At 9:00 a.m. on December 20, Beijing time, a new round of NBA regular season competition has begun, and the Bucks are sitting at home to face the Spurs. Like the 76ers who played Embiid before, Wembanyama will not play in this game. The Spurs relied on an 18-game losing streak against the Lakers, but that doesn't mean the team is on track, as they quickly lost the game against the Pelicans by 36 points. So far this season, head coach Popovich has been centering on Wembanyama's lineup and setting up tactics, but the Spurs' players have limited experience and strength. The Spurs' offensive efficiency is only 106.8, ranking second from the bottom of the league. The defensive efficiency is also only 118.1, ranking seventh from the bottom in the league.
The Bucks have won four straight games after Lillard integrated into the team and found his form on the offensive end. The record improved to 19-7 and ranked second in the East. Brother Alphabet has also performed very bravely this season, just after playing 1/4 of the regular season, Brother Alphabet has become the No. 1 player in Bucks team history in points, rebounds, assists and blocks. The Bucks have lost just two of their last 13 games, and he is averaging 31.4 points, 11 rebounds and 5 assists per game this season, with three-point shooting still a major shortcoming, shooting just 23 percent from the field. But in the game against the Pacers, Brother Alphabet did not hit a three-pointer and scored a team-high 64 points in a single game, which is enough to show the reign of terror on the offensive end of the Alphabet basket. The starting lineups of both sides in this game, the Bucks used Lillard, Big Lopez, Antetokounmpo, Middleton and Beasley. The Spurs sent Collins, Vassell, Johnson, Branham and Sochan.
At the beginning of the first quarter, Collins scored a layup, and the Bucks started very hot. Alphabet scored 4 points in a row under the basket, Da Lopez dunked in the air relay, and Lillardri scored 7 points in a row on a burst shot. This is not over, the Spurs stagnated on the offensive end, and the defensive end was also useless, Middleton and Portis hit two three-pointers in succession, and then Big Lopez, Lillard and Portis hit the paint area to score baskets one after another. The Bucks played a wave of 23-5, Spurs Vassell broke through the dunk and struggled to chase the score, Osman stood up in time, made 2+1 under the basket, and scored 6 points in a row. However, the Bucks didn't give it a chance, and Portis's outside three-pointer fell at the end, and Lillard hit three three-pointers in a row. At the end of the first quarter, the Bucks led the Spurs by 18 points, 44-26.
At the beginning of the second quarter, Sochan scored a dunk on a breakaway, and Portis of the Bucks responded from the outside. Immediately, Brother Alphabet and Payne broke through one after another, and Spurs, Jones, and Vassell were able to keep up with the rhythm in the same way. Johnson scored six points on a burst shot, and Collins followed up with two three-pointers from the outside. But the Bucks Da Lopez scored 4 points in a row under the basket, and Brother Alphabet firmly attacked the basket and scored 6 consecutive free throws to stabilize the advantage. Lillard scored five points in the final period, and at halftime, the Bucks led the Spurs by 13 points at 72-59.
In the halftime statistics, Lillard had 24 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 steal on 8-of-11 shooting. He finished with 10 points, 9 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals and 1 block on 4-of-10 shooting. Big Lopez had 8 points and 1 rebound. Middleton had 6 points, 2 rebounds and 3 assists. Portis finished with 17 points, four rebounds, two assists and two steals on 7-of-10 shooting. Payne 5 points. For the Spurs, Collins had 12 points, six rebounds and one assist on 5-of-9 shooting. Johnson had nine points and three rebounds. Vassell 8 points. Jones had 12 points, 1 rebound and 2 assists. Osman had 8 points and 2 rebounds.
In the second half of the game, Spurs Branham and Johnson all scored baskets, and Collins continued to fire with three points from the outside. The Bucks Big Lopez and Antetokounmpo made kills one after another, Lillard hit three three-pointers from the outside, and Middleton, Beasley, Connaughton and Jackson also followed up with four three-pointers in time. Although Vassell also hit a three-pointer in time to score nine points in a row. Collins also scored seven points. But it was hard to hide the decline, and the third quarter ended with the Bucks leading the Spurs by 22 points, 107-85.
In the final quarter of the game, the Bucks Payne broke through and scored a layup, and the Spurs Sochan and Johnson led a wave of 9-0 small climaxes to close the point difference. The Bucks had to replace some starters in advance, and as Portis scored six points in a row, the Big Three, Middleton and Lillard broke through one after another, and the game lost suspense. In the end, the Bucks defeated the Spurs 132-119!
In the game, Lillard scored 40 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals on 14-of-22 shooting. In this game, Lillard's career total points also exceeded 20,000 points, becoming the fourth player in league history to score 20,000+ points, 5,000+ assists, and hit 2,000+ three-pointers. Middleton finished with 17 points, three rebounds and four assists on 7-of-15 shooting. Big Lopez had 14 points and five rebounds. He finished with 11 points, 14 rebounds, 16 assists, 2 steals and 1 block on 4-of-12 shooting. Portis had 23 points and 10 rebounds. For the Spurs, Johnson had 28 points and 12 rebounds on 9-of-13 shooting. Collins had 22 points, eight rebounds and two assists. Vassell had 17 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assists. Branham had 12 points, 2 rebounds and 3 assists. Jones had 14 points, 1 rebound and 5 assists.