How Milwaukee Bucks Can Bounce Back vs. Orlando Magic

The Milwaukee Bucks lost 118-99 against the Orlando Magic in the first matchup of the two-game series.

Milwaukee Bucks guard Kevin Porter Jr. during the game against the New Orleans Pelicans. | Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images

The Milwaukee Bucks are giving it another go against the Orlando Magic in the second of a two-game series in central Florida.

The Bucks lost 118-99 against the Magic earlier this week, but Milwaukee has a chance to get revenge on the first night of a back-to-back. In order to have a different result against the Magic this time around, the Bucks will have to be more physical than they were in the previous game.

“I just thought they were just the more physical team tonight. It’s amazing. You just never know. We had two great days, and so that was disappointing tonight, really. I thought we hung in there, but I actually didn’t like how we played in the first half and we were up. Didn’t play well, didn’t move the ball. I think they had 12 more shots than us. It was a frustrating night tonight," Bucks coach Doc Rivers said postgame.

Milwaukee Bucks guard Ryan Rollins drives around Orlando Magic guard Jalen Suggs. | Mike Watters-Imagn Images

Bucks Must Make Adjustments vs. Magic

The Bucks held the lead at halftime against the Magic in the previous meeting, but things began to change in the third quarter. Rivers said the team should have been more persistent in the first two quarters.

“It broke them," Rivers said of the third quarter.

"It’s funny, I told our coaches at halftime. I said, ‘this game is going to go one way or the other, either way, but the final score is not going to be a close game’. You can just look at the numbers, meaning, either we’re going to come out and play right and blow this game out, or we’re going to keep playing the way we’re playing and then they’re going to do it. I said, ‘but you can see by the way this game is played’. The numbers said that if you looked at the numbers at halftime. And unfortunately, we were the bad part of that.”

This means the Bucks have to come out of the gate strong and force the Magic to play from behind. Orlando has a tendency to pick things up later in games, but Milwaukee needs to establish themselves as the aggressor in order to come out of the game on top.

Tip-off between the Bucks and Magic is scheduled for 6 pm CT inside the Kia Center. Fans can watch the game on FanDuel Sports Network or stream it on NBA League Pass.