Bucks turn up defense to beat Magic 122-93

On January 16, 2025By Littum

The Milwaukee Bucks won for the fifth time in six games with a 122-93 victory over the Orlando Magic on Wednesday night at Fiserv Forum, pushing them to 22-17 overall. It was their third win of the year over the Magic, who dropped to 23-19.

It’s the first time this season the Bucks are five games over .500.

For the second straight night, the Bucks took command in the first quarter and never looked back, taking a 34-16 lead over the Magic on the strength of a 19-0 run. The 16 points were the fewest Milwaukee has allowed in an opening quarter this season.

Milwaukee led 62-41 at halftime, the fewest points allowed in a half-season, and Orlando never really got into the game as the Bucks won by 29, their largest margin of victory of the year.

BOX SCORE: Bucks 122, Magic 93

Damian Lillard led the Bucks with 30 points, his first 30-point game since Dec. 6. He was 13 for 19 from the floor overall and 3 for 3 from behind the three-point line. Giannis Antetokounmpo had 26 points on 11-of-15 shooting and also had 11 rebounds. Khris Middleton added 14 points on 5-of-8 shooting in 21 minutes off the bench.

Bobby Portis Jr. (14 points, eight rebounds) and Brook Lopez (12 points) also reached double figures for the Bucks, who dominated throughout.

Paolo Banchero scored 19 points in 24 points for the Magic. Wendell Carter Jr. (12 points) and Cole Anthony (11) also reached double figures for Orlando.

Bucks take advantage of small Magic lineup

Before the season, Doc Rivers talked about the Bucks being a “dominant” team — but his point of reference wasn’t in wins and losses (although that would have been nice), but rather in using their size and strength to their advantage.

He would joke, correctly, that the Bucks wouldn’t win any track meets. He used that analogy again before Wednesday night’s game, noting that while the Magic are youthful, they play a physical, big game — and the Bucks should continue to match that and use their size.

The Bucks were helped by the unavailability of Magic big men Goga Bitadze (6 feet, 11 inches), Mo Wagner (6-10) and Franz Wagner (6-10) due to injury.

And they took advantage, constantly attacking the aggressive perimeter Magic defense by putting the ball on the floor and driving inside. Normally, such forays lead to three-pointers — but without much rim protection, the Bucks instead kept attacking the rim.

Orlando still had Banchero (6-10) and Jonathan Isaac (7-foot), but Isaac usually only plays 17 minutes per game off the bench. As a result, the Bucks just kept attacking the interior of the Magic defense both in transition and in the half court, putting up 52 points while the rotation players were in the game. The Bucks’ rotation regular also got to the free throw line 29 times (with 21 makes) attacking the paint.

Three-point shooting a non-factor for the Bucks

Regardless of who plays for the Magic, Jamahl Mosley has his team playing tough defensively — and that has helped them maintain a top-four finish in the Eastern Conference playoff race despite missing stars Banchero and Franz Wagner in long time since the end of October.

Allowing 103.2 points per game, one of the reasons why the Magic are the league’s best scoring defense. game, is that it not only limits how many shots an opponent gets (No. 1, 80.4 allowed), but the fewest three-point attempts at 30.8 per match.

While three-point defense, in terms of the percentage made, can be a bit of a fluke – it is important to prevent the attempts. This is especially true when facing the Bucks, as they entered Wednesday’s game as the second-best three-point shooting team in the league at 38.6%. Now, the Bucks don’t shoot a ton of threes (No. 14, 37.4 per game), and in two previous close games against the Magic, they attempted a then-season-low 25 (Jan. 10) and just 30 (Dec. 2). ).

In each case, Milwaukee made 36% of their triples.

Making 2% fewer threes on fewer attempts might not seem like much, but every game went down to the wire for a reason – and without a doubt this was one of them.

And on Wednesday, Orlando actually kept Milwaukee from making many threes. In fact, the Bucks only attempted 6 three-pointers in the first half and made three. Instead, they attacked the paint (26 points on 11-of-14 attempts) while shooting a scorching 21 for 34 (61.7%) from inside the three-point line.

Their efficiency helped them build a crucial 62-41 halftime lead and they never looked back from there.

After three quarters, the Bucks were just 4-for-8 from behind the three-point line.

Lillard hit 2 3-pointers in the fourth quarter to help get to 30 points and push the Bucks to an impressive 6-for-10 from behind the arc while the regulars were in the game.

Five numbers

3-0: Bucks record vs. Magic this season.

4:38: Minutes without a field goal for the Bucks in the second quarter, with the Magic cutting a 26-point halftime deficit. Milwaukee scored just one point on a Khris Middleton free throw in that span.

5:01 a.m.: Scoreless minutes for the Magic in the first quarter as the Bucks went on a 19-0 run to turn a 9-8 deficit into a 27-9 advantage.

15-5: Bucks record using the starting lineup of Damian Lillard, Andre Jackson Jr., Giannis Antetokounmpo, Taurean Prince and Brook Lopez. It is by far the team’s most used starting lineup, in large part because Prince started the first 26 games of the season in place of Khris Middleton, and Jackson became the regular starter on November 16.

20: Play back where point guard Ryan Rollins could be active after Tuesday’s game. The Bucks have 43 games left in the regular season. Rollins is currently a two-way player, and players signed to those deals can only be active for 50 games in a season — but head coach Doc Rivers said there’s a chance the team makes a roster move for to fully guarantee Rollins’ deal for the rest of the season.

Andre Jackson Jr. leaving the game early with a bruised hip

Andre Jackson Jr. left the game with 6.3 seconds left in the quarter in some obvious discomfort and went straight to the locker room after absorbing a hit from an Orlando player. Jackson tried to warm up at halftime, but was clearly bothered by his right side and went back to the locker room. He was eventually ruled out with a right hip contusion.

Is Giannis playing?

He is likely to play the second night of a back-to-back as he continues to deal with soreness in his right knee. He has yet to miss a game with the issue, which he has been dealing with since training camp.

Khris Middleton expected to return for the Bucks

As the Bucks continue to manage the minutes and efficiency of Khris Middleton, it is likely that he will play after sitting out Tuesday night’s game against Sacramento. It gave him back-to-back games. Middleton played 12 straight games from Dec. 6-Jan. 4, a stretch that included a back-to-back, but he has since been sent back to the bench and missed games Jan. 6 and 14 to manage his return from offseason surgery on both ankles.

Milwaukee’s Jamahl Mosley is leading the Magic resurgence

The Journal Sentinel’s Ben Steele had a good profile on Magic head coach Jamahl Mosley, who is best friends with UW-Milwaukee assistant coach Jose Winston.

Bucks starting lineup

Guards: Andre Jackson Jr. Damian Lillard
Forwards: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Taurean Prince
Center: Brook Lopez

Buck’s injury report

Gary Trent Jr., out (left hip flexor strain)
Giannis Antetokounmpo, probable (right patella tendinopathy)
Khris Middleton, probable (bilateral ankle surgery injury treatment)

What channel is Bucks played on?

The 7 pm tip-off will be broadcast locally on FanDuel Sports Network Wisconsin with Lisa Byington, Marques Johnson and Melanie Ricks on the call.

Bucks vs. Magic odds, over/under

Milwaukee is a 5.5-point favorite over Orlando and the over/under is 211.5 points per game. BetMGM.