Game ID: 22300417
Milwaukee Bucks @ Brooklyn Nets
Wednesday, December 27, 2023 at 7:30 PM ET
Barclays Center, Brooklyn, NY
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
BKN 31 28 33 30 122MIL 32 34 34 44 144
BKN vs MIL ScoutingBKN vs MIL Scouting
Welcome to the scouting desk. The coffee is cold, the film is play-by-play, and somebody has to explain what happened.
Every game has a hinge — a stretch where it was decided, usually while everyone was watching something else. Start where the evidence lives: the Lineups' face-offs say which five actually won their minutes; the Possessions ledger says who ran ahead of the night's own pace; the Shot Chart says where the points really came from, which is rarely where the highlights were. When all three agree, that is the story. When they don't — that is why this desk has a chair.
BKN availability going into 12/20 · 1 day's restOUT Simmons missed 19 since 11/08, out tonight
OUT Smith Jr. missed 6 since 12/08, out tonight
OUT Walker IV missed 8 since 12/02, out tonight
OUT Clowney missed 11 since 11/26, out tonight
OUT Keo. Johnson missed 21 since 11/04, out tonight
OUT Whitehead missed 11 since 11/26, out tonight
OUT Brooks missed 2 since 12/16, out tonight
BACK Wilson back 12/11 after 15, 10 min since (63% of 16)
BKN availability going into 12/22 · 1 day's restOUT Simmons missed 20 since 11/08, out tonight
OUT Smith Jr. missed 7 since 12/08, returns tonight: 19 min (103% of 19)
OUT Walker IV missed 9 since 12/02, out tonight
OUT Clowney missed 12 since 11/26, out tonight
OUT Keo. Johnson missed 22 since 11/04, out tonight
OUT Whitehead missed 12 since 11/26, out tonight
OUT Brooks missed 3 since 12/16, out tonight
BKN availability going into 12/23 · back-to-backOUT Simmons missed 21 since 11/08, out tonight
OUT Walker IV missed 10 since 12/02, out tonight
OUT Clowney missed 13 since 11/26, out tonight
OUT Keo. Johnson missed 23 since 11/04, out tonight
OUT Whitehead missed 13 since 11/26, out tonight
OUT Brooks missed 4 since 12/16, out tonight
BACK Smith Jr. back 12/22 after 7, 19 min since (103% of 19)
BKN availability going into 12/26 · 2 days' restOUT Simmons missed 22 since 11/08, out tonight
OUT Walker IV missed 11 since 12/02, out tonight
OUT Clowney missed 14 since 11/26, out tonight
OUT Keo. Johnson missed 24 since 11/04, out tonight
OUT Whitehead missed 14 since 11/26, out tonight
OUT Brooks missed 5 since 12/16, out tonight
BACK Smith Jr. back 12/22 after 7, 19 min since (101% of 19)
BKN availability going into 12/27 · back-to-backOUT Simmons missed 23 since 11/08, out tonight
OUT Walker IV missed 12 since 12/02, out tonight
OUT Clowney missed 15 since 11/26, returns tonight: 24 min (150% of 16)
OUT Keo. Johnson missed 25 since 11/04, returns tonight: 21 min (170% of 12)
OUT Whitehead missed 15 since 11/26, returns tonight: 21 min (178% of 12)
OUT Brooks missed 6 since 12/16, returns tonight: 29 min (278% of 10)
BACK Smith Jr. back 12/22 after 7, 20 min since (105% of 19)
BKN availability going into 12/29 · 1 day's restOUT Simmons missed 24 since 11/08, out tonight
OUT Walker IV missed 13 since 12/02, out tonight
BACK Smith Jr. back 12/22 after 7, 22 min since (118% of 19)
BACK Clowney back 12/27 after 15, 24 min since (150% of 16)
BACK Keo. Johnson back 12/27 after 25, 21 min since (170% of 12)
BACK Whitehead back 12/27 after 15, 21 min since (178% of 12)
BACK Brooks back 12/27 after 6, 29 min since (278% of 10)
BKN availability going into 12/31 · 1 day's restOUT Simmons missed 25 since 11/08, out tonight
OUT Walker IV missed 14 since 12/02, out tonight
BACK Smith Jr. back 12/22 after 7, 22 min since (116% of 19)
