MILWAUKEE --- The San Antonio Spurs trounced the Milwaukee Bucks, 123-98, on Monday night in front of 14,178 fans at the BMO Harris Bradley Center.
Kawhi Leonard sank 9-of-12 shots to lead the visiting Spurs with 24 points while rookie Jonathan Simmons made quite an impression with 18 points on 6-for-7 shooting from the field. LaMarcus Alderidge and Tim Duncan combined for 30 points and 21 rebounds for San Antonio, which extended their win streak to five games.
Khris Middleton and Michael Carter-Williams led Milwaukee with19 and 16 points, respectively. Greg Monroe added added 15 points and eight rebounds while Jabari Parker pitched in 14 markers and eight boards for the Bucks, who fell to a disappointing 14-22 record, 13th place in the Eastern Conference.
With Parker and ?The Greek Freak? Giannis Antetokounmpo playing aggressively on offense, the Bucks sprinted to a 15-9 start. An alley-oops from Michael Carter-Williams to John Henson gave the Bucks a 28-22 margin.
But the Spurs eventually grabbed the upperhand, 30-29, thanks to plays from Manu Ginobili and Kawhi Leonard. Even though the Bucks shot nearly 80% in the initial quarter, the efficient and disciplined Spurs managed to hung around.
San Antonio then began to pull away in the second quarter, which ended at 60-49. Parker had 10 for the Bucks by the intermission, but the man in the second quarter was the Spurs? 26-year-old rookie Jonathan Simmons, who slashed his way through defenders for 12 first half points, including two beautiful dunks down the lane.
The Bucks had some dazzling plays in the third quarter by Greg ?MOOSE? Monroe and MCW, but they could not stop the Spurs balanced attack. The Spurs led 90-75 after three, and the game really just went downhill from there for the Bucks.
And Jonathan Simmons turned out to be a joy to watch. He was fast, full of energy, and very exciting.
"His mindset was to attack. He really impacted the game," Bucks interim coach Joe Prunty told NBA.com
Simmons, who paid his own way to try out for the D-League, was in and out of the league, and almost went overseas, seems to have found a home in the Spurs rotation.
The Bucks, meanwhile, is still struggling to find the stride that catapulted them to the playoffs last season.
Photo: Tim Duncan had another workmanlike effort (14 points, 10 rebounds) as the Spurs whipped the Bucks at the BMO Harris Bradley Center on Monday night.
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