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The Phoenix Suns start their three game road trip on the wrong foot, losing 129-108 to the Milwaukee Bucks. The short handed Suns were simply outclassed by the Bucks who were able to dominate from start to finish.
The Bucks success once again comes from their transcendent star, Giannis Antetokounmpo. Giannis put up a team high 30 points off 10-21 shooting, 19 rebounds and nine assists off 31 minutes of play. He was a sensational force that the Suns didn’t have an answer for. Giannis wasn’t the only one who showed up as Khris Middleton scored 25 points for the Bucks while getting eight boards and six assists.
This was basically the night for the Suns as the Bucks’ big men were able to beat them on the glass (61 to 50 rebounds) and spread the ball better (30 to 20 assists) than the Suns. Once down, the Bucks gave the Suns no chance to come back, leading by as much as 23 at one point. The Bucks look to be as good as any team in the NBA right now heading to the All-Star Break.
The Suns have had quite the tough weekend with the another loss on their board, falling to 20-29. Devin Booker once again showed up for the Suns, putting up 32 points on 9-15 shooting and wrestling down seven rebounds and six assists. He has been a beast but that didn’t stop the Milwaukee fans from having their fun at the expense of Booker, chanting empty stats and zero time all star while he was at the line.
The Suns other starters had a tough night shooting-wise as Kelly Oubre Jr. and Deandre Ayton combined for 35 points yet shot 15-47 on the night. With them shooting so poorly, it’s curious why Booker wasn’t asked to do more with the hot hand. The lack of assists in the offense comes from Ricky Rubio missing the game, costing the Suns their best playmaker and forcing Elie Okobo into the starting lineup. It was a recipe for a bad performance from a team that can’t afford to lose games this late into the season.
At 20-29, the Suns are getting left further behind the rest of the West as they chase for that eight seed. The Suns head to Brooklyn to face the Nets tomorrow at 5:30 PM Phoenix Time.