Other than the eventual defeat, Khris Middleton enjoyed everything about his season debut for the Milwaukee Bucks as he played with Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard for the first time this season.
On Sunday, Middleton and the Bucks turn their sights on the Brooklyn Nets, who they lost to 115-102 during the first week of the season.
Middleton missed the first 21 games following an arduous rehab from offseason surgery on both ankles. He was limited to 55 games last season and appeared in 33 games in 2022-23 because of a wrist injury and knee issues after missing Milwaukee’s final 10 postseason games in 2022 with a knee sprain.
Middleton, a three-time All-Star, scored 11 points in 23 minutes in Friday’s 111-105 road loss to the Boston Celtics. In Milwaukee’s third loss to the Celtics this season, the 33-year-old shot 2 of 10 and missed all six of his attempts in the second half when the Bucks were outscored 58-48.
“We’ll get better,” Milwaukee coach Doc Rivers said. “Khris got great shots he didn’t make. So there’s a lot of good things that came out of the game.”
Said Middleton: “Everybody wants to start and everybody wants to finish games. I didn’t get to start tonight, but I definitely was happy I got to finish the game. Just wish I could have executed a little better. I thought I missed one shot that I normally hit. It was a ball game the whole time up until maybe the last two or three possessions.”
Middleton’s season debut occurred on a night when the Bucks shot 42.6 percent, their third-lowest total this season. Lillard scored 31 and Antetokounmpo finished with 30 but in the fourth quarter, the duo was a combined 4 of 13 when the Bucks were 8 of 24 from the field and outscored 33-23.
The Bucks are coming off consecutive losses for the first time since Nov. 8-10 when they lost to the New York Knicks and Celtics. Before a 15-point loss to the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday and falling short in Boston, the Bucks won seven straight.
Milwaukee’s 115-102 loss in Brooklyn on Oct. 27 was part of a six-game losing streak and a 2-8 start through Nov. 10.
Brooklyn is returning to the floor after an extended break following its 99-90 home win over the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday.
Before beating the Pacers, the Nets lost three straight, including a 23-point home loss to the Orlando Magic on Nov. 29 and a 26-point road loss to the Chicago Bulls on Monday.
Nets coach Jordi Fernandez described the loss at Chicago as “non-competitive” but the Nets regrouped against the Pacers with one of their best defensive showings all season.
Along with allowing under 100 points for the first time this season, Brooklyn’s improved defense allowed a season-best 42.7 percent from the field along with a season-best 24.2 percent from 3-point range (8 of 33).
“Guys across the roster did a great job flying around, pressuring the ball, making it difficult,” Brooklyn’s Cameron Johnson said. “I gotta give credit where credit is due to everybody who stepped up today and holding them to 90 points has been big for us, stepping up on the defensive end. So, it was a really good effort.”
Johnson scored 26 points after missing the loss in Chicago with an ankle injury. Nic Claxton added 16 while Shake Milton contributed 15. Milton also had an alley-oop pass to Ben Simmons for the tiebreaking dunk in Brooklyn’s decisive 10-0 run that turned an 80-80 tie into a 90-80 lead and was part of a game-ending 19-10 run.
