Bucks vs. Wizards Final Score and Summary: Bobby Portis scores a season-high 34

On December 22, 2024By Littum

The Milwaukee Bucks secured a win in the second game of their back-to-back as they downed the hapless. Washington Wizards112-101. Bobby Portis finishes two assists shy of his first career triple-double with 34 points, ten rebounds and eight assists.

NBA.com Box Score

Game recap

Things got going quickly out of the gate with Bobby Portis hitting a fadeaway jumper out of the post to start the scoring on the first possession of the game. The Bucks built a seven-point lead, 17-10, but a 9-0 run by the Wizards gave them their first lead of the night. Neither side generated much separation as each team traded shots beyond the arc. Jordan Poole caught fire in the late stages of the frame, hitting back-to-back threes (one over Gary Trent Jr. at the end of the shot clock) to give the Wizards a four-point lead with 1:20 left. Not to be outdone from range, AJ Green and Bobby Portis made threes on consecutive possessions to tie the game at 36-36 heading into the second quarter. Both teams combined to go 14/23 from three-point range, with the Wizards shooting 8/11 from distance (entering the game, they had the second-worst 3PT% in the league at 31.8%).

The hot shooting did not continue into the second stanza. Washington went on to miss seven straight three-pointers after their strong start. The Wizards continued to shoot a terrible 1/11 from three-point land (9%), and the Bucks took full advantage. Milwaukee went on a 14-0 run, with Portis scoring 10 straight by himself to give the Bucks a 16-point lead, 60-44, with 2:53 left in the quarter. Washington would go on to score six of the final nine points, but the Bucks still went into the locker room down by double digits 63-50.

The third quarter was much like the end of the second, with the Bucks imposing their will on the young Wizards team. Milwaukee opened the second half on a 17-8 extended run to push their lead even further to 22 points. Khris Middleton showed some of his vintage moves, including a hesitant three-pointer over rookie Alex Sarr. Washington would start to find their stride again after the first shot by the Bucks, going on a 12-2 run to bring the game back within 12 points with 2:35 left in the quarter. The two sides traded baskets down the stretch as the Bucks entered the fourth quarter up by 14, 86-72.

Things got off to a slow start in the fourth quarter until Lopez came on the field. After Jonas Valinciunas hit a floater in the lane, Lopez hit back-to-back three-pointers to give the Bucks a 92-74 lead, forcing a timeout from Wizards head coach Brian Keefe. Washington got it back to 14, but back-to-back threes from Portis and Trent returned the lead to 20 points with 5:13 left in the stanza. The Bucks ran away with the game from there as Portis notched his double-double with his tenth board and the Bucks went on to win big. Ryan Rollins ended the night with some fireworks with a poster dunk over Sarr.

State that stood out

The Bucks made every turnover they forced by the Wizards count by turning them into points. Milwaukee scored 24 points on the 19 turnovers committed by Washington and also scored 11 points on the fast break.