Sunday was a weird day in the NBA. Sundays are always kind of a little kooky. But this Sunday featured the Boston Celtics losing to the Washington Wizards, Lakers fell to the Denver Nuggets, Toronto dropped a game to Minnesota, and the Bucks lost to the Thunder. Things got strange. Milwaukee Bucks did not want to be in Oklahoma City. They wanted to head home and enjoy their families who they haven’t seen in nearly two weeks. The Bucks were mentally not there. And when facing a scrappy Thunder team with a bunch of young guns, that is a recipe for disaster. Milwaukee loses its third straight game. Bucks lost three straight before the pandemic hit last year due to a West Coast trip as well.

What went wrong for the Bucks: They couldn’t shoot to save their soul – Bucks seemed tired in the first half. They only made three 3-pointers while missing 15 of them. It was ugly out there. Milwaukee could not hit water if they fell out of a boat. That would be an indication of tired legs from the road trip, the second game in altitude, the physical desire not to play. Milwaukee figured it out in the second half but could not get enough shots to fall to overpower Oklahoma City.

Bucks’ panic button check: Is this a bad loss for the Bucks? – Yes and no. Yes because the Thunder aren’t very good. Even if they took the Los Angeles Lakers to overtime twice and were leading Denver for most of the game, both of those teams found a way to win. No, because it is the last game of a road trip. Those are always tough to have the energy for. But I will point out the Los Angeles Clippers, a team at the Bucks’ level, dominated the Chicago Bulls on the last night of a long road trip. It is a bit of an excuse. I get the tired legs but to just chalk it up to the last game of a road trip is a little much.

Players of the Game: Giannis Antetokounmpo + Donte DiVencenzo: Good games from both of these guys. Giannis had his fourth triple-double of the year while Donte made five threes plus had eight rebounds. Donte finding his three-point stroke again would be a huge lift for the Bucks. Giannis continues to have a great month of February with another impressive outing.

Next up: Milwaukee heads home finally to play the Toronto Raptors. It doesn’t sound like fans will be in the building on Tuesday night. But Bucks will look for their second win against Toronto this season. As mentioned the Raps had a bad loss against Minnesota last night. They have no bench to speak of right now, and Aron Baynes as their big man doesn’t work against the likes of Giannis. The Bucks match up well with them even if Norman Powell will score 30 each game.

Charlie.