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There was no Tyler Herro Tuesday night for the Milwaukee Bucks against the New York Knicks, and as the team's leading scorer, it was clear that his presence was extremely needed, as the Bucks fell 117-85.
Once again Milwaukee dug itself into a hole with poor shooting in the first half, and couldn't climb out for the rest of the game. It's the first game of a back-to-back as they well return home Wednesday night to play the Los Angeles Lakers.
Here are the takeaways from the game:
The Bucks were already near the bottom of the league in points per game (No. 25) and offensive rating (No. 27) with Herro on the court, so when he's not able to go against a physical and tenacious defense like the Knicks, expectations are going to be near the bottom.
Milwaukee recorded its season-low in first-half points, scoring only 34, as no Bucks player was in double digits and rookie Nate Ament led the team with seven points at the break. The Bucks couldn't buy a bucket in the first half shooting 13-for-42 (31%) from the field and 8-for-23 (34.8%) from the 3-point line which, put themselves in a large deficit.
Milwaukee shot 30-for-79 (38%) from the field and finished the game with the lowest score of the young season, as Jaime Jaquez Jr. was the only player to score more than 15 points.
It's not just the scoring that makes Herro such a dangerous player offensively, but also his playmaking and ability to get his teammates involved. He's tied for the team's leader in assists with 4.3 per game, and by attracting a lot of attention on offense, it creates opportunities for the rest of his team.
Multiple players were going to have to step up if Milwaukee wanted to pull of an upset without its leading scorer, but unfortunately didn't have the fire power to compete with New York.
The Bucks are one of, if not, the worst opponent rebounding team in the league. They are tied with the Chicago Bulls for last in opponent offensive rebounds per game (14.7) and allow the second-most opponent rebounds per game (47.9).
Despite being the No. 6 team in the NBA for total rebounds, they cannot limit opposing teams on the glass. It was another example on Tuesday as the Knicks dominated the boards and finished the game with 70 total rebounds to Milwaukee's 34.
Eighteen of them came from the offensive glass which not only limits possessions for Milwaukee, but also grants New York second chance opportunities. The Knicks also had 11 second-chance points to the Bucks' four as it once again they out-rebounded by a wide margin.
On a night where the Bucks desperately needed Herro's offensive talents, the bench unit showed promise in the loss. Milwaukee had 44 bench points as Kasparas Jakučionis led the way with 11 points.
Six different players got in the score column for the Bucks, and before head coach Taylor Jenkins decided to officially pull his starters from the game around the 6:30 mark in the fourth quarter, they had 35 points.
Ament finished the game with 10 points on 4-for-8 (50%) shooting from the field and 2-for-5 (40%) from the 3-point line. It's now back-to-back games where he scored double-digit points while shooting at least 50% from the field and 40% from the 3-point line.
There hasn't been much to cheer about, but it's a positive to see the bench gain some sort of momentum, with Ament showing consistency.