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Brook Lopez turns in a career night in a duel with his former team

Brook Lopez showed no mercy to his former team when he delivered a near triple-double in another win by the Milwaukee Bucks.
Matthew Dugandzic|
Brook Lopez turns in a career night in a duel with his former team
Brook Lopez turns in a career night in a duel with his former team

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Milwaukee Bucks

Brook Lopez was all business on the night he faced his former team. The seven-footer big man was superb against the Brooklyn Nets, flirting with a triple-double in leading the Milwaukee Bucks to a 118-113 win on Thursday night at the Fiserv Forum.

All over the court

The Splash Mountain, who spent his first nine seasons in the NBA with the Nets, finished with 24 points, ten rebounds, a career-high nine blocks, three assists, and a steal, helping the Bucks stretch their league-best record to 48-18.

Lopez is by far the only player this season to record nine blocks, and he made sure that his splendid all-around game will not go to waste by coming up with two huge plays in the waning moments of the match.

The short-handed Nets threatened to pull off a huge upset when they moved within 110-112 with 46.1 seconds left.

Badly needing a defensive stop, Brooklyn forced Jrue Holiday to miss a jump shot, but Lopez was there to score a critical follow-up, padding the Bucks lead to 114-110 with 30.1 ticks left.

After the crucial tip shot, Lopez once again figured in a critical play when he blocked a driving David Duke Jr. that all but settled the contest as the defensive stop led to a Jevon Carter basket that made it 116-110 with only 16.1 seconds left.

Reading the play

The 15-year veteran said he was just able to read Brooklyn's play that led to his game-sealing swat.

"They were doing a great job shooting the ball, and so just in that last possession or those last couple possessions, they were doing a great job of sending those guys downhill. When they kind of give them that one option, I'm able to make the read and time it. If he's going downhill with a full head of steam, I can time that pretty simply to get there at the right time," said Lopez, who ably backed Bobby Portis' 28-point, 13-rebound performance.

The Nets came into the match severely depleted as they didn't have Nic Claxton (right thumb sprain/left Achilles tendinopathy), Spencer Dinwiddie (rest), Cam Johnson (right knee soreness), Royce O'Neale (left knee soreness) and Ben Simmons (left back/knee soreness).

The Bucks were also without top gun Giannis Antetokounmpo (sore right hand), but they had Lopez, and that simply made the difference.

Published
Matthew Dugandzic
MATTHEW DUGANDZIC

Matthew finished his bachelor's degree in Economics (Management) at the University of Split and got his master's degree in the same field at the University of Zadar. Whether it is playing the game as an undersized 6'3'' power forward or simply watching it, Matthew can't get enough of it. After all, he has been an avid NBA fan since the 2000s. But don't get him wrong, as Matthew still loves the old-school NBA and is a true student of the game. From on-court moments to off-court stuff, whether it's about the stars of modern-day basketball or legends of the game, Matthew covers every category of the NBA world and basketball in general, as long as it makes for an engaging and exciting story.