The Bucks made it close in the final minutes, but the winless Pelicans were able to escape Milwaukee with a 112-106 victory over the Bucks, thanks in large part to the 32 points from Anthony Davis.
Jabari Parker led Milwaukee in scoring with 33 points, just three shy of his career high. Giannis Antetokounmpo chipped in with a double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds and Matthew Dellavedova racked up 12 assists.
New Orleans began to pull away late in the fourth quarter, as an Anthony Davis and-1 off an Antetokounmpo foul would stretch the Pelicans lead to 102-91 with 5:52 remaining in the game. Despite being outmatched, Milwaukee refused to go away. A 9-2 run stormed the Bucks to within striking distance, five points of which came from Parker. Tony Snell would make it a four point game with a baseline jumper at the 2:16 mark.
That small run was the first of two times Milwaukee would chip away but would then be denied, as New Orleans went on a 4-2 scoring slope, extending the lead back to four once again. The Bucks would then respond with a Giannis Antetokounmpo and-1 on the other end, making it a three point game.
A stop was then needed by Milwaukee on the other — a stop in which they received. Anthony Davis missed a 7-foot shot and John Henson blocked the follow-up attempt from Terrance Jones. Parker rebounded the ball and a timeout was taken with 24 seconds left.
Out of the timeout, Matthew Dellavedova drove to the hoop and was then fouled, sending him to the line for two free throws with Milwaukee trailing 108-105. He would only convert one out of two attempts, putting the game out of reach, as Anthony Davis would connect on his two charity stripe shots on the other end.
Jason Kidd credited New Orleans’ willingness to come out and take the game from the Bucks.
“We were passive,” said Kidd. “When you play passive in this league, you will find yourself with a loss and that’s what happened tonight.”
The Bucks return to the BMO Harris Bradley Center this Saturday for a meeting with the Western Conference Memphis Grizzlies. Milwaukee then travels to Atlanta to face the Hawks next Wednesday and will follow that up with a matchup with the Miami Heat in South Beach. They will return to Milwaukee on Saturday, Nov. 19 to take on the Golden State Warriors.