Milwaukee Bucks vs Phoenix Suns Match Player Stats On Nov 22, 2017

The Sports Xchange
Nov 23, 2017

PHOENIX -- Kris Middleton scored 40 points and the Milwaukee Bucks overcame a 30-foot Devin Booker buzzer-beater to force overtime and outlasted the Phoenix Suns 113-107 on Wednesday.

Eric Bledsoe, traded to Milwaukee by the Suns on Nov. 7 after tweeting that he didn't want to be in Phoenix, added 30 points and seven assists and seven turnovers in his return as the Bucks (9-8) overcame the absence of star Giannis Antetokounmpo (knee) to beat the Suns for the fifth straight time and the third straight in Phoenix after losing here 24 straight times.

Devin Booker scored 23 points and tied the game at 105 with his shot near Bucks bench as time expired. Greg Monroe, obtained by Phoenix in the Bledsoe deal, scored a season-high 22 points but the Suns (7-12) committed a season-high 29 turnovers including four in overtime.

The Bucks blew a nine-point lead in the fourth quarter but Thon Maker tied the game at 99 on his third basket of the quarter with 1:11 left and Middleton followed with a 3-pointer to make it 102-99 Bucks with 42.3 seconds left.

But with his team up by four, Maker fouled Tyler Ulis on a 3-point shot with 5.5 seconds left to give Phoenix life. Ulis made all three free throws and after Bledsoe made two for Milwaukee, Booker had just enough time to beat the horn and the teams played on.

DeAndre Liggins' only basket of the game put the Suns up 109-107 with 1:28 left and the Suns never scored again.

With Antetokounmpo out of the lineup, the Bucks leaned on Middleton from the start. He had 13 of Milwaukee's first 26 points. Milwaukee ended the quarter with five straight points and Tony Snell's 3-pointer with 8.2 seconds left gave the Bucks a 32-22 lead.

Bledsoe had the hot hand in the second quarter, collecting 10 of the 21 Buck points and four rebounds. His 18-foot, pull-up jumper with 8:04 left gave Milwaukee their biggest lead of the half a 38-25 with 8:04 left. His free throw with 4.6 seconds left gave him 17 points and the Bucks a 54-44 halftime lead.

Milwaukee's lead reached 15 before Dragan Bender capped a 22-7 run with back-to-back 3-pointers, with the second one giving Phoenix a 70-69 lead with 4:02 left. But the Bucks closed the quarter with a 15-5 answer, with Middleton scoring six and feeding Malcom Brogdon for a 3-pointer seven seconds left to restore Milwaukee's lead to nine.

NOTES: Phoenix C Tyson Chandler returned after missing three games (illness). He replaced Greg Monroe, who started the past two games after coming from the Milwaukee Bucks on Nov. 7 in the Eric Bledsoe deal. ... Bucks coach Jason Kidd said F Giannis Antetokounmpo's knee issues could result in fewer minutes down the road. "It's something that I had talked about, that his minutes have been a little high early on and we've got to look at our bench." ... With Antetokounmpo out, Kidd started a small lineup with G Malcolm Brogdon joining Gary Payton II and Bledsoe. ... Suns interim coach Jay Triano on Bledsoe's return to Phoenix: "Fans build this as something more than the players ever do. Players think of it as one of 82 (games) and it's against a guy we used to play with and that's OK."