BACK Clowney back 12/27 after 15, 24 min since (150% of 16)
BACK Keo. Johnson back 12/27 after 25, 21 min since (170% of 12)
BACK Whitehead back 12/27 after 15, 21 min since (178% of 12)
BACK Brooks back 12/27 after 6, 29 min since (278% of 10)
BKN availability going into 1/02 · 1 day's restOUT Simmons missed 26 since 11/08, out tonight
OUT Walker IV missed 15 since 12/02, out tonight
OUT Clowney missed 2 since 12/29, out tonight
OUT Wilson missed 2 since 12/29, returns tonight: 12 min (77% of 16)
OUT Keo. Johnson missed 2 since 12/29, out tonight
OUT Brooks missed 2 since 12/29, returns tonight: 8 min (80% of 10)
BACK Whitehead back 12/27 after 15, 21 min since (178% of 12)
BKN availability going into 1/03 · back-to-backOUT Simmons missed 27 since 11/08, out tonight
OUT Walker IV missed 16 since 12/02, out tonight
OUT Clowney missed 3 since 12/29, out tonight
OUT Keo. Johnson missed 3 since 12/29, out tonight
BACK Wilson back 1/02 after 2, 12 min since (77% of 16)
BACK Whitehead back 12/27 after 15, 21 min since (178% of 12)
BACK Brooks back 12/27 after 6, 19 min since (179% of 10)
MIL availability going into 12/19 · 1 day's restOUT Beasley missed 2 since 12/16, returns tonight: 28 min (95% of 29)
OUT Crowder missed 17 since 11/13, out tonight
BACK Connaughton back 12/16 after 6, 15 min since (67% of 22)
NEW Beauchamp 12 to 18 min over the last 5
NEW Jackson Jr. 10 to 19 min over the last 4
MIL availability going into 12/21 · 1 day's restOUT Crowder missed 18 since 11/13, out tonight
BACK Beasley back 12/19 after 2, 28 min since (95% of 29)
BACK Connaughton back 12/16 after 6, 16 min since (72% of 22)
NEW Jackson Jr. 10 to 23 min over the last 4
MIL availability going into 12/23 · 1 day's restOUT Crowder missed 19 since 11/13, out tonight
BACK Beasley back 12/19 after 2, 28 min since (96% of 29)
BACK Connaughton back 12/16 after 6, 17 min since (78% of 22)
NEW Jackson Jr. 10 to 19 min over the last 5
MIL availability going into 12/25 · 1 day's restOUT Crowder missed 20 since 11/13, out tonight
BACK Beasley back 12/19 after 2, 29 min since (100% of 29)
BACK Connaughton back 12/16 after 6, 18 min since (82% of 22)
NEW Jackson Jr. 10 to 19 min over the last 5
MIL availability going into 12/27 · 1 day's restOUT Crowder missed 21 since 11/13, out tonight
BACK Beasley back 12/19 after 2, 26 min since (91% of 29)
NEW Jackson Jr. 10 to 17 min over the last 5
MIL availability going into 12/29 · 1 day's restOUT Crowder missed 22 since 11/13, out tonight
BACK Beasley back 12/19 after 2, 26 min since (88% of 29)
MIL availability going into 1/01 · 2 days' restOUT Crowder missed 23 since 11/13, out tonight
MIL availability going into 1/03 · 1 day's restOUT Crowder missed 24 since 11/13, out tonight
OUT Green missed 2 since 12/29, out tonight
MIL availability going into 1/04 · back-to-backOUT Crowder missed 25 since 11/13, out tonight
OUT Green missed 3 since 12/29, out tonight
I Know — the desk, before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Brooklyn comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 114 a night and allowing 119, shooting 46 percent and 38 from three, 28 free throws a game; Thomas at 22 and Bridges at 18 a game. It has lost the glass by 5 a night. Without Simmons (23 straight), Walker IV (12 straight), Clowney (15 straight). Second night of a back-to-back. Milwaukee comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 126 a night and allowing 118, shooting 48 percent and 36 from three, 26 free throws a game; Lillard at 31 and Antetokounmpo at 27 a game. It has won the glass by 6 a night. Without Crowder (21 straight). One day's rest.
