Three Takeaways from OKC’s Troubling Loss to the Milwaukee Bucks

In one of its worst outings of the season, the Oklahoma City Thunder fell considerably short to one of the Eastern Conference’s top championship contenders.

The Milwaukee Bucks franchise tagline of “Fear the Deer” rang true last night against the Oklahoma City Thunder. 

The Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard-led Bucks dismantled the Thunder in a 118-93 contest, being the only team since the Denver Nuggets on Oct. 29 to hold it under 100 points in the entire regular season. It was a fantastic defensive effort from Milwaukee, but Oklahoma City simply couldn’t buy a bucket if it had a chance for long stretches of the game. 

Both Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Chet Holmgren arguably had their worst performances of the year, struggling immensely against the wall that Antetokounmpo and Brook Lopez create inside the paint. Jalen Williams and Josh Giddey held up their end, but it just wasn’t enough to grab a win on the road. 

Here are three takeaways from the loss: 

Greek Freak Dominance 

Out of all the teams and players the Thunder has faced in the regular season, none have given it issues quite like the Bucks, and more considerably, Antetokounmpo. 

In 34 minutes of action, the “Greek Freak” recorded 30 points and 19 rebounds on 13-of-18 shooting, completely dismantling the Oklahoma City defense. While it faced other talented big men like Nikola Jokic and Joel Embiid, even they didn’t give it problems to the level Antetokounmpo did. 

It was Holmgren’s toughest matchup of the season, failing to defend the former MVP candidate well and only finishing with an underwhelming six points and four rebounds on 1-of-10 shooting. Antetokounmpo overpowered the rookie more than any other player has, proving to be a true test that he hadn’t endured before. 

The Thunder gets one more crack at Antetokounmpo on April 12, which will allow Holmgren to be further prepared for the level of greatness at Milwaukee’s power forward position. 

A Wasted Giddey Performance

Although much of the Oklahoma City roster struggled last night, one shining bright spot was the performance of Josh Giddey. 

In one of the better games of his 2023-24 campaign, Giddey finished with a near-triple double of 19 points, nine rebounds and eight assists on 7-of-12 shooting. That included a 4-of-6 line from 3-point range, one of his strongest showings of scoring from the outside all-year, even against an elite defensive team. 

It’s no secret it's been a tumultuous season for Giddey, struggling to provide a consistent level of play for a Thunder team looking to contend for a championship. He’s been sort of the odd-man out amongst the core group of players, causing some concern for his place in the future of the franchise.

It’s too early to tell what that will look like, but for now, getting those performances from the 21-year-old is a privilege and an opportunity that has to be taken advantage of. He did it against one of the toughest teams Oklahoma City has faced, but due to the off-nights from its stars, Giddey’s night couldn’t boost a struggling offense. 

The Offense Can’t Get Much Worse

The Thunder has kept one of the best offensive ratings and shooting percentages across the league for most of the season, but the loss against the Bucks featured quite possibly its worst offensive performance. 

Oklahoma City had abysmal shooting splits of 37/23/77% on the night, not even close to a winning level of offensive production. The offensive was flat the entire game, leading to a sub-100 point outing and its lowest of the whole season. There wasn’t a single area that it excelled at, no matter if it received open shots or not.

Not a single Thunder player scored 20 points or more, which is a big issue to have against one of the best teams in the league. Gilgeous-Alexander and Holmgren only combined for 18, a subpar number for the MVP candidate alone, much less the both of them. 

It was such an out-lier game that it can’t necessarily be expected for the rest of the regular  season, but if the trend continues of a struggling offense, concerns will start to grow ahead of the playoff season. Seven-game series don’t leave room for games like this, especially with a Western Conference as stacked as it is now. 

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