This one is going to sting for a little bit.
In a scene that has played out time and time again this season, the Milwaukee Bucks blew a 21-point halftime lead before falling to the Kings, 103-100, Thursday night in Sacramento.
The situation is getting a little ridiculous. Milwaukee was outscored, 35-18 in the final quarter Thursday, shooting just 39 percent from the field while Sacramento shot 62 percent from the field. Making matters worse, the Bucks were out rebounded 14-5 and turned the ball over five times, leading to eight Kings points.
Now, the Bucks are 2-4 and in dire need of some answers.
"We lost focus for a good portion of the second half and it cost us the game," head coach Scott Skiles said. "We built a nice lead and we should have won the game. This has become a bit of a trend for us."
The Bucks went scoreless for much of the final 12 minutes, while the Kings rattled off a 16-4 run and scored the final six points of the game over the final minute.
"We played one good half and one excellent half," Skiles said. "We were very very good in first half. But they took it to us in the second. We shot over 50 percent for the game but when it was on the line we had trouble coming up with the big play."
The outcome ruined an otherwise impressive offensive performance, especially from Brandon Jennings. The point guard scored 31 points on 6-for-10 shooting. Milwaukee's bench put in 29 and the Bucks were shooting 61 percent at the break.
Skiles didn't mince words when asked about his team's ability to hold big leads.
"We've had some really immature performances in the second half and it's hurting us," Skiles said. "We've played this exact game before; it's our third one. Everything is working and we have a hard time staying with it."
The loss dropped Milwaukee to 0-3 on their five-game, west coast stretch which resumes Saturday night in Los Angeles against the Clippers.
