Milwaukee Bucks hit 26 three-pointers to win 16th straight game, 139-117, over Orlando Magic

The Milwaukee Bucks won their 16^th consecutive game Wednesday night, beating the Orlando Magic, 139-117, at Fiserv Forum. It is tied for the third-longest streak in franchise history, matching a run by the 1970-71 team.

The team record is 20 straight wins, also set in the 1970-71 season. The Bucks improved to 45-17 overall and 27-5 at home. The Magic dropped to 26-37.

In continuing the streak, which is the longest in the NBA this season, six players scored in double figures before the starters were pulled with just under five minutes to go in regulation. Giannis Antetokounmpo had 31 points, seven rebounds and six assists while Jrue Holiday had 23 points and nine assists.

BOX SCORE: Bucks 139, Magic 117

Brook Lopez (18), Grayson Allen (12) and Pat Connaughton (10) rounded out the starting lineup. Joe Ingles added 16 off the bench. Rookie AJ Green finished with 12 as he hit a couple of three-pointers late off the bench.

“It’s like a machine," said Jae Crowder, who joined the team 10 wins into the streak. "It’s like everyone moving as one. It’s like you can feel it, you can see it, even when I didn’t play you can see everyone is moving as one, on the same page, and I just think that’s what’s big when it comes to a winning streak.

"The team feels like a machine, everyone is playing the right way, and they’re playing purposeful basketball, and everyone is moving accordingly, moving as one. So, it’s good to be a part of.”

Bucks challenge NBA record for made three-pointers

Throughout the season, opposing head coaches have noted that the Bucks are putting up a high volume of threes – and they entered Wednesday night as the No. 4 team in the league in three-pointers made (14.4) and attempted (40.1) per game. But, they were just 14^th in percentage (35.9%).

They surpassed those totals through three quarters, having gone 20 for 41 (48.7%) in taking a 108-96 lead.

It also gave them an outside shot at challenging their own NBA record of 29 made triples, which they set against the Miami Heat on Dec. 29, 2020. D.J. Wilson tied the old record of 27 and Sam Merrill hit the record-breaker.

The Bucks gave it a run in attempting 15 more in the fourth quarter, but they made just six. It was still good enough to set a season-high, however. Their previous best was 23 made threes at Detroit on Jan. 23.

In that game in Miami – which was in an empty gym due to COVID-19 restrictions on public gatherings – many of the players and head coach Mike Budenholzer had no idea they were on the verge of history, but Brook Lopez did. That was not the case Wednesday.

“I didn’t know tonight, I had no idea tonight,” Lopez said.

Antetokounmpo said he wasn't aware they were close to the record either, but he noticed the crowd getting more into each three attempt late in the game.

“No clue, no clue, until we got in here," Crowder added.

When told they came up four short of a new record, his eyes got wide.

"Wow!" he added. "Man, I would’ve started shooting for real! Man! I would’ve tried to go for it!”

Holiday, Lopez, Connaughton, Khris Middleton, Thanasis and Giannis Antetokounmpo all played in that game against the Heat – and Giannis Antetokounmpo was the only Bucks player to not make one. On Wednesday, he was 3 for 4 from deep and he was one of six players to make at least 3 three-pointers. MarJon Beauchamp was the only Bucks player to attempt at least one three-pointer.

"Today I had three, so I got better," Giannis said with a smile.

Magic keeps the Bucks on edge

After a 9-20 start to their season, the Magic came into Wednesday night’s game 17-16 since mid-December. Led by rookie of the year favorite Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner, the team put together by former Bucks executives Jeff Weltman and John Hammond and coached by Milwaukee native Jamahl Mosley had begun to find an identity.

Mosley said they committed to protecting the rim, taking charges on defense – and that toughness showed after falling behind 15-5 in the opening minutes of the game. Rather than packing it in, the Magic clawed its way back to trail 31-29 after one.

Then, Wagner and Cole Anthony combined to score 21 points in the opening five minutes of the second quarter to give the Magic a 50-46 lead.

We were trading baskets, I think in the first half we were fouling a lot, we talked about that at halftime," Crowder said. "I just think it was a good momentum going into it, we just came in, made a few adjustments, tried to foul less and catch their drives. They were driving us pretty good. It was good to just know we can get control of a game at any point.”

Their play seemingly shook the Bucks awake, as they went on to outscore the Magic, 30-15, the rest of the way in the first half. From there, Milwaukee kept Orlando at arm’s length before finally pulling away, but the Magic’s play early on showed why they had snapped a seven-game winning streak by Philadelphia and a nine-game win streak by Boston.

