OKC Thunder: 3 takeaways from Bucks revenge game

OKC Thunder takeaway No. 2)  Dort won the Middleton matchup

Without Jrue Holiday available the spotlight on Khris Middleton grew brighter and he was under a ton of pressure to step up as the beta to GA’s alpha. Although he hasn’t produced to his potential during the losing streak the last two games resulted in a ton of criticism and scrutiny.

Middleton took eight and 13 shots in the two losses to Toronto connecting on four and five for a cumulative 9 of 21 from the field. He scored 11 and 13 points but the more telling stat was the 11 turnovers he made in those two games. Moreover, the Raptors were targeting him repeatedly on defense.

So, it wasn’t surprising that Middleton was much more aggressive versus the Thunder. He was far from efficient (see below) but his plus +10 was a far cry from the minus 19 and minus 16 nights from his previous two games.

Although Luguentz Dort gives up four inches in height he made Middleton work for every shot. This was evidenced by the 18 shots he had to take to get those 20 points.

The move Dort put on the Bucks forward at the end of the third quarter bullying him down low and then spinning to get the lay in was SWEET!

Hamidou Diallo also spent some time on Middleton but Dort spent the majority of the night on him. Any opposing coach would gladly take the 20 points on 18 shots so kudos to Lu for his defensive effort plus the bonus was the 17 points he dropped (a team-high) often with Middleton being the defender.