The Milwaukee Bucks were devoured by the little Memphis Grizzlies 122-99. Giannis was pretty good, with 37 points to go with 11 boards and four assists, but Dame scored four. Yes. Meanwhile, Ja was great, scoring a triple-double with 26 points, 10 rebounds and 14 assists. He made it look fun and effortless. Adjectives that don’t describe the Bucks.

NBA.com Box Score

Summary of the game

Yes Morant started this en fuego. The Bucks (especially Delon Wright) simply had no answer for him, and he also elevated his teammates like Scotty Pippin Jr. On the other side of the ball, the Bucks found early success with ball movement and Brook inside, but the ball movement slowed and it rained rocks (also from guess who). The Grizzlies’ high pressure was effective and confused Dame in particular (his first basket came with a few minutes left in the half). All told, Memphis dominated the quarter, including a 14-point run, and ended the frame at a decisive 40-24.

Giannis took over in mostly good fashion to start the second, getting the ball from his teammates in good positions. Extended AJax minutes (and a rested Ja) helped liven up the Bucks at the other end. But Ja wouldn’t rest forever, and combined with a questionable rebound effect, the lead that had been cut to 7 ballooned back to 22. Without Giannis, and even with Giannis when he returned, Milwaukee didn’t move the ball much. Their limited ball movement found some outside looks… where they shot 3 for 21. By the end of the half, the Grizzlies were the Harlem Globetrotters and the Bucks were the Washington Generals. At halftime it was 70-48 (!)

Giannis led the “charge” coming out of the break, but the Yes show wasn’t over yet. I counted three alley-oops in five minutes. Brook made two threes – hurray! – but the stones continued. Even the free throw line wasn’t immune: the Bucks were below 50% at the end of the quarter, punctuated by Ajax missing two – TWO – with two seconds left. Even though Memphis was the worst team of the third quarter tonight, they beat Milwaukee (the second worst team of the third quarter) by seven points and led 99-70 after three. Maybe that led to a discount on Michelob Ultra at a local gas station.

The fourth quarter was a fact. Giannis scored a lot. Yes was Yes. The playback was characterized by existentialist anxiety. The deficit became a little more respectable, but not anymore. This game was over.

Statistic that stood out

I’m going for number 29. Beautiful, Yes was +29 and Queen was -29. Mirrors are the thief of joy.

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