The San Antonio Spurs pulled off a 114-118 win at home over the Milwaukee Bucks in a star clash between Victor Wembanyama and Giannis Antetokounmpo. This win improved San Antonio’s record to 21-24 while the Bucks fell to 26-20.
The Spurs were led by Wembanyama dropping 30 points (9-20 FG), 14 rebounds, and six blocks. Keldon Johnson came off the bench to score 24 points (10-15 FG) while Stephon Castle had 20 points (5-14 FG), eight rebounds, and six assists. Harrison Barnes put up 16 points (6-12 FG) and six rebounds. Chris Paul had 12 points (4-8 FG) and nine assists while Devin Vassell also scored 12 points (5-13 FG).
The Bucks were led by a big Giannis night as the Greek superstar put up 35 points (13-23 FG), 14 rebounds, and six assists. Damian Lillard was inefficient with 22 points (5-17 FG) and seven assists while a trade-threatened Khris Middleton had 21 points (8-9 FG) off the bench. No other Buck scored in double-digits, showing why the team couldn’t keep up with San Antonio offensively.
Let’s analyze the major takeaways from this clash.
Victor Wembanyama And Giannis Antetokounmpo Were Dominant
This was one of the best star vs. star matchups in the NBA season so far.
Giannis had the better of Wembanyama for the majority of the first half, as Giannis had put up 21 points (8-14 FG) through the first two quarters while Wembanyama had 12 points (3-8 FG). Wemby did have a couple of big plays against Giannis in that stretch, denying the Greek forward at the rim multiple times. The tone of the matchups flipped in the second half, as Wembanyama got going.
The third quarter was decisive and swung the game in favor of San Antonio, with Wemby putting up 14 points (4-8 FG) in the quarter. Giannis did his best to keep Milwaukee in it, scoring 13 (5-8 FG) of the Bucks 30 points in the third.
This matchup is the kind that casual NBA fans could tune into and be thoroughly entertained. Both Giannis and Wembanyama look like supernatural beings with their size and skill set, putting on an absolute show for the fans in this game.
Wembanyama might have edged out the win, but Giannis did everything he could to lead the Bucks tonight.
Red-Hot Shooting Night For The Spurs
The Spurs had their best offensive game of the season on a night where almost everything fell the right way for them. They shot 50-102 as a team from the field with an electric 24-50 from three-point range. They even held their own from the free throw line and went 20-25 to maximize their points-scoring opportunities.
The Bucks just didn’t have their offense singing like the Spurs tonight. Milwaukee could only manage an average showing on offense tonight, going 43-100 (43.0 FG%) from the field while struggling 12-37 from three-point range. They matched the Spurs’ free throw total but attempted 26 of them (76.9 FT%).
It’s almost impossible to beat a team that has such a strong offensive rhythm. The Spurs were in sync the entire night, committing only four turnovers as a whole while generating 38 assists in a phenomenal outing.
Bucks Lost Out On The Margins
The Milwaukee Bucks were outplayed by the San Antonio Spurs in almost every facet of the game tonight. We have already discussed how well the Spurs shot compared to the Bucks, but the story of the game extends to other areas as well.
The Bucks only forced four Spurs turnovers all game while committing 10 of their own. That’s a very low number of turnovers but it still hurt them because San Antonio had the ball on a string.
Rebounding was an issue for Milwaukee when faced with the energetic Spurs, grabbing 47 while San Antonio took 53. It was competitive on that front but the Bucks were marginally behind and paid the price for it. Offensive creativity probably hindered Milwaukee’s success, generating only 24 assists across the team with Giannis and Lillard combining for 13 of them.
They had fewer blocks, steals, points-in-the-paint, fast-break points, and many more stats that simply sunk them on the night.
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