(Photo: Gary Dineen/NBAE via Getty Images)
Wizardss 99
Bucks 88
November 20, 2017, BMO Harris Bradley Center, Milwaukee, WI
In a battle between two up and coming teams in the Eastern Conference, the Washington Wizards and Milwaukee Bucks squared off in Wisconsin for the first of four times this season in a good litmus game for both sides. Despite matching up with what Scott Brooks refers to as an MVP candidate in Giannis Antetokounmpo, Washington had one of their best defensive showings of the season on their way to an impressive 99-88 win on the road.
Milestone Monday For Bradley Beal
By now, you know that the sharpshooting Bradley Beal is officially the youngest player in NBA history to make 700 three-pointers at 24 years and 145 days, four days fewer than J.R. Smith. Brooks joked after the game that Beal should have done it in 25 fewer games, which would have been the case if Beal did not battle lower body injuries throughout much of his first few seasons. Despite it being a night where Beal made history with the deep ball, his improved ball handling was on full display. Beal had 23 points on 10 of 16 shooting and five assists as a result of his ability to attack the basket.
John Wall Returns And Makes An Under The Radar Impact
In 31 minutes of play, Wall was only 5 of 13 from the field, but he still made everyone around him better. He had 15 points and 6 assists and led a balanced attack that saw six Wizards in double figures. Wall was also active on the defensive end whether it be strong contests or drawing charges. Brooks does not foresee any issues with Wall playing on Wednesday as he continues to battle a sore left knee that he played with a sleeve over tonight.
Limiting Giannis
Coming into Monday's game, Antetokounmpo was averaging 30.1 points on 56.3 percent shooting, 10.5 rebounds, 4.4 assists, 1.8 blocks, and 1.7 steals per game. Washington held him to 23 points on 8 of 21 (38.1 percent) shooting thanks to strong defensive play from the entire team. Whether it was Otto Porter Jr., Markieff Morris, Kelly Oubre Jr., or even Ian Mahinmi, Brooks was happy with his team's defense against The Greek Freek in just under 40 minutes of play.
Forget About Jason Smith, Where Is Mike Scott?
Despite playing on the back end of a back-to-back, Brooks opted to keep a starter on the court at all times shrinking his usual 10-man rotation to nine. Beal and Porter were the main bridges to the second unit, which came at the expense of Mike Scott. A week ago against the Kings, Scott had 15 points on 6 of 8 shooting and five rebounds in 26 minutes of play off the bench. Wall went on to say after the game, “I think he's our best scorer off the bench.” Yet, in the past four games, he has been a did not participate – coach’s decision twice. Frazier and Oubre are guaranteed mainstays, but maybe Brooks can experiment with Scott playing a little bit of center over Mahinmi depending on the matchup.
The Good Side of Kelly Oubre Jr.
Just over 24 hours after having a poor game in Toronto on both ends of the floor, Oubre put that behind him and had an efficient offensive performance. Oubre had 18 points on 6 of 8 shooting including 3 of 5 from deep to go with 4 rebounds in 23 minutes off the bench. A year after shooting just 28.7 percent from three, Oubre. has finished the tweaks in his mechanics with Drew Hanlen and is shooting 41.3 percent this year. There is likely to still be a roller coaster ride of performance from the 21-year old wing for the rest of the season, but he is certainly “growing up right in front of our eyes” as Brooks likes to say.
Next Game: Washington will finish their pre-Thanksgiving road trip on Wednesday against Kemba Walker and Dwight Howard’s Charlotte Hornets.