It was indeed a big sigh of relief in the Dear District.
The Milwaukee Bucks finally claimed their first win in nearly two weeks, while the San Antonio Spurs nabbed a victory for the first time since head coach Gregg Popovich took a indefinite leave of absence due to health concerns.
Anthony Edwards, meanwhile, put on a show in Chicago to anchor a gutsy Minnesota Timberwolves comeback over the Bulls.
GIANNIS, DAME DROP 30-PIECE EACH IN MUCH-NEEDED BUCKS WIN
- Milwaukee Bucks (2-6) def. Utah Jazz (1-7), 123-100: At long last, the Bucks returned to the winning column since their season-opening win against the Philadelphia 76ers behind a 23-point rout of the Jazz.
- Seeing 30-30: Giannis Antetokounmpo tallied his fourth straight 30-point game, finishing with 31 markers alongside 16 rebounds.
Lillard, meanwhile, topscored the Bucks with 34 markers—his fifth 30-point game of the season—on top of seven assists, four assists, and four threes.
GIANNIS LIFTOFF ??
— NBA (@NBA) November 8, 2024
Dame's steal leads to Giannis' lob dunk on NBA League Pass!
📲 https://t.co/3DF8pLLsmj pic.twitter.com/LLAOItc4jN
Milwaukee shot 51% from the field, hit 15 triples and capitalized on the Jazz’s 22 turnovers and converted to 26 points.
- Jackson In, Trent Out: Head coach Doc Rivers made a lineup tweak and started second-year man Andre Jackson Jr. in favor of the struggling Gary Trent Jr.
Trent struggled mightily in his first season with the Bucks, averaging just eight points on just 29% from the field including 23% from downtown.
Jackson played 28 minutes and finished with seven points, three rebounds, four assists, and four steals.
BUCKS TEAM DEFENSE 🔒
Brook Lopez block in transition.
Andre Jackson Jr. block on the OREB.
UTA-MIL | NBA League Pass📲 https://t.co/a40I9T4N07 pic.twitter.com/XZqFD9ONSt
— NBA (@NBA) November 8, 2024
- The only exception?: Since 1970, 150 NBA teams have stumbled to a 1-6 start or worse.
Only 12 of those teams made the playoffs, five of which did so with a losing record. In fact, no team has won the championship after starting a season 1-6.
Can the Bucks flip the script and overcome history?
ANT MAN LEADS WOLVES RALLY IN WINDY CITY, AS SPURS SNAP OUT OF A TWO-GAME SKID
- Minnesota Timberwolves (5-3) def. Chicago Bulls (3-6), 135-119: Anthony Edwards led a rampaging Timberwolves finish to add to the Bulls’ woes in Chicago.
[ALSO READ: Anthony Edwards fuels big Timberwolves fourth quarter in 16-point beatdown of Bulls]
- Showman Ant: Edwards scored 10 of his 33 points in the final frame, helping the squad overturn a 13-point deficit into a 16-point win.
Julius Randle added 22 markers while Rudy Gobert contributed 21.
The Bulls led the Timberwolves, 106-101, with just under 8:43 to go in the fourth before Minnesota closed the game on a 34-14 run to blow the Bulls out on their home floor.
- Long time coming: Edwards now tallied 20 or more points, and drilled three or more threes in all eight of Minnesota’s games so far.
His 41 treys just ranked third to Stephen Curry’s 48 (2018-19) and 47 (2023-24) threes made through the first eight games of the season.
It was also Edwards’s first win against the Bulls since 2022 after losing in their last three encounters.
Ant tonight:
— StatMuse (@statmuse) November 8, 2024
33 PTS
8 REB
6 AST
His first win against Chicago since 2022. pic.twitter.com/8rkuBYBVhb
- Edwards on the Timberwolves’ defense early this season: “We got to be better at the jump. Once we get there, we’re gonna win some games."
Asked Anthony Edwards how he would assess the Wolves defense thus far this season.
— Dane Moore (@DaneMooreNBA) November 8, 2024
- San Antonio Spurs (4-5) def. Portland Trail Blazers (3-6), 118-105: Eight players scored in double digits in a well-balanced Spurs outing against the Trail Blazers.
- Teamwork makes the dream work: Led by Keldon Johnson and Malaki Branham’s 17 markers, six other Spur scored 10 points or more in a team effort home victory.
San Antonio fired 16 threes and dished out 35 assists, both season-highs, to snap out of a two-game skid.
Imagine being 7'3" and drilling 3s off screens?
— NBA (@NBA) November 8, 2024
Oh what it must be like, @wemby! 🤩
- Interim head coach Mitch Johnson on Gregg Popovich’s health status: “He’s doing good.”
Update on coach Gregg Popovich? Will he be back this season? Interim coach Mitch Johnson says he talks to him and he's “doing good," but he doesn’t know any other details.
— SpursR?PORT (@SpursReporter) November 7, 2024
