LOS ANGELES – The odds of the Clippers beating the Milwaukee Bucks on Sunday without two of their All-Stars were slim, if any. No Kawhi Leonard. No Paul George, and no Russell Westbrook for that matter.
And the chances were even lower considering Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard were healthy and playing like superstars.
But the Clippers did have James Harden and Ivica Zubac.
And P.J. Tucker.
While Tucker, who has spent most of the season on the bench, and the other fill-ins put up a fight, it wasn’t enough to combat the Bucks’ top duo.
Antetokounmpo and Lillard combined for 69 points to lead the Bucks to their second victory against the Clippers in a week, this time winning 124-117 at Crypto.com Arena.
The two Milwaukee All-Stars broke open a close game, accounting for all but two of the Bucks’ points inside the final three minutes that all but put aside any thought of a victory for the Clippers (41-22).
Antetokounmpo finished with 34 points, seven rebounds and 10 assists, while Lillard had a game-high 35 points, seven rebounds and 11 assists.
The Clippers were led by Norman Powell’s season-high 26 points and Zubac’s 18 points and six rebounds. Terance Mann and Amir Coffey both finished with 16 points, while Harden posted 13 points and 11 assists.
With Leonard and George sitting out the game, Tucker got his first start – and the most minutes – of the season. He finished with seven points, six rebounds and two assists in 25 minutes.
Tucker was a semi-logical choice to start in place of Leonard given his history with Antetokounmpo. The two were teammates on the Bucks’ 2021 NBA championship team. After one season in Milwaukee, Tucker signed with the Miami Heat.
This season, he joined the Clippers as part of the trade with the Philadelphia 76ers that brought James Harden to Los Angeles. But shortly after arriving he was relegated to the bench and ultimately demanded a trade until recently when Lue began inserting him into the lineup.
On Sunday, he started and scored his first basket since Nov. 14, 2023, when he put up a layup that gave the Clippers a 27-26 lead early in the opening quarter. In the following quarter, he buried a 3-pointer.
The Clippers, who have focused lately on improving their transition defense, held the Bucks to just four fast-break points in the first half. Their defense broke down in the third quarter as the Bucks scored 10 fastbreak points over the first eight minutes, giving the Bucks an 85-80 lead.
The Bucks continued to push the Clippers as they stretched their lead to seven, 90-83 late in the third. Brandon Boston Jr. then dunked on Antetokounmpo, earning a technical foul for celebrating the shot. The Bucks Malik Beasley made the foul shot, and the Bucks took a 91-85 lead into the fourth.
The Bucks continued to pressure the Clippers and added to their lead with a quick basket to start the fourth. The Clippers, however, tied the game on Tucker’s layup at the 10:02 mark, capping a 5-0 run.
The Bucks regained a five-point lead, 103-98, when Antetokounmpo went around Zubac for a layup, followed by Lillard’s fifth 3-pointer. The Bucks guard had four 3’s in the first half.
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The Clippers ended a tight first half with a flourish, outscoring the Bucks 9-3 in the final two minutes for a 62-59 lead.
While Leonard and George sat, others picked up the load. Amir Coffey, Zubac and Harden all were in double figures before halftime, giving the Clippers a boost heading into the second half.
Lue said before the game that the Clippers couldn’t allow the Bucks to get to the line as freely as they did when the teams met a week ago when Milwaukee made 28 trips to the line and made 24 of their foul shots.
The Bucks still got to the line 27 times, but made just 21, missing 3 of 6 down the stretch in the first half. They outscored the Clippers 21-9 at the free-throw line.