24 points to win, Bucks welcome Rivers to the appointment!
On January 28, Beijing time, the NBA regular season continued, and the Bucks sat at home to face the Pelicans. Both teams played games yesterday, the Pelicans defeated the Thunder by 24 points, the Bucks defeated the Cavaliers by 12 points, back-to-back games, no breaks, and the Bucks also confirmed that the new coach Rivers Sr. will make his Bucks debut at 10 a.m. on January 30 when he faces the Nuggets away from home at 10 a.m. Beijing time. Because of the All-Star coach position, there is no way to be re-elected, and the Celtics Mazzulla is more regretful, so Rivers Sr. is likely to be the Eastern All-Star coach this season and pick the fruit directly. Previously, the Bucks had a record of 31 wins and 14 losses, and were thrown away by the Celtics, but it was not a big problem to beat the 76ers behind them, and the biggest controversy on the team came from Lillard being promoted to the All-Star.
In the face of the Cavaliers, Lillard was directly blown up by Mitchell, scoring only 22 points on 7-of-24 from the field, and the defensive end was useless. Compared with the Cruel West, in addition to Halliburton, Lillard's exposure is slightly higher in the East. The Pelicans had a previous record of 26 wins and 19 losses, ranking seventh in the West, to put it simply, the Big Three McCollum + Zion + Ingram, but if one of them is missing, the Pelicans' winning rate will click down, and it is not competitive at all. This season, the Pelicans Big Three are averaging 60 points per game and are firmly in the top 10 in the league in defensive efficiency, but the offense is very inconsistent. Before the game, McCollum and Lillard exchanged pleasantries. Pelicans starters: McCollum + Herbert Jones + Ingram + Zion + Wallan. Bucks starters: Lillard + Beasley + Crowder + Antetokounmpo + Lopez.
At the beginning of the game, Lillard hit the chase three-pointer, Wallan finished with a one-arm dunk, Zion hit the Bucks' two big inside tough boards, Ingram also misplaced and ate Beasley, plus Wallan's three points, the Bucks were stopped! At the critical moment, Brother Alphabet hit a layup to stop the bleeding, Da Lopez continued to make a three-point shot, Zion and Ingram attacked the frame in a row, and Brother Alphabet dunked to tie the score! In the second half, Crowder hit three points, Brother Alphabet split Nance, and Lillard jumped +Hit a three-pointer, Portis hit a three-pointer, and after the Bucks opened up the difference, Nance and Ingram blossomed inside and out, and Zion and Ingram chased another 6 points at the end of the quarter. At the end of the first quarter, the Pelicans trailed the Bucks 32-36. Lillard scored 12 points in the first quarter, and he felt good!
Back in the second quarter, Portis burst inside and outside, Nance seized the three-point opportunity, Zion carried Da Lopez to make a kill, and Hawkins' three-pointer helped the Pelicans close the score. In the middle of the game, Da Luo and Portis stopped the Pelicans again, Portis scored 14 points alone in just 9 minutes, and the efficiency was too high! Zion and McCollum scored 5 points in a row, Da Lopez and Jackson responded with three points, Portis still had no miss in the middle, and Payne also rained three points, but fortunately, Ingram responded with consecutive singles. In the second half, Lopez and Lillard continued to rain three-pointers, and Brother Alphabet counterattacked and scored with Varland for a layup. At halftime, the Bucks led the Pelicans 75-63. Lillard had 15 points and five assists in the half, Antetokounmpo had 12 points, and Portis and Da Luo both had 16 points.
On the Pelicans' side, Ingram had 18 points and Zion had 11. At the beginning of the second half, Brother Alphabet also hit a three-pointer, Lillard made McCollum foul, Brother Alphabet flew to Zion, and reflexively split the dunk! Zion dribbled directly into Lillard's arms, and the Pelicans quickly called a timeout. In the middle of the game, Lillard made a difficult basket + Brother Alphabet counterattacked and dunked, the Bucks opened a 20-point difference, the Pelicans played too small, Zion kept rushing inside, and his height was limited, and he was constantly counterattacked by the Bucks! At the end of the quarter, Lopez continued to hit a three-pointer, but Zion scored consecutive shots.
At the end of the third quarter, the Bucks led the Pelicans 112-87, and the 25-point difference made the final quarter lose suspense. Zion continued to make fouls, but Beasley and Connaughton continued to counterattack, and Connaughton's three-pointer gave the Bucks a lead of almost 30 points! In the middle of the period, the Pelicans took the initiative to surrender and directly changed to the third lineup, and Brother Alphabet still stayed on the court to score points! Until the last 5 minutes, Brother Alphabet took the initiative to foul and applied to clock out of work. In the end, the Bucks defeated the Pelicans 141-117 at home, and welcomed Rivers Sr. to take office with a victory!
Bucks stats, Antetokounmpo 30 points, 12 rebounds and 4 assists, Da Lopez 24 points and 3 rebounds, Lillard 26 points, 6 rebounds and 9 assists, Portis 20 points and 7 rebounds, Payne 11 points and 5 assists. Pelicans stats, Ingram 26 points and 6 rebounds, Zion 23 points and 5 turnovers, McCollum 7 points and 4 assists, Valanciunas 13 points, 10 rebounds and 6 assists. After this game, the Bucks are three wins away from the Celtics, the first in the East.