Bucks looking for better balance against Nets

In their first two games of the new season, the Milwaukee Bucks scored nearly identical points while getting strong performances from stars Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard.

The differences between their season-opening road win over the Philadelphia 76ers and their home opener loss to the Chicago Bulls occurred in other ways, forcing the Bucks to bounce back from their first loss when they visited the winless Brooklyn Nets on Sunday. .

Milwaukee opened its first full season under coach Doc Rivers by getting a combined 55 points from Lillard and Antetokounmpo in a 124-109 win over Philadelphia. In Game 1, six Bucks players scored in double figures, shot 53.8 percent, made 16 shots from 3-point range and missed 41.8 percent of their shots against a team missing stars Joel Embiid and Paul George.

Lillard and Antetokounmpo combined for 66 points on Friday, but the Bucks absorbed a 133-122 loss to the Bulls after struggling in the second half. Milwaukee trailed 70-58 after the break as Lillard and Antetokounmpo combined for 34 points.

The Bucks shot 49.5% for the game and Antetokounmpo and Lillard combined to shoot 26 of 44 (59.1%), but both players struggled in one key area. Antetokounmpo was 8 of 16 at the free throw line and 17 of 32 (53.1 percent), while Lillard shot 3 of 12 from 3-point range Friday after making six goals in his season opener.

“It’s fun,” Bucks head coach Doc Rivers said after the Bulls made 21 3-pointers. “We scored 122 goals and shot almost 50 percent, and we didn’t play offensively the way we should. I thought a lot of it leaked out the other end. This was not the same ball moving team you saw last night (in Philadelphia). I think the leak goes both ways.”

Lillard said: “I think we didn’t stick to the script and had complete trust in what we were doing. I think we had those moments, but I think we just moved away from what we did in the last game. It’s early and you just have to keep building those habits even if things aren’t going well.”

The Nets return for Jordi Fernandez’s home coaching debut, trying to avoid an 0-3 start after losing the first seven games of the 2015-16 season.

Brooklyn hopes to avoid repeating too many turnovers and fouls like they did in their two losses in Atlanta and Orlando.

The Nets opened with a 120-116 loss at Atlanta on Wednesday, when they committed 19 turnovers and 32 fouls, and then had 19 turnovers and 31 fouls in Friday’s 116-101 loss to Orlando, when they lost 53-36 in the final 17-plus game. minutes.

As a result of the fouls, the Nets made 56 free throws on 79 attempts and turnovers led to 42 points.

I think you have to get used to playing at this level of fitness and pace,” Fernandez said. “Once we get to that point, (that is) when you don’t make as many mistakes because you’re tired and so on.” .

The Nets’ Cam Thomas scored 24 points Friday after scoring 36 points in the season opener. Dennis Schroder added 20 points against the Magic, but Ben Simmons committed five fouls for the second straight game and now has 10 turnovers.

Milwaukee has won the last five meetings and is 9-2 in its last 11 regular-season meetings since winning Game 7 of the second round in overtime against Brooklyn in the 2021 playoffs.