National Basketball Association

Milwaukee Bucks: Takeaways From Win Over Sacramento Kings

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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The Milwaukee Bucks came away with an emphatic victory over the Sacramento Kings Saturday night, winning 117-91. We take a look at who and what stood the most for them in the win.

Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports

Coming off of their convincing win against the Indiana Pacers, the Milwaukee Bucks were at it again on Saturday night as they rolled over the Sacramento Kings 117-91.

A true wire-to-wire victory, the Bucks took command of the game early on and thanks to their offensive explosion that started midway through the first quarter, and they never let the game truly slip out of their hands from that point on.

With the Kings short handed due to Rudy Gay being sidelined with a rib cartilage strain, the Kings were fighting an uphill battle without a difference maker alongside DeMarcus Cousins to start the game.

When it was all said and done though, Cousins was barely a factor in the game, scoring 15 points and grabbing four rebounds in 27 minutes. The scoring leader for the Kings wound up being guard Garrett Temple, who scored 19 points on 10 shots from the field.

With the game firmly in the Bucks’ grasp by the end of the third quarter, every player available to play for the team ended up getting a run on the court. Considering their matchup against the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday, that couldn’t have worked out any better for their more prominent players.

But in regards to this game, the Bucks clearly stood out in multiple ways. From their hot three-point shooting as a team (the Bucks shot 14-of-33 from deep) to big individual performances, there was plenty to be happy with in the team’s fourth win of the season.

So without any more delay, let’s dive in to the biggest takeaways in the Bucks’ victory over the Sacramento Kings.

Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports

Fearza The Mirza

One of the big offseason additions made by the Bucks this summer, Mirza Teletovic hasn’t been much of a factor for the team to start the year. Without many of his shots falling in the first few contests, we’ve been waiting to see the impact we all thought he’d bring as soon as the season tipped off.

Well, we can safely say that we got our first true experience of the damage the 31-year old Bosnian shooter could do from behind the three-point line.

Entering the game midway through the first quarter, Teletovic got off to a blazing start, sinking his first five three-point attempts from beyond the arc. As a result, Teletovic was instrumental in setting the tone for the offense as well as the atmosphere inside the BMO Harris Bradley Center for the rest of the night.

Teletovic went on hit two more triples for the night, finishing with 22 points on his nine three-point attempts in 21 minutes (Teletovic’s only other point came courtesy of a make from the free-throw line).

Thanks to the Kings’ porous defense, Teletovic found all of his looks with ease as none of his shot attempts were contested by the Kings, per NBA.com/stats. With that said, not even wearing oven gloves would have helped the Kings protect themselves from the fire of Teletovic’s incredible heat check.

It may have taken a few games, but Teletovic has made his first real mark for the Bucks this season, thanks to his play last night. If this is what’s in store when he has it rolling, we can only just sit back, relax and watch the fireworks.

Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports

(Greek) Freak Out!

Continuing his dominant start to the season, Giannis Antetokounmpo was once again a force to be reckoned with on Saturday night against the Kings.

Similar to his game against the Pacers, Giannis made his presence known in a myriad of ways, ranging from his highlight worthy scoring to his uncanny playmaking ability.

While there’s a long list of highlights to choose from, arguably the most impressive of Giannis’ highlights came early in the game where he pinned down a block and took it all the way to the other end that resulted in a score by Miles Plumlee. To quote the great Bucks announcer Jim Paschke during Brandon Jennings‘ 55-point game, “You know what young people call this? Sick.”

Due to the blowout win, Giannis only tallied a season-low 25 minutes for the night and even spent all of the fourth quarter on the bench. However, to finish the game with 17 points (on nine field goal attempts), eight rebounds, eight assists, four steals, a block and a +25 in that time frame, I mean, what more can you add to all of that?

It’s still early in the season, but it increasingly feels like we’re seeing something truly special from Giannis with each passing game. With that, we won’t have to wait long to see what he has up his sleeve next.

Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports

Surfin’ Jabari

From one cornerstone to the other, Jabari Parker looks to be hitting his rhythm for the season after another strong performance under his belt against the Kings.

Much like Giannis, Jabari’s night was only limited to 25 minutes, but it was enough to be a big factor on both ends of the floor.

Unfortunately, there was no follow-up to his three-point barrage from the Pacers game the other night, yet Parker was solid scoring the ball as he finished the night with 19 points. Even without any three-point makes, Jabari did his damage from the free-throw line (a perfect 7-7) and through the transition game, the biggest highlight being this sweet behind the back dish from Giannis.

On the other end, Jabari had his best showing defensively. He helped hound any of the Kings’ playmakers to force pokes and when it was said and done, he finished with four steals on the night, tying his career high.

With three straight encouraging performances now, it’s great to see Jabari be a force not only through his scoring, but with the little things too Here’s to hoping we continue to see that as the games go on.

Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports

Capitalizing On Turnovers With A Capital T

It’s easy to get caught up in the three-point explosion by players like Teletovic and Rashad Vaughn (Vaughn was 4-8 from deep in this one) and rightfully so, considering who we’re talking about here.

However, the backbone of the Bucks’ offense for as long as head coach Jason Kidd has been in charge has been scoring points off of turnovers and boy, was it in full effect against the Kings last night.

Despite the turnover battle being barely in favor of the Kings (15-14), the Bucks were downright lethal on all of the Kings’ turnovers, scoring 29 points off of the Kings’ 14 turnovers. Basically, that means the Bucks were guaranteed at least two points on any mistake the Kings made last night.

That kind of efficiency just shows you how essential it is for this young Bucks team to get out and run at any point, but most importantly when they disrupt plays. With that said, scoring points off of turnovers isn’t necessarily a sign of a great defense as we found out all too well last year.

Just six games into the year, the Bucks rank fourth in the league in points off turnovers, with 21.7 points per game. No matter how early it is in the season, we know scoring off turnovers will be at the core of what kind of team the Bucks are this year.

Now, we’ll have to see if the Bucks can continue their winning ways On Sunday as they face off against the Mavericks.