By Adam Roberts – 1/18/2021
There may or may not have been some extra time the Bucks lost out on late in their loss last night to the Brooklyn Nets, but that didn’t change the fact that the defense gave up too many points to a Nets team that despite Kyrie Irving’s continued absence seems up to the task of living up to lofty expectations.
Kevin Durant and James Harden combined for 64 points, and Joe Harris added 20 including five threes in the 125-123 Nets’ win. Khris Middleton made the go-ahead three with 55 seconds left for the Bucks but missed two in-a-row as Milwaukee fell behind. Giannis Antetokounmpo dropped a double-double in the loss with 34 points and 12 rebounds.
As for that clock situation, there should have been about two additional seconds granted to Milwaukee at the end of the game when Middleton called timeout with 5.8 seconds remaining. Somehow, the officials said the technology available indicated that only 3.8 seconds were left. “The dialogue between the officials and our staff [was] something along the lines of ‘that was the best that they could do’ or something to do with technology” coach Mike Budenholzer commented afterwards. “We’ve looked at it…and it was pretty clear that there was significantly more time.” With less time available, Middleton had to force up a three against a double team that nearly fell at the buzzer, but caromed out and was rebounded by Harden to end the game.
The Bucks dip to 9-and-5 and host the Lakers on Thursday.