“Their guard play tonight between (Markelle) Fultz and Cole Anthony, they were a handful," Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer said. "They were attacking, attacking, their transition game, the way they played with pace, they just kept bringing it back at us. I thought those two guys at the point guard, they shared the court a lot of minutes, they were good. Wendell Carter chipping in different places and Franz Wagner is somebody that’s done a lot against us. They got a good team, a lot of good young players. I think coach Mosley is doing a great job with them. They kept coming at us.”

Five numbers

1 First quarter points for Banchero on 0-for-4 shooting in 10 minutes. The No.1 pick came into the game averaging 19.9 points per game. He scored 20 points against the Bucks in their first meeting on Dec. 5, but as Mosley noted before the game, Lopez did not play in that game for Milwaukee. Banchero scored just nine for the game.

7-1 The Bucks’ record in the second game of back-to-backs.

8-10 Giannis Antetokounmpo’s best performance from the free throw line with at least 10 attempts since going 15 for 16 on Jan. 3.

39 Days since the Bucks last lost (Jan. 21).

45 Second quarter points by the Bucks, a season high. Their previous high in a second quarter was 40, set against Indiana on Jan. 27. The Bucks made 10 three-pointers in the frame.

A Twitter List by journalsentinel

Khris Middleton sits for Bucks

Middleton, who missed his 42nd game of the season, has yet to play a back-to-back. When he first returned from offseason wrist surgery he was held out of the Dec. 3 game in Charlotte following his season debut on Dec. 2. After coming back from right knee soreness, he was held out of the Feb. 10 game against the Los Angeles Clippers a night after playing the Lakers.

It initially appeared Middleton might be available as he wasn't on the club's first injury report of the afternoon but Budenholzer said before the game that appeared to be a miscommunication.

"He's not going to play back-to-back yet, so, I think we just needed to kind of have full communication and make sure we're all on the same page," he said.

As for next steps for Middleton, who has yet to play more than 25 minutes, 29 seconds since his return to action on Jan. 23, Budenholzer said it's about incrementally increasing those minutes and not so much playing back-to-back or even starting.

"We're very pleased with how he's going, the progress, the attention to detail from the medical group, from everybody has been good," Budenholzer said. "So he still has a ways to go."

Ingles missed the first 29 games of the season as he recovered from knee surgery, and he was held out of one of the two games in previous back-to-backs.

Meyers Leonard focusing on the moment as end of contract nears

Wednesday night’s game marked the one-week mark since the Bucks officially signed center Meyers Leonard to a 10-day contract, which means he is on the clock quite literally.

The 31-year-old has played in all four games he’s been on the team for, which have been his first action since shoulder and ankle injuries and subsequent surgeries prevented him from playing since Jan. 9, 2021.

It’s helped him not think about the impending end of his contract – or what may or may not happen afterward.

“Having a kid changes perspective, and being out of the league man, I’m happy every time I walk in these doors, man,” he told the Journal Sentinel. “And I always was, I just feel more steady I guess. I don’t have to kind of ride the highs and really fall down some lows.”

The 10-day contract is new for Leonard, because since being the 11^th pick in the 2012 draft by Portland, he has only ever been under long-term, guaranteed deals. He said being out of the league and dealing with potentially career-ending nerve damage in his right ankle – along with the fact he’s tried to immerse himself in the Bucks’ offensive and defensive systems – has helped him stay focused.

“No question,” he said. “Every night I call my wife, check in, get a FaceTime with her and my son, she’s like how are you feeling? And I’m like I’m truly just staying in the moment because I’ve been fortunate enough just to play nine years period. And to be back in a locker room – old Meyers, I don’t know – I would have been extremely excited but then like really worried. I’m just trying to stay right there in the moment.”

Play of the game is Giannis' no-look pass to Jae Crowder

The Bucks built an early 10-point lead but the Magic not only erased that deficit but took a brief lead itself. Holiday put his stamp on the game in the latter half of the second quarter to turn the tide back to the Bucks, and then Crowder put an exclamation point on it off a no-look pass from Antetokounmpo that resulted in a corner three-pointer and a 72-62 lead, which essentially set the Bucks back on their way. Milwaukee took a 76-66 lead into the break

Video of the game is Jrue Holiday's left-hand slam

With 8:35 to go in the third quarter, Holiday maneuvered his way up the court and then burst into the lane and threw down a strong one-handed dunk to give the Bucks a 86-70 lead.

Who do the Bucks play next?

The team gets a few days off and will host the Philadelphia 76ers and MVP candidate Joel Embiid at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Fiserv Forum. Heading into Wednesday's action, the 76ers are four games behind the Bucks in the loss column for the top seed in the Eastern Conference. Philadelphia, coached by Marquette alumnus Doc Rivers, has played well behind the combination of Embiid and James Harden.

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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: The Bucks hit a season-high 26 threes as they win 16th in a row