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 Monday, the Bucks found themselves in that situation again, falling
behind by six points with three minutes to play but this time, they
found a way to recover and after a furious comeback, Milwaukee was
celebrating a 90-88 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers at the
Bradley Center.
"That's something we might not have done earlier in the season,"
Bucks coach Jason Kidd said. "There's 48 minutes so anything can
happen.
"The group out there was fighting and figuring out a way to get back
into the game both offensively and defensively. They did that by
staying together. It wasn't just one person. Everybody pitched in
tonight and that's what we're going to need to happen if we're going
to continue to win," Kidd said.
Shooting guard O.J. Mayo sparked the comeback, knocking down a
3-pointer from the left wing to make it an 82-80 game with 1:52 to
play.
The Blazers would use free throws to stretch the lead back to four,
but Mayo struck again, this time from 27 feet on a feed from guard
Khris Middleton, cutting the deficit to 88-87 with 22 seconds
remaining.
Portland coach Terry Stotts used a 20-second time out to set up a
play, but guard C.J. McCollum lost the ball and the officials
whistled for a jump ball.
Milwaukee won the jump with point guard Michael Carter-Williams
tipping it to Greg Monroe, who would put the Bucks in front for good
with a lay-up.
The Blazers had one last chance, inbounding from the side with 5.1
seconds left. McCollum found forward Meyers Leonard cutting down the
lane but Leonard's attempt at a game-winner was swatted away by John
Henson and Carter-Williams hit one of two free throws with 0.6
seconds left to clinch Milwaukee's second consecutive victory.
"I was cutting the lane," Henson said. "My mindset was protect
anyone that gets backdoor if the play's broken down. I was just
happy to be in the right spot at the right time and make a play."
It was the fourth block of the game for Henson, who finished with
eight points and six rebounds in 20 minutes off the bench.
Forward Giannis Antetokoumpo led Milwaukee with 17 and nine rebounds
while Monroe notched his 11th double-double of the season, finishing
with 16 points and 12 boards.
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"We're so young that we're going to make some mistakes," Kidd said.
"Tonight was a sign of us staying together."
Portland point guard Damien Lillard scored 15 of his team-leading 23
points in the second half, including 10 in the third quarter as the
Trail Blazers erased a nine-point halftime deficit with a 10-3 run.
"We started out slow for sure," Lillard said.
Five straight points by guard Khris Middleton -- including
Milwaukee's second 3-pointer of the game -- put the Bucks up by six
with 5:51 to play but again, the Blazers had a response, ripping off
a 13-2 run to go back up by five with two minutes to play.
"It was a good comeback and a good effort on the road," Stotts said.
"Milwaukee made a big shot, made two good defensive plays and came
out with a win."
Portland had won two straight coming into the game.
NOTES: The Blazers bench scored 30 points Monday. Entering play
Monday, Portland's bench was averaging 53.0 points in four games
since F/C Meyers Leonard moved out of the starting lineup. Leonard
averaged 13.3 points per game on 47 percent shooting during that
stretch. ... Milwaukee was still without G Greivis Vasquez and G
Jerryd Bayless due to ankle injuries, so O.J. Mayo made his second
consecutive start at point guard, while Michael Carter-Williams
remained in a bench role. Mayo had a season-best five assists in 35
minutes Saturday, when he handled the bulk of Milwaukee's
ball-handling duties. ... The Bucks began the night 1-10 this season
when their opponent scored 100 or more points. ... Portland coach
Terry Stotts led the Bucks from 2005-07 and served as an assistant
to George Karl in Milwaukee from 1998-2002.
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