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With CJ McCollum and Zion Williamson out, Milwaukee Bucks put the clamps on New Orleans Pelicans center Jonas Valanciunas

The Milwaukee Bucks' defense turned Pelicans ace Jonas Valanciunas into a non-factor in their 135-110 win.

The last time the Milwaukee Bucks and the New Orleans Pelicans played against one another, big man Jonas Valanciunas had himself quite the performance, piling up 37 points and 18 rebounds. The Lithuanian center also knocked down seven three-pointers. Although the Bucks still came away victorious, 128-119, in that match, Milwaukee still noted Valanciunas' impressive performance.

Not happening again

When the two teams faced off again on Sunday night, however, Valanciunas was nowhere near as effective. With CJ McCollum and Zion Williamson out of the lineup for New Orleans, Milwaukee put the clamps on Valanciunas, limiting him to just 16 points on 7-of-16 shooting to go with three rebounds. He also did not make a single trifecta, missing both of his long-range attempts. Bucks center Brook Lopez was Valanciunas' primary defender on that night and the 7-footer made his adversary work for every inch.

“Just making shots tough for him,” Lopez said. “He’s very good at putting the ball in the basket. Very skilled offensively, so making him work offensively to get tough twos. And then making him work defensively as well so he’s not just doing it on one side of the ball.”

Lopez and the Bucks' defense frustrated Valanciunas in the first half, holding him to just nine points on 4-of-12 shooting. He also had three fouls as the Bucks led at halftime, 62-44.

Undermanned Pelicans

As mentioned, the Pelicans did not have McCollum, Williamson, and Brandon Ingram, who were all out due to injuries. Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer admitted that the Pels trio's absence played a huge role in their victory. However, that is just part of the course of an NBA season.

“They’re significantly different,” Budenholzer said. “It’s part of an NBA season. It’s unfortunate that they were missing a few guys tonight. I think the effort to maybe limit Valančiūnas was good and certainly aware of how well he played against just the first time but it’s probably a little bit of a product too of they were missing a few of their guys.”