So: Milwaukee wins, on the road, and the game turns on the glass, where Milwaukee has been plus-6 a night and Brooklyn minus-5. Call it Milwaukee 121, Brooklyn 117, Brooklyn keeping it close.
12/20 vs NYK 102-121 — BKN notes
BKN lost 102-121. BKN shot 37% (37 of 101) to NYK's 46%, 15 of 47 from three, and got to the line 17 times to NYK's 25. Thomas led with 20 (8 of 18, 4 of 7 from three); Johnson added 20, Bridges 15. Q2 was theirs, 31-28, the deficit cut from 12 to 9, but the other 3 periods went 93-71 against them. Dinwiddie's -27 in 31 minutes was the worst on the floor.
12/22 vs DEN 117-122 — BKN notes
BKN lost 117-122. BKN shot 48% (43 of 89) to DEN's 52%, 13 of 33 from three. Thomas led with 23 (8 of 21, 1 of 6 from three, 6 of 6 at the line); Johnson added 17, Finney-Smith 14. Q2 was theirs, 32-30, but the other 3 periods went 92-85 against them.
12/23 vs DET 126-115 — BKN notes
BKN won 126-115. BKN shot 52% (45 of 86) to DET's 49%, 10 of 24 from three. Bridges led with 29 (9 of 17, 1 of 4 from three, 10 of 10 at the line); Thomas added 20, Johnson 18. The hinge was Q1, 32-21: from level to 11 ahead, and the lead reached 21. Finney-Smith was the night's best plus/minus at +22.
12/26 @ DET 118-112 — BKN notes
BKN won 118-112. BKN shot 50% (41 of 82) to DET's 44%, 9 of 22 from three, and went to the line 43 times to DET's 32 — 27 points from the stripe to their 23. The glass went 42-52 against them. Johnson led with 24 (9 of 13, 4 of 6 from three); Bridges added 21, Thomas 17. The hinge was Q2, 36-23: BKN came in trailing by 6 and left it ahead by 7. Finney-Smith was the night's best plus/minus at +16.
12/27 vs MIL 122-144 — BKN notes
BKN lost 122-144. BKN took 12 more shots (101 to 89), fed by 17 offensive rebounds, but shot 45% to MIL's 58%, 7 of 32 from three, and went to the line 29 times to MIL's 23 — 25 points from the stripe to their 17. Wilson led with 21 (5 of 13, 0 of 3 from three, 11 of 11 at the line); Watford added 17, Smith Jr. 14. Q1 was theirs, 31-32, but the other 3 periods went 112-91 against them. Clowney's -19 in 24 minutes was the worst on the floor.
12/29 @ WAS — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Washington comes in 1-4 over its last five, scoring 118 a night and allowing 130, shooting 49 percent and 37 from three, 24 free throws a game; Poole at 22 and Kuzma at 19 a game. That is 3 straight losses. It has lost the glass by 9 a night. One day's rest. Brooklyn comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 117 a night and allowing 123, shooting 46 percent and 34 from three, 29 free throws a game; Cam. Johnson at 20 and Thomas at 18 a game. Without Simmons (24 straight), Walker IV (13 straight). One day's rest.
So: Brooklyn wins, on the road, and the game turns on the glass, where Brooklyn has been minus-1 a night and Washington minus-9 and the turnovers, Washington giving it away 13 times a game to Brooklyn's 10. Call it Brooklyn 121, Washington 120, Washington keeping it close.
