The undermanned Milwaukee Bucks were thrashed by the Portland Trail Blazers 130-99, losing the rebounding battle handily. The Bucks just seemed so small and talent-deficient, plus their defence was woeful (especially in the first quarter). That said, the one silver lining was Ryan Rollins, who notched a new career high. Read our full summary of the game here and catch a six-minute audio recap on the Bucks+ podcast, Bucks In Six Minutes, below.

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Player GradesRyan Rollins

31 minutes, 36 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, 5 turnovers, 13/26 FG, 6/12 3P, -6

After starting the game 2/10, Rollins went 11/16 the rest of the way, showing the same mental resilience that has held him in good stead all year. Ryan scored proficiently at all three levels. His third quarter was his best, going 7/11 and 3/5 from three (with two of those threes being tough ones taken off the dribble). Also good to have this game against fellow MIP candidate Deni Avdija.

Grade: A

AJ Green

33 minutes, 5 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists, 2/8 FG, 1/5 3P, -30

Didn’t shoot the ball the way he wanted to, but impacted in other ways. Had a nice pick-and-roll with Jericho in which he wiped Jrue out, made Clingan commit, and quickly hit Sims for the jam. Need more of that in the final stretch from AJ.

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Grade: B

Ousmane Dieng

26 minutes, 16 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 4 turnovers, 7/17 FG, 2/6 3P, -28

Wasn’t as efficient as he would’ve liked, but had some great pick-and-roll reps with Sims in which he came off, the defender went under the screen, and Sims re-screened for Dieng to get downhill. Still, I want him to attack the hoop more and take fewer mid-range jump shots. Also needs to be more attentive off the ball; got burned by Henderson on a back-cut.

Grade: B+

Pete Nance

31 minutes, 6 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 2/6 FG, 1/5 3P, -19

Wasn’t bad, but wasn’t great either. Needs to shoot better from three, but I have confidence he will.

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Grade: C

Jericho Sims

29 minutes, 12 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, 5/5 FG, -21

It was a solid game from Jericho, who was back to his usual best in terms of keeping dudes in front of him. Even had a nifty half-spin into the hook shot against Donovan Clingan. That said, he was unable to do much with Clingan on the boards; after all, Sims is still “only” 6’10” compared to the 7’2” Clingan.

Grade: B

Taurean Prince

29 minutes, 13 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 4/11 FG, 3/8 3P, -1

For the most part, I liked TP’s game. For a player who naturally looks worse in games like these, I thought he put his best foot forward as far as his effort and attention to detail go. Even had a nice pull-up three in transition Jevon Carter-style (if you know, you know). That said, he did have one play in defensive transition where he let Scoot go right past him as he reached for the ball.

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Grade: B-

Gary Trent Jr.

19 minutes, 0 points, 0/7 FG, 0/4 3P, -21

Yeah, Gary needs to make shots to have an impact. He did have a nice hockey assist, though.

Grade: D

Andre Jackson Jr.

21 minutes, 8 points, 3 rebounds, 4 steals, 2/5 FG, 1/3 3P, -10

Had a nice cut to the hoop in the fourth, as well as a confident top-of-the-arc three in the first. Made an impact on defence too, albeit against garbage-time lineups. Got in a scuffle for good measure, LOL.

Grade: B+

Doc Rivers

I know I sound like a broken record, but there was even less for Doc to work with in this one. That said, the defensive intensity was woeful in the first quarter, and I think the coach should’ve had the team better prepared from a mental standpoint. Giving up 42 points in one quarter simply isn’t good enough, no matter who’s out there.

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Grade: C-

Garbage Time: Thanasis Antetokounmpo, Cormac Ryan

Inactive: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Gary Harris, Bobby Portis, Kyle Kuzma, Kevin Porter Jr., Alex Antetokounmpo

Bonus Bucks Bits

Taurean Prince on Rollins’ career night:

“Credit to him. He puts in a lot of work… Whether it’s a practice day or shootaraound, he’s always one of the guys working, so not a surprise to me. It’s good to see his growth through different coverages and different things that are thrown out. To be able to do that, it’s impressive.“

The Bucks actually attempted nine more shots than the Blazers did (89-80), but that was partly because so many of their shots went in. They shot 52.5% while the Bucks shot 40.4%.

For the season, the Blazers rank 29th in three-point percentage (34.1%). Last night, they shot 46.3%. Sure, a good portion of that is Milwaukee’s defence, but some is also just luck.

Ryan could have gotten 40 if Doc had left him in. I mean, he was subbed out with 4:29 to go after he got his career high, but he’d only played 31 minutes. I get that he’s played a fair bit recently, but still.

Jrue shot 4/5 from three. Man, wouldn’t that have been nice in the playoffs when he was on the Bucks?

I was surprised Doc could only get Cormac Ryan 4:29 at the end of the game. The result was decided long before that.

Thanasis getting first-quarter minutes legitimately spun me for a loop. When’s the last time that happened?

Up Next

The Bucks now get a few days off before they are back in action at home on Saturday afternoon against the San Antonio Spurs for the front end of a back-to-back. Catch the game at 2:00 p.m. CDT on Prime Video.