The Milwaukee Bucks (20-27) defeated the Orlando Magic (20-24) 107-100 on Tuesday night.
There were some bizarre swings and stats in this game, but the team that has been playing better recently prevailed here. The Bucks shot nearly 50 percent from the field and 84 percent from the free-throw line, while holding the Magic to just 41 percent shooting in the win. Orlando was actually lights out from three-point range, as they went 13-for-24, but that still wasn’t enough to get the win. The Milwaukee starters really won them the game tonight, as they scored 91 points to the Magic's 64 points from their starting-five.
Orlando just keeps falling deeper and deeper down the standings and there doesn’t appear to be an ending in sight. This gives them their 11th loss in their last 12, with the majority of those losses coming in tight games. Most of the team really struggled tonight, outside of Victor Oladipo and Nikola Vucevic. Oladipo finished the game with 18 points and five assists, while Vucevic had 16 points and 12 rebounds. The top-three scorers in this game were all on Milwaukee, and that's a bad recipe for the Magic to win. Orlando will look to get out of this rut on Friday in their next game against the Boston Celtics.
The Bucks have been relying heavily on their starters all season, but maybe no more than tonight. The five starters combined to play 177 minutes in the win and scored nearly 90 percent of the teams points. Khris Middleton is one of the most underrated players in the NBA and he had another great game here, as he tallied 25 points, five rebounds and seven assists. Giannis Antentokounmpo also matched the team-high with 25 points, while snatching down nine boards of his own. Greg Monroe double-doubled once again, as he finished with 21 points and 11 rebounds as well. When all of the starters are playing this effectively, this is a dangerous team to face. The Bucks will look to build on this win for their next game on Thursday against the Memphis Grizzlies.