Milwaukee, WI
Cornerstone Shift in Milwaukee? Damian Lillard Shines As Bucks’ New Force, Raising Doubts on Giannis’ Dominance
It was 1971 when a young Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, then known as Lew Alcindor, led the Milwaukee Bucks to their first NBA championship. Fast forward over 50 years, and the city of Milwaukee witnessed another giant lead them to basketball glory once again. This time, the 26-year-old “Greek Freak,” Giannis Antetokounmpo, steered the Bucks to their 2nd championship. While the Bucks have struggled to maintain championship form since their 2021 win, the arrival of Damian Lillard has lit up a new fire.
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Recent stats tweeted by Basketball Forever raise questions about Giannis’ dominance in the Bucks. Notably, Milwaukee lost 5 games with Giannis playing while Lillard was sidelined. On the flip side, they went 3-1 when Lillard suited up and Giannis took a break. So, is Damian Lillard the secret recipe the Bucks have been missing? Or perhaps is the partnership of Dame and the Greek Freak the secret sauce to the Bucks’ championship run?
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The Milwaukee Bucks overcame the absence of their star Giannis Antetokounmpo (30.8 PPG, 11.2 RPG) with a scorching display of three-point shooting to defeat the Phoenix Suns 140-129 tonight. Giannis sat out with a sore hamstring on Sunday, but the Bucks decided to put on a three-point shooting clinic anyway, torching the Suns. He has missed his 4th game of the season and 1st since March 4, when he was out with Achilles tendinitis and guess what, the Bucks won every time except for one.
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Giannis Goes Down, Damian Comes Up
Stepping into the spotlight, Damian Lillard filled the void (and then some) with a monster double-double of 31 points and a career-tying 16 assists. Joining the party was Bobby Portis, who came off the bench to match Lillard’s point total with 31 points, adding 10 rebounds in just 13 minutes. His efficiency was remarkable, going 5-for-5 from beyond the arc and 10-of-13 from the field overall. Between Dame and Bobby, they had a staggering 62 points!
The Bucks rained 3’s all night, connecting on a franchise-record tying 24 of their 41 attempts from downtown. Khris Middleton, returning from a 16-game absence due to an ankle sprain, chipped in with 22 points. This barrage of 3’s was crucial to overpower the high-powered Suns offense led by Bradley Beal (28 points), Grayson Allen (25 points), and Devin Booker (23 points).
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The win puts the Bucks back in 2nd place in the Eastern Conference, 1.5 games ahead of the Cleveland Cavaliers. They’re also riding high on recent wins against the Clippers (113-106) and the Raptors (128-112), both without Giannis but with Dame leading the charge. Next up, the Boston Celtics on March 21st. So, are the Bucks better off without Giannis? Or will the Greek Freak and Dame become the league’s most unstoppable duo to lead their team to the championship? Stay tuned to find out more!
Giannis Antetokounmpo Rolls With the Punches Despite Bucks’ Anti-Climatic Ending
vs Lakers
Milwaukee, WI
Milwaukee Admirals lose to Wolves, drop back-to-back games
CHICAGO – Skyler Brind’Amour posted three points to lead the Chicago Wolves to a 5-2 win over the Milwaukee Admirals on Saturday.
Big picture view:
The loss means Milwaukee is on its first losing streak of the season after back-to-back losses. The Admirals are tied for second in the Central Division with Chicago and Manitoba.
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By the numbers:
The game-winning goal came early in the final frame. Noel Gunler poked a bouncing puck from the slot past Admirals goalie Matt Murray at 3:55 of the third period to give Chicago a 3-2 lead.
Chicago scored the only goal of the first period on a fluky bounce at 8:42. The Wolves rimmed the puck into the Admirals zone from the right wing red line. Murray went behind the net to receive the puck, but it hit a seam in the glass and bounced into the crease where Ryan Suzuki slapped it into the open goal.
Milwaukee tied the game at 4:09 of the second period. Wolves forward Nikita Pavlychev tried to fling the puck out of the defensive zone, but Oasiz Wiesblatt knocked it down and kicked it toward the slot. Cole O’Hara sent a wrist shot into the goal for his fifth marker of the season.
Chicago reclaimed the lead when Brind’Amour converted a feed from the slot at 14:07 of the second period. The pass came from behind the Admirals net and Brind’Amour was able to send the puck over Murray’s right shoulder.
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The Admirals tied the game once again at 15:41 of the second stanza. Jordan Oesterle found himself with possession of the puck at center ice. He sent the puck to Jake Lucchini who passed to Daniel Carr. Carr crossed the middle of the Wolves line and whipped a shot past the stick of goalie Cayden Primeau for his team-leading ninth goal of the campaign.
Chicago scored twice more late in the third frame. Justin Robidas scored at 16:24 and Bradly Nadeau added an empty-netter at 18:22.
What’s next:
The Admirals travel to Grand Rapids on Wednesday to play the league-leading Griffins. Milwaukee’s next home game will be against Chicago on Saturday, Dec. 13.
The Source: The Milwaukee Admirals provided this report.
Milwaukee, WI
Milwaukee Bucks injury report: What is the latest on Giannis?
