SACRAMENTO -- When you play the Milwaukee Bucks, the focus is always on Giannis Antetokounmpo. The Bucks are a lot more than just the Greek Freak.
With the Sacramento Kings working to take away the reigning NBA MVP, Eric Bledsoe, Khris Middleton and Donte DiVincenzo caught fire for the league’s best team.
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Sacramento made a third-quarter run, but the Bucks responded to come away with the 127-106 win.
Here are three takeaways as the Kings fall at home to drop to 15-24 on the season.
The burst
Down 53-44 at the half, the Kings rallied to open the third quarter. They began the period on a 19-7 run to take a 63-60 lead. And then the Bucks responded.
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In a matter of minutes, Milwaukee torched the Kings for a 30-12 run to finish the third and take a 90-75 lead into the fourth.
The Bucks are a dynamic offensive machine and once the 3-ball started falling, Sacramento had no chance to keep up.
Fox is taking the leap
After a rough start to the season that included a 17 game absence with a severe ankle sprain, De’Aaron Fox is starting to take off for the Kings.
Sacramento’s starting point guard came into the game averaging 23 points and 6.8 assists over his previous four games. The speedster was once again the Kings’ best player, hitting the Bucks for 19 points, 10 assists, nine rebounds, four steals, and two blocks.
Fox turned the ball over six times trying to force the action and Eric Bledsoe put up big numbers on him early in the game, but the 22-year-old was impressive. There is a sense of urgency to his game since the turn of the calendar year and that should mean good things for the Kings.
Tough guy
Nemanja Bjelica rolled his right ankle Tuesday when Mikal Bridges slid underneath him on a long 3-point attempt. The veteran forward gutted out the final quarter against the Suns but was questionable coming into Friday’s matchup against Milwaukee.
With so many of his teammates missing time with one ailment or another, Bjelica played his 39th game of the season for Sacramento. Despite the bad wheel, he still managed to score 12 points and grabbed 13 rebounds for his fifth double-double of the season.
Bjelica is averaging career-highs across the board for a second straight season. While the Kings’ record isn’t great, there’s no telling how bad it would be without the services of their starting power forward.