12/31 @ OKC — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
OKC comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 126 a night and allowing 113, shooting 54 percent and 40 from three, 18 free throws a game; Gilgeous-Alexander at 35 and Jal. Williams at 22 a game. That is 3 straight wins. One day's rest. Brooklyn comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 117 a night and allowing 121, shooting 47 percent and 35 from three, 31 free throws a game; Cam. Johnson at 19 and Bridges at 18 a game. Without Simmons (25 straight), Walker IV (14 straight). One day's rest.
So: OKC wins, and the game turns on the line, where Brooklyn takes 31 free throws a game to OKC's 18 and the arc, OKC at 40 percent from three to Brooklyn's 35. Call it OKC 122, Brooklyn 114.
1/02 @ NOP — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
New Orleans comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 117 a night and allowing 108, shooting 50 percent and 38 from three, 24 free throws a game; Williamson at 24 and Ingram at 22 a game. One day's rest. Brooklyn comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 116 a night and allowing 121, shooting 45 percent and 31 from three, 32 free throws a game; Bridges at 19 and Cam. Johnson at 18 a game. That is 3 straight losses. Without Simmons (26 straight), Walker IV (15 straight), Clowney (2 straight). One day's rest.
So: New Orleans wins, and the game turns on the defense, New Orleans allowing 108 a night to Brooklyn's 121 and the arc, New Orleans at 38 percent from three to Brooklyn's 31. Call it New Orleans 119, Brooklyn 112.
1/03 @ HOU — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Houston comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 120 a night and allowing 120, shooting 49 percent and 38 from three, 25 free throws a game; Sengun at 29 and Ja. Green at 18 a game. Without Brooks (3 straight). One day's rest. Brooklyn comes in 1-4 over its last five, scoring 107 a night and allowing 120, shooting 42 percent and 28 from three, 28 free throws a game; Cam. Johnson at 18 and Bridges at 16 a game. That is 4 straight losses. Without Simmons (27 straight), Walker IV (16 straight), Clowney (3 straight). Second night of a back-to-back.
So: Houston wins, and the game turns on the arc, Houston at 38 percent from three to Brooklyn's 28. Call it Houston 119, Brooklyn 111.
12/19 vs SAS 132-119 — MIL notes
MIL won 132-119. MIL shot 47% (50 of 106) to SAS's 48%, 18 of 49 from three. MIL turned it over 6 times to SAS's 16. Lillard led with 40 (14 of 22, 7 of 12 from three); Portis added 23, Middleton 17. The hinge was Q1, 44-26: from level to 18 ahead, and the lead reached 24. Lillard was the night's best plus/minus at +26.
12/21 vs ORL 118-114 — MIL notes
MIL won 118-114. MIL shot 42% (38 of 90) to ORL's 45%, 11 of 37 from three, and went to the line 35 times to ORL's 23 — 31 points from the stripe to their 16. MIL turned it over 13 times to ORL's 7. Antetokounmpo led with 37 (11 of 25, 0 of 3 from three, 15 of 19 at the line); Lillard added 24, Lopez 14. The hinge was Q2, 31-25: MIL came in trailing by 3 and left it ahead by 3, and the lead reached 15.
12/23 @ NYK 130-111 — MIL notes
MIL won 130-111. MIL shot 53% (48 of 91) to NYK's 44%, 16 of 32 from three. The glass went 53-41 for them. Antetokounmpo led with 28 (11 of 17, 6 of 8 at the line); Portis added 23, Middleton 20. The hinge was Q1, 36-27: from level to 9 ahead, and the lead reached 22. Beasley was the night's best plus/minus at +19.
12/25 @ NYK 122-129 — MIL notes
MIL lost 122-129. MIL shot 47% (45 of 95) to NYK's 54%, 13 of 42 from three. Antetokounmpo led with 32 (13 of 24, 5 of 9 at the line); Lillard added 32, Middleton 24. Q4 was theirs, 35-31, the deficit cut from 11 to 7, but the other 3 periods went 98-87 against them. Connaughton's -13 in 24 minutes was the worst on the floor.
