim Okzarski, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
The Milwaukee Bucks were the best team in the NBA this season.
This was not the team on the field in a 137-114 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies Friday night at the Fiserv Forum.
The Bucks (58-23) already had the league’s best record and home court advantage during the playoffs, so the team’s deep reserves only showed up against Memphis.
The Grizzlies, who are competing for the second seed in the Western Conference, used rotational players for much of the game and pulled away in the second half.
Bucks put up unconventional formations
The Bucks announced Thursday night that Giannis Antetokounmpo, Chris Middleton, Jiro Holiday, Brook Lopez, Pat Connaughton and Grayson Allen will miss the game.
Bobby Portis and Joe Engels dressed up against the Grizzlies, but were not entered into the game. Wesley Matthews scored on the action for the first time late in the third quarter and played only six minutes.
square score: 114- Awad
Milwaukee went with the starting lineup of Lendl Wigginton, AJ Green, Jay Crowder, Margoun Beauchamp and Myers Leonard.
Green went away with soreness in the right foot in the second quarter and did not return.
Game movement up and down
Perhaps it was expected that the game would be like a mini-game.
The Bucks took 30 of their 52 field goal attempts from behind the three-point line in the first half, making 15 of them.
Crowder made all seven of his shots and scored 18 points as the Bucks led 72-71 at halftime. Wigginton added 16 points on 6-fot-10 shooting.
However, the Grizzlies pulled away in the third quarter and won 108-87 in the fourth quarter.
Jaren Jackson Jr. led the Grizzlies with 36 points.
Wigginton, on a bilateral contract with the Bucks, had 25 points and 11 assists. Crowder added 24 points.
Five numbers
3 Times in the past five seasons the Bucks have finished with the best regular season record in the league
4 Wigginton’s season peak points before Friday
10 Points in the second quarter for Wigginton
26 minutes for Goran Dragic, his most since joining Bucks on March 4
828 Days since Leonard started an NBA game (Dec 20, 2020 with Miami Heat)
Playing the game is Thansis Antetokounmpo dunking in the first quarter.
Thanassis Antetokounmpo was the first player to come off the bench for the Bucks and scored within seconds on Beauchamp’s pick-and-roll. But the highlight for Antetokounmpo came later in the first inning when he drove over the baseline for a dunk.
The video game is hitting fans with $10,000
For the second straight game, a Bucks fan hit a half putt to win $10,000. Better yet, he caught a pass from Inglis and then Crowder ran down the field almost to face the fan as if he was ringing the buzzer in a playoff game.
Who does Pax play next?
The regular season ends Sunday when the Bucks travel to Toronto to take on the Raptors, who are one of the teams Milwaukee may face in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs.
more: Who are the most likely to face the Bucks in the first round of the NBA Playoffs?
more: Latino players have struggled to get into the NBA. The League has built a pipeline to open up the area.
“Prone to fits of apathy. Introvert. Award-winning internet evangelist. Extreme beer expert.”