ORLANDO, March 8 (BNA): Brook Lopez scored 26 points, Chris Middleton and Jevon Carter each added 24. The Milwaukee Bucks beat the Orlando Magic 134-123 on Tuesday night for their 18th win in 19 games.
Bobby Portis Jr. scored 16 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, and Jay Crowder added 15 points for the Bucks, who shot 59% and snapped a 14-game winning streak against the Magic, the Associated Press reports.
Playing without All-Stars Giannis Antetokounmpo (a non-COVID-19 illness) and Jrue Holiday (a sore neck), the Bucks had little trouble finding the right combinations in increasing their league-best record to 47-18.
“I really think that’s the level of our players,” Lopez said. “We have guys with high basketball IQs who are selfless, team first. It’s great to have a couple of these guys, but to have a bench full of them, we’re really lucky.”
Middleton, who started for the first time since December 15, had 11 assists.
“It’s crazy that we’ve been without him for so long this season, but obviously it was important for him to recover and recover,” Lopez said.
Bucks coach Mike Bodenholzer said it was time to increase Middleton’s playing time.
“I felt it was the right time for Middleton to hit the 30-minute plateau with no Guru and Giannis playing,” Bodenholzer said.
“Just doing a little bit of everything, he set a good tone for us early on. We were lucky to have him on the bench for us for so long, and now he’ll continue to do those things where he’s always been, in the starting lineup.”
Cole led Anthony Magic with 23 points. Franz Wagner added 21 points and Paolo Panchero 20 points and five rebounds.
“I haven’t seen much,” said Anthony Magic’s defensive effort. “I think they score at least 32 points per quarter (36-34-32-32). We didn’t have an answer. We couldn’t stop them.”
The Bucks pulled away from a 51-all tie and lead 70-60 after a first period in which Lopez scored 19 points.
Crowder, playing in only his sixth game with the Bucks, scored seven straight points late in the third quarter to put the Bucks up 98-83.
“That’s kind of the silver lining for a couple who don’t play,” Budenholzer said. “He played a lot of minutes. He had a good pace and hit the shots.”
The Magic were down by eight points until Portis and Middleton led a fourth-quarter charge that pushed the Bucks’ lead to 16, their biggest offense of the game.
“They’re playing great basketball right now and they’re confident and play like a well-oiled machine,” said Magic coach Jamal Moseley. “They share, they pass it on, and they trust their shot. You have to give them a lot of credit.”
Tip-ins
Bucks: G Lindell Wigginton played 31 seconds after signing a two-way contract on Tuesday. … J-Goran Dragic, who signed with Milwaukee on Saturday, is rehabilitating his left knee and is about to play, according to head coach Mike Bodenholzer. … Carter, who entered the game as the 12th-leading 3-point shooter in the NBA, made 4 out of 5 attempts. . . The Bucks made 32 of their 34 free throws.
Magic: C Wendell Carter (left hip) and Gary Harris (painful left snap) sat out for a second game in a row. … The Magic shot 26-for-95 (27.4%) from 3-point range in three games against Milwaukee.
Lopez has a healthy year
Budenholzer didn’t hesitate when asked why the Bucks have improved so much this season when playing with missing key pieces.
“If you were to go back to last year, Brook Lopez missed the entire season,” he said. So when Jrue, Chris and Giannis were missing, it was always a plus for Brook. Brook plays at a high level; charts”.
Antetokounmo has missed 13 matches this season. Holiday lost 14 and Middleton trailed 43. Lopez missed just one.
the next
Bucks: Host Brooklyn on Thursday.
Magic: Host Utah on Thursday.