12/27 @ BKN 144-122 — MIL notes
MIL won 144-122. MIL shot 58% (52 of 89) to BKN's 45%, 23 of 51 from three, and got to the line 23 times to BKN's 29. Antetokounmpo led with 32 (10 of 12, 12 of 17 at the line); Middleton added 27, Payne 18. The hinge was Q4, 44-30: a lead of 8 became 22. Payne was the night's best plus/minus at +24.
12/29 @ CLE — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Cleveland comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 117 a night and allowing 115, shooting 46 percent and 38 from three, 21 free throws a game; LeVert at 18 and Allen at 17 a game. It has won the glass by 5 a night. Without Mitchell (4 straight), Garland (6 straight), Eva. Mobley (10 straight). One day's rest. Milwaukee comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 129 a night and allowing 119, shooting 49 percent and 38 from three, 25 free throws a game; Antetokounmpo at 28 and Lillard at 25 a game. Without Crowder (22 straight). One day's rest.
So: Milwaukee wins, on the road, in a game with no one edge to lean on. Call it Milwaukee 119, Cleveland 118, Cleveland keeping it close.
1/01 vs IND — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Milwaukee comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 127 a night and allowing 117, shooting 50 percent and 39 from three, 27 free throws a game; Antetokounmpo at 33 and Lillard at 24 a game. It has won the glass by 4 a night. Without Crowder (23 straight). 2 days' rest. Indiana comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 119 a night and allowing 116, shooting 51 percent and 44 from three, 18 free throws a game; Haliburton at 24 and Turner at 22 a game. That is 3 straight wins. Without Bru. Brown (4 straight). One day's rest.
So: Milwaukee wins, and the game turns on the line, where Milwaukee takes 27 free throws a game to Indiana's 18 and the glass, where Milwaukee has been plus-4 a night and Indiana minus-3. Call it Milwaukee 124, Indiana 120, Indiana keeping it close.
1/03 @ IND — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Indiana comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 123 a night and allowing 115, shooting 52 percent and 41 from three, 23 free throws a game; Haliburton at 26 and Turner at 21 a game. That is 4 straight wins. Without Bru. Brown (5 straight). One day's rest. Milwaukee comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 126 a night and allowing 119, shooting 51 percent and 38 from three, 25 free throws a game; Antetokounmpo at 31 and Lillard at 21 a game. Without Crowder (24 straight). One day's rest.
So: Indiana wins, in a game with no one edge to lean on. Call it Indiana 123, Milwaukee 121, Milwaukee keeping it close.
1/04 @ SAS — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
San Antonio comes in 1-4 over its last five, scoring 113 a night and allowing 122, shooting 46 percent and 34 from three, 22 free throws a game; Wembanyama at 22 and Johnson at 21 a game. That is 3 straight losses. It has lost the glass by 10 a night. Without Collins (2 straight). One day's rest. Milwaukee comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 126 a night and allowing 125, shooting 50 percent and 36 from three, 27 free throws a game; Antetokounmpo at 31 and Lillard at 22 a game. Without Crowder (25 straight). Second night of a back-to-back.
So: Milwaukee wins, on the road, and the game turns on the glass, where Milwaukee has been minus-1 a night and San Antonio minus-10. Call it Milwaukee 122, San Antonio 119, San Antonio keeping it close.
Who is who
the initials in the Players column
MILAG A. Green
AJ A. Jackson Jr.
BL B. Lopez
BP B. Portis
CL C. Livingston
CP C. Payne
DL D. Lillard
GA G. Antetokounmpo
KM K. Middleton
MB M. Beasley
MB M. Beauchamp
PC P. Connaughton
RL R. Lopez
TA T. Antetokounmpo
BKNAB A. Brooks
CT C. Thomas
DS D. Sharpe
DS D. Smith Jr.
