Is it fair to say Milwaukee is a second-half team? I know they have a very good NET Rating in the first quarter, but I truly believe the third quarter is the one for the Milwaukee Bucks. I’ve seen it so many times. Game is close at halftime then Milwaukee comes out with an adjustment or two and dominates everyone in their path. It happened again last night. Milwaukee trailed by two points heading into the third quarter. Things looked a bit bleak as Milwaukee struggled to get shots up. But they went on a run in third quarter with open looks and great defense. Milwaukee dominated the second half and won 108-97.

Player of the Game: Khris Middleton – He got off to a rough start, but Midds came through yet again. He went for 22 points, eight rebounds, and three assists. Middleton made seven of his 14 shots and always seemed to be the guy hitting the big shot for Milwaukee. Middleton is a different player against Toronto when he’s not having to deal with Kawhi Leonard on defense. If anything, this Middleton performance should scare Toronto.

Honorable Mention: Giannis Antetokounmpo – Even though Giannis did not get 20 points, he did everything else in this game. He had 19 rebounds. He also added eight assists. And most importantly, Giannis played 38 minutes. For the first time this season, they let Giannis go past the 32 minute mark. It was smart by Budenholzer considering the lack of fresh legs. Another notable moment from this game was Giannis hitting a corner three to seal the game for Milwaukee. We haven’t seen many corner threes from the Greek Freak so that’s a big step moving forward.

The Thing I Liked: Marvin Williams’ bench contributions – What a game for Marvin Williams. He scored nine points making three 3-pointers and played an active role on defense. He had a breakout game tonight and showed why Milwaukee needed to upgrade over Ersan Ilyasova. Ersan did not play in this one. And it’s clear that Williams has his spot for a long time to come.

The Thing I Didn’t Like: Kyle Lowry… That’s it. Kyle Lowry.

Next up: Milwaukee heads home to face off against the Oklahoma City Thunder. Bucks-Thunder will meet for the first time this season. Giannis taking on Steven Adams is always a fun sight. Shai Gilgious-Alexander versus Khris Middleton will be a good one too.

Charlie.