They had it. Milwaukee could have gave San Antonio their first road loss of the season. Instead, they fell in heartbreaking fashion, 97-96. Milwaukee played the three of the best four teams in basketball, and they are 1-2 with those losses being by four and one. Bucks belong with the top tier teams from a talent perspective, they just need to finish like a top tier team. Hopefully, this game will make them stronger for the final months of the season.

Player of the Game (Bucks): Jabari Parker – As Giannis Antetokounmpo battled foul trouble, Parker stepped up in the second half. He finished with a team high 23 points on 6-of-14 shooting. Parker did most of his damage at the free throw line making all 10. He also pulled down eight rebounds. Parker did have a couple costly turnovers late, but he’s going to learn in those situations.

(Not) Player of the Game (Bucks): Tony Snell – Rough night for the Snelly Cat. He finished with six points and missed all of his three point attempts for the night. This is the type of game where you need another body to step up. Milwaukee didn’t really have that besides the 10 points, 13 rebound effort by Greg Monroe off the bench.

Player of the Game (Spurs): LaMarcus Aldridge – He’s always been a thorn in Milwaukee’s side, and that continues on Monday night with 18 points, nine rebounds and five assists. Aldridge pulled down the biggest rebound of the night when Kawhi Leonard missed the go-ahead shot, and Aldridge snatched it down. He would get rewarded with the game-winning on a Antetokounmpo goal tend.

Positive: Bucks first half – If you could bottle up that first half and have it every fourth game, that would be great. Bucks were dominant on defense only allowing 35 points and forcing Spurs into double-digit turnovers. San Antonio only scored nine total points in the second quarter. That’s great from Milwaukee. It’s too bad Bucks let them back in this ball game.

Negative: Giannis’ foul trouble – Spurs did a good job of finding Giannis and drawing fouls against him. He picked up two quick ones in the third, and the third happened at the eight minute mark. Milwaukee went a significant stretch without Antetokounmpo. Look for other teams to try and goad Giannis into fouls in the second half.

Next up: Milwaukee stays home and plays host to Portland. These two had a wild game at the Bradley Center last season, and it should be a fun, high-scoring affair on Wednesday.

Charlie.