The point guard match-up fizzled.  Heck, the game itself had very little sizzle in it.  But what’s most important, is that the Bucks pulled out the win in Minnesota Friday night, 87-72.  Even more important?  For the first time this year the Bucks were not “The Brandon Jennings Show”.  Other people scored!

The Bucks did it with defense and yet another strong third quarter performance.  Hakim Warrick scored 11 of his 12 points as the Bucks won the third quarter 31-14.  Aside from Andrew Bogut, the Bucks had shown little spark before halftime, so Warrick’s strong third was crucial to the Bucks success.  Up 12 heading into the fourth, Luke Ridnour scored nine points to keep the Bucks in control for the entire fourth quarter.

While it’s encouraging that the Bucks put some room between themselves and the true bottom feeders of the NBA by picking up the win, it’s still concerning that they’ve yet to put anything close to a full game together.  Against the Pistons they used a similar strong third quarter to set themselves up for a win after a poor start.  In Chicago, the Bucks came out hot and had an 18 point lead early in the third quarter before wilting down the stretch and blowing a great opportunity.  If the Bucks hope to battle for that eighth seed this season, they’ll need to string together four quarters at a time rather than just one or two.  Against Minnesota, two quarters will do.  Against the Bulls or the Heat or the Hawks?  It’s not the recipe for success. Read More »