LOS ANGELES - The offensive flow wasn't at the level the Milwaukee Bucks are used to. Their defense was even worse, uncharacteristically over-helping, getting lost in transition and looking stuck in the mud at times.
Playing an early afternoon game in Los Angeles against the Clippers, the Bucks looked like a totally different team from the one that had walloped the defending champion Golden State Warriors just two days earlier.
With all that said, though, the Bucks defied logic all afternoon at Staples Center by finding ways to stay in the game. They even forced overtime when point guard Eric Bledsoe got a shooter's bounce on a tough three-pointer that tied the game with 6.2 seconds left.
The game was again tied in the final seconds of overtime, but that's when Los Angeles' superior execution won the day, with Lou Williams sinking a floater with 0.3 of a second left to down the Bucks, 128-126.
"We were just a step behind all night defensively," said Bucks guard Malcolm Brogdon, who had 23 points. "Just not locked in enough. I think that’s what it comes down to. You've seen us most nights, you saw us two nights ago against the Warriors; we knew we had to be locked in if we were going to have a chance. We came in there, took them serious. I don’t think we came out and took (the Clippers) as serious as we should have tonight.”
BOX SCORE: Clippers 128, Bucks 126 (OT)
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The Bucks had a chance to take the lead in the final minute. They had gotten a stop with about 37 seconds left and decided to go back to the pick-and-roll set with Bledsoe and Giannis Antetokounmpo that had served them well down the stretch, including leading to a pair of alley-oops in overtime.
This time, though, the Clippers defended it well and Bledsoe got caught not sure what to do. He hesitated on a floater, which allowed Clippers rookie Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to come in from behind and block his shot.
As well as Bledsoe, who had 8 of his 16 points in the fourth quarter, finished late with key buckets and assists, plays like this in the pick-and-roll loomed large. Two of his three turnovers – part of a 17-turnover game for the Bucks – came in overtime.
“I’ve got to do a better job of making better reads, especially down the stretch," Bledsoe said. "Knowing when to attack, knowing when to pass – I was a little indecisive. But they did a great job of defending it.”
Coming off that defensive stop, the Clippers put the ball in the hands of Williams, a professional bucket-getter known for his flair for the dramatic. Williams maneuvered through the Bucks defense, curling around Bledsoe and past Pat Connaughton's contest, to put up a tough baseline floater over the outstretched arms of Brook Lopez and Bledsoe that dropped through the net.
After the game, Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer and multiple players used different phrasing but expressed the same feeling – the game shouldn't have come down to that and Milwaukee's defense was to blame.
The Bucks got torn apart inside by Montrezl Harrell, who had 26 points on 9-of-12 shooting along with nine rebounds -- six offensive -- off the bench. Harrell's intensity set in early, as he helped the Clippers build a 15-point lead early in the second quarter.
He wasn't the only one, with Patrick Beverly finding open shots for 21 points, Tobias Harris adding 20 and Gilgeous-Alexander slashing and sneaking away for open three-pointers on the way to 16 points.
"We had a chance to win the game on the road," Antetokounmpo said. "Definitely have to play defense. You don't play defense on the road, you're going to get yourself killed. So, we have to pick it up a little bit."
Though they got down big early, the Bucks showed resilience with a huge second quarter. Lopez kick-started the comeback from 15 points down, hitting 4 three-pointers as part of a 28-9 run over five-plus minutes that momentarily stunned the Clippers and put the Bucks in the lead. Lopez finished with 20 points going 6 of 12 on three-pointers – his only shots from the floor.
During that second quarter, the Bucks scored 40 points while going 8 for 12 from three-point range, and they took a two-point lead into the half.
But outside of that quarter, the Bucks didn't play with the level of crispness they've shown before. Antetokounmpo had 27 points, 18 rebounds and five steals, but the Clippers made him work hard and think constantly about which moves to make. He also couldn't find his rhythm at the free-throw line, going 5 of 11. Khris Middleton struggled throughout, scoring 14 points but committing five turnovers and fouling out after 28 1/2 minutes.
The Bucks shot 8 of 34 (23.5 percent) on three-pointers outside of the second quarter, with that cold streak seemingly deflating them at times and pulling them out of their offensive fundamentals.
"It seemed like we didn't move," Budenholzer said. "Bogged down a little bit. At times, we had good fortune at driving the ball and attacking. Then, at times, the lanes got closed down and we just made one pass and stood. I just don't feel like we moved maybe as much as we should have."
The loss dropped the Bucks to 1-2 on their Western trip, which concludes Sunday night in Denver against the Nuggets, which like the Bucks are off to a 9-3 start. Milwaukee stumbled in Portland to start the trip and successfully rebounded in their next contest at Golden State.
They're hoping they can do that again, even on what is considered to be one of the more difficult back-to-backs in the league.
“We’re playing well right now, so we’re just trying to keep it going," Bledsoe said. "We’ve got a tough one in Denver. We’ve got to close out this road trip.”