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 Wolters' unlikely rookie season reached another high Tuesday when
he scored 15 points — including a go-ahead 3-pointer with 29
seconds to play — in the Bucks' 104-100 victory over the Magic at
the BMO Harris Bradley Center.
"I'm feeling a lot better from (beyond the arc)," said Wolters, who
now has five 3-pointers in his past three games. "I just have to
shoot with confidence. Hopefully I can keep it up. I've been playing
so many minutes, and coach (Larry) Drew is giving me an opportunity,
so I have to be able to knock some shots down."
The Bucks' two rookies played a pivotal role down the stretch as
Milwaukee held off Orlando over the final minutes.
Milwaukee went ahead by eight on forward John Henson's dunk with
8:56 to play, but after a Magic turnover, the Bucks missed their
next three shots and Orlando scored seven straight to make it an
89-88 game with 6:43 to play.
Coming out of a timeout, Henson scored a quick basket, giving the
Bucks a three-point lead, but Orlando tied it up on a 3-pointer by
guard E'Twaun Moore.
Antetokounmpo broke the tie with a long 3-pointer. He got a timely
steal on the defensive end and found Wolters for an easy layup, but
Orlando answered and tied the game one last time on center Nikola
Vucevic's jumper with 50 seconds to play.
"Both guys came up with big plays," Drew said of Wolters and
Antetokounmpo. "Giannis knocked a big 3 and Nate knocked down a big
3, but I thought both guys made some defensive plays, getting their
hands on balls. Giannis got the steal and got fouled at half-court,
and Nate come up with a steal prior to that.
"Both guys played really well on both ends of the floor."
Wolters found himself in the starting lineup for the 15th time this
season after usual starter Brandon Knight suffered a cut to his foot
earlier in the day.
Knight was expected to play limited minutes, but he started and
played 35, scoring 18 points. He made all 12 of his free throws but
shot just 3-for-13 from the floor.
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"I saw him grimacing a few times when he was out on the floor," Drew
said. "I'm sure there has to be some discomfort from the pounding
you take over the course of a game. Hopefully, he's OK."
Thanks to the All-Star break, Drew was playing with a surplus of
healthy bodies for the first time in weeks.
Forward Caron Butler, who hadn't played since Feb. 3 due to a
sprained left ankle, came out of the break strong, scoring a
team-leading 21 points — on seven 3-pointers — in 29 minutes off
the bench.
Butler had 12 in the second quarter alone as Milwaukee went ahead by
as many as 14 despite shooting just 43 percent from the field while
allowing Orlando to sink half of its shots.
"Caron really got us going in the first half," Drew said "He came in
and was making shots."
Overall, the Magic shot 50 percent from the field and made 11 of 25
3-pointers, but they went 9-for-16 from the free-throw line.
Milwaukee (10-43) made 22 of 30 foul shots but hit just 42.7 percent
of its field-goal attempts.
"I think the free throws were the big thing," Orlando coach Jacque
Vaughn said. "Their ability to get into the bonus, get downhill, get
into the lane was a big part of them winning tonight."
The Magic (16-39) got 21 points from guard Arron Afflalo and 19 from
Vucevic. Forward Tobias Harris added 16 on 6-for-11 shooting. He
added nine rebounds against his former team.
"It's the little things of the game," Harris said. "You have to be
focused. We have to know the fouls that we have, we have to know
that they're in the (bonus). You have to be perfect, basically, you
have to be almost perfect, especially on the road in a tight game,
to come out and win."
Orlando lost its 13th consecutive road game.
NOTES: Magic G Kyle O'Quinn's seven assists were a career high. ...
Over his past eight games, Bucks PG Nate Wolters has 38 assists and
just six turnovers. ... Orlando is 3-24 on the road this season, the
worst road mark in the NBA. ... Bucks G O.J. Mayo, out since Jan. 25
with the flu, was available but did not play.
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