DW D. Whitehead
HG H. Giles III
JW J. Wilson
KJ K. Johnson
MB M. Bridges
NC N. Clowney
RO R. O'Neale
TW T. Watford
MIL/BKN the team itself, not a player
-- the feed named nobody
What
What happened
the codes in the Events column
M2 / M3 made 2 / made 3
X2 / X3 missed 2 / missed 3
FT / X1 free throw made / missed
AST assist
OR / DR offensive / defensive rebound
STL steal
BLK block
TO turnover
FL foul
OF offensive foul — ends the possession
VIOL violation
JUMP jump ball
TM timeout
IR instant replay
HE heave at the buzzer, filed to the team
END the clock ran out, ball in hand
Where
Where a shot came from
the middle field of M3.LW.25
RM at the rim inside 4 ft
RC right corner
RW right wing
SO straight on
LW left wing
LC left corner
M3.LW.25 made 3, left wing, 25 ft
X2.RM.01 missed 2, at the rim, 1 ft
When
When it happened
the Offset column
one number per event, in the Events order:
whole seconds from the start of the
possession to that event
Events FL X3.RC.23 OR M2.RM.01
Offset 0 18 22 24
the foul opens the possession at 0s;
the putback ends it at 24s, which is
the possession's own Dur
Antetokounmpo, Middleton help Bucks pull away from short-handed Nets for 144-122 win
NEW YORK -- — Giannis Antetokounmpo listed off the names he knew, the ones he was preparing to guard on the Brooklyn Nets .
If those guys were out there, it wasn't for long.
Eventually, Antetokounmpo and his Milwaukee teammates figured things out against opponents they had to learn about on the fly.
Antetokounmpo had 32 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists, Khris Middleton added 27 points and 10 assists, and the Bucks pulled away for a 144-122 victory Wednesday night over a Brooklyn team that treated it like a preseason game.
The Nets rested three starters and barely played two others on the night after a victory at Detroit that extended the Pistons’ losing streak to 27 , an NBA single-season record.
“They competed hard,” Antetokounmpo said. “I don’t know most of them but definitely I’ll learn them after today because they made it extremely, extremely tough for us.”
The Nets' rotation featuring a number of rookies and players on two-way contracts put up a good fight for three quarters before the Bucks put them away.
Afterward, coach Jacque Vaughn passionately denied treating the game like one played in mid-October.
“I have too much respect for the dudes that suit up and put their body on the line and the competition level to even mention the word exhibition,” he said. “Any guy could have ended their career tonight by one play and so I treat it as such. It is an honor, it is, I don’t know, a sense of gratitude that you do this for a living and you never, ever underestimate that. If you do, you’ll pay for it.”
Cameron Payne and Malik Beasley each made five 3-pointers for the Bucks, who improved to 10-2 in December. They bounced back from one of those losses, a defeat to the Knicks on Christmas, to finish with two wins in their three-game holiday stay in New York.
Payne scored 18 points off the bench and Beasley finished with 17. Bobby Portis had 14 and the Bucks finished 23 of 51 (45%) behind the arc.
Rookie Jalen Wilson had 21 points and 10 rebounds for the Nets. Trendon Watford scored 17 points and Dennis Smith Jr . and rookie Noah Clowney each had 14.
The Nets rested Spencer Dinwiddie , Nic Claxton and Cam Johnson, along with key reserve Dorian Finney-Smith , who played the whole fourth quarter Tuesday.
With the Nets returning from a five-game trip to the West a week before Christmas, finishing their second set of back-to-back games since and facing another four-game trip later this week, Vaughn cited the heavy workload for the decision to rest the players, saying he would be putting them “in harm's way” if they didn't get a break.
Mikal Bridges started to preserve his consecutive games streak that is now at 423 but didn't play after the first quarter. Nor did Cam Thomas , Brooklyn's leading scorer who had 45 points against Milwaukee last month.
Still, Milwaukee led by only one before a 9-2 spurt in the final 1:25 of the third quarter to make it 100-92. Another flurry early in the fourth extended it to 13 and the Bucks would eventually extend it beyond 20.
“They knew they were kind of undermanned but I think Jacque’s doing a phenomenal job there,” Bucks coach Adrian Griffin said. “But we took care of business and again, games like this, you’ve just got to find a way to win and get ready for Cleveland.”