The Bucks put up one hell of a fight in their final game in Sac, but couldn’t outlast the Kings in a tight one, losing 95-89. Brayden Burries debuted and was impressive in somewhat limited minutes, while Cormac Ryan and Pete Nance did not suit up. Zack Austin led the Bucks with 17 points, while Darius Acuff Jr. was the Kings’ best with 22 points and three assists.
NBA.com Box Score
Game Recap
The Bucks started out slow, with Brayden Burries looking to get his feet wet right away: Burries pulled a transition three on his first possession, then beat his man to the rim but failed to see the help defender come over, getting his shot blocked. At last, Milwaukee’s No. 10 pick drove off the side pick-and-roll to get himself to the free throw line. the Kings, on the other hand, were rolling, with their first-round pick Darius Acuff Jr. scoring in bunches to give his team a 15-4 edge halfway through the first. Other than Burries getting to the line, the Bucks simply couldn’t find a consistent source of offence, making just one of their first 13 shots to be down 25-9 late in the period. Thankfully, new Bucks two-way Kam Jones checked in late and powered the team to a 13-3 run to close the frame—featuring some nifty finishes in the lane—down just six, 28-22, after one.
Amid the Kings’ hot start to the second, Burries nailed a tough side-step three for his first field goal of the game, followed by a stampede to the rim in transition; he looked the goods on both ends of the floor. Still, Milwaukee couldn’t reduce the deficit past ~eight points in the opening six minutes of the frame, with missed boxouts doing them in time after time. As the period drew to a close, Milwaukee continued to struggle locking down Acuff, but crucial buckets from Jesse Edwards, Kam Jones, and BJ Boston kept the “visitors” within shouting distance, down 55-48 at the half.
After a quiet first half, 60th pick Malique Lewis was aggressive to open the third, knocking a kick-out three followed by a transition rack-attack to reduce the margin to just three. Unfortunately, the lead blew back out to the customary ~eight-points as Milwaukee missed some easy chances and got hurt the other way. King’s second-year man Dylan Cardwell was playing on another level than most of the guys out there, beasting in the paint on both ends. There weren’t too many highlights to end the frame for Milwaukee, but BJ Boston’s lob to Zack Austin was certainly one. Bucks down 74-66 after three.
Consecutive threes from Marquel Sutton and Isaiah Stevens to open the final frame immediately put the Bucks behind the eight-ball, but an 8-0 run shortly thereafter—headed primarily by Bogi Markovic—had the deficit right back down to six. Milwaukee, for the first time in the game, then knuckled down on defence and were finally able to get on level terms behind an extended 19-5 run in which Austin was key. Crucially, the unit that got the team back in the game stayed in the game, with Burries taking a seat on the pine to finish this one. Unfortunately, a few key misses from Markovic, paired with crucial makes from Cardwell and Acuff, meant the Kings took the W.
Stat That Stood Out
Milwaukee’s bench was huge, notching 50 of their 89 points. Sac’s bench scored just 24.
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