Washington dropped its second straight game to Milwaukee, 133-122, at Capital One Arena on Monday in a manner that nearly erased all memory of their valiant effort against the same team Saturday night. The Wizards (14-24) have lost four straight and six of seven.
“[The Bucks] were all clicking. They were clicking these last two games,” Wizards Coach Scott Brooks said. “They had to play well to beat us. . . . We battled. We fought. This is a very, very good team. Any mistake that you make on Giannis, he capitalizes himself, with his athleticism and his length. They just throw it up there, and there’s nothing we can do about it.”
The Wizards took advantage of a defensive lull on the Bucks’ part early in the fourth quarter to make what was once a 26-point deficit just five with a little over six minutes to play before giving up a pair of buckets to reinstate Milwaukee’s double-digit lead. It was as close as they would get.
Beal returned from his one-game absence after dealing with knee soreness for another dynamic performance that had minimal impact on the outcome. Beal led all scorers with 37 points on 13-for-19 shooting and added six rebounds and five assists.
“In order to be a good team, we have to close out games like that and build on things we’ve been doing. We can’t circle back to the same habits,” said Beal, who noted the biggest change he has seen in Washington’s defense lately is its struggle to rotate on time. “We’re there; the individual performances are there. We just have to put it together collectively.”
Westbrook added a double-double with 23 points and 17 assists, and Rui Hachimura kept up his aggressiveness by scoring 22 points. The forward shot 9 for 18 overall, including 4 for 9 from three-point range.
Rookie Deni Avdija added 11 points.
But the Wizards’ individual efforts amounted to little in the face of Milwaukee’s machine-like efficiency. The Bucks had seven scorers in double figures and had little problem handling Washington’s defense. The Bucks shot 55.3 percent overall and had a whopping 70 points in the paint compared with the Wizards’ 42.
“Back in February, we locked in at every position. We didn’t give up easy looks — maybe [opponents] made a tough shot — but today, these past couple games, we’re just giving them easy looks,” Hachimura said when asked about the difference between the Wizards’ successful February run and their recent stretch. “. . . Defense, I feel like that’s how we keep losing. We’ve got to fix that part.”
Antetokounmpo led Milwaukee with 31 points, and Middleton added 23. Center Brook Lopez had 22.
Three-point shooting made the difference early. While Milwaukee (25-14) ran its offense how it pleased and had time and space to shoot 9 for 17 from beyond the arc in the first half, Washington made just 6 of 19 threes and missed too many shots at the foul line to meaningfully narrow the gap.
The Bucks shot 60.9 percent overall and had three scorers in double figures heading into the locker room.
Washington found its footing from beyond the arc in the second half and ended up shooting 42.1 percent from deep (16 for 38).
“Consistency is the biggest thing for us,” Beal said. “Maintaining that level of play, it’s difficult. It’s difficult to win in this league. It’s difficult to play at a super high level every night, but that’s why we get paid millions of dollars.
“We’ve got to go in and do it night in and night out.”
March 16, 2021 at 09:17AM
https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/wizards/washington-wizards-milwaukee-bucks-bradley-beal/2021/03/15/23868a4a-85be-11eb-bfdf-4d36dab83a6d_story.html
Bucks handle Wizards again, send Washington to fourth straight loss - The Washington Post
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