Bobby Portis, Kevin Porter and Doc Rivers react to Bucks loss to 76ers
Bobby Portis Jr., Kevin Porter Jr. and Doc Rivers react to Bucks loss to 76ers
DETROIT – The Milwaukee Bucks are in Detroit for the second night of a back-to-back as they take on the Eastern Conference-leading Pistons at Little Caesars Arena on Saturday, Dec. 6.
The Bucks (10-14) upset the Pistons (18-5) at Fiserv Forum on Dec. 3 after Giannis Antetokounmpo was injured, coming back from an 18-point deficit to win.
Is Giannis playing?
No. The Bucks superstar will miss the second straight game since injuring his calf against the Pistons, and coach Doc Rivers believes Antetokounmpo might be out for closer to the four-week mark than not.
Antetokounmpo, who was not on the Bucks bench in their loss to Philadelphia on Dec. 5, will also not be in attendance at Little Caesars Arena.
“He will travel most of the time,” Rivers said after the game against the 76ers. “Our thing is, especially because this just happened, with the blood flow and all the flights and all that stuff, keep him home. After (Dec. 6), we have a four-day break. We’re going to take two days off. I think they need it through this stretch, and then we have two great days of practice, which I’m looking forward to.”
Is AJ Green playing?
Guard AJ Green exited the game against the 76ers late in the second quarter of the Bucks’ 116-101 loss with an injury to his left, non-shooting, shoulder. The Bucks ruled him out at halftime with a contusion on that shoulder.
Rivers said after the game that Green will travel with the team to Detroit on Dec. 6 and will get imaging on the shoulder on the road.
Green absorbed a big hit on an illegal screen by 6-foot, 11-inch, 279-pound Philadelphia center Andre Drummond with 4 minutes, 4 seconds left in the second quarter. Green stayed in the game initially but after subbing out at the 2:13 mark, Green walked straight to the Bucks locker room.
Green finished the half 0-for-4 from behind the three-point line in 15 minutes of action. He also had two assists.
Without Giannis, Bucks struggle to score
In both instances this season when Antetokounmpo has been injured, Rivers has acknowledged that the team’s margin of error to win games is very thin. And, to date, the Bucks haven’t come out on the right side of that margin.
Heading into the game against the Pistons, the Bucks are 1-6 in games Antetokounmpo completely misses.
As for how the team can perform better without Antetokounmpo, center Myles Turner said, “Well, consistency just down the board. Role clarity is something that is very important, something that I think we’re still learning. I think that we have to continue to believe in what we’re doing.
“I know it was last year, but my team (in Indiana), we were 10-15 at the beginning of the year last year and made our way to the finals. So, it’s never a question of believe on my end. It’s just the collective buy-in and figuring out what that role clarity means.”
And it’s no surprise that one of their biggest issues is on the offensive end. In totality, the Bucks are 20 in the league in scoring at 115.2 points per game. But in the seven games Antetokounmpo has missed, they’ve averaged just 108.1 points per game.
Through the seven-game losing streak in November, the Bucks kept a positive spirit and felt they turned a competitive corner without Antetokounmpo in a three-point loss to Miami on Nov. 26. Antetokounmpo returned two days later in a nine-point loss at New York, but after a fun win over Brooklyn on Nov. 29, the team, in some respects, hit rock-bottom with a three-point loss to the last-place Wizards in Washington.
They bounced back with a big win over the Pistons, but fell behind by 26 points in the first half against Philadelphia.
“I wouldn’t say we’re pressing,” Bobby Portis Jr. said. “I would say more so just trying to play good basketball, getting the ball moving side-to-side, playing with swag, playing with energy, having fun. I think the biggest thing is just having fun. I think, when you have fun, the ball naturally comes to you, you naturally have a good spirit, you naturally do your job.
“In the NBA now, ‘do your job’ is multiple efforts, scrambling, guarding different positions, helping your teammate by making the extra pass, being a great teammate when you come off the court. All those things kind of go into winning. I think it’s on us just to have fun.”
Bucks probable starting lineup
- Guards: Ryan Rollins, Kevin Porter Jr., Gary Trent Jr.
- Forward: Jericho Sims
- Center: Myles Turner
Bucks vs Pistons odds
Detroit is a whopping 12.5-point favorite over Milwaukee, with the over/under set at 224.5 points, per BetMGM.
What time is the Bucks game?
Tip-off is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. CT.
What channel are the Bucks on?
The game will be broadcast locally on FanDuel Sports Network Wisconsin with Lisa Byington, Marques Johnson and Melanie Ricks on the call.
Milwaukee, WI
What to know about nuisance properties and how to hold owners accountable
Residents at Fifth Street School apartments, a senior apartment building at 2770 N. 5th St., pleaded with the property owner for help when drug use, public nudity and other illicit activity took over the public spaces in the complex.
The trespassers, residents said, created an environment where tenants felt unsafe in their own homes. They notified the property manager and owner, Gorman & Company, requesting one thing − a security guard.
Residents who spoke to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel said they spent years expressing their grievances to the property management and Milwaukee Police but saw no real change.
Since 2020, there have been over 500 police calls made to the Fifth Street School apartments, according to Milwaukee police records. Despite this, the property was not listed as a nuisance − a designation that could result in fines for the property owner if changes aren’t made and additional enforcement support from the police department and the Department of Neighborhood Services.
Residents in the apartment told the Journal Sentinel, recently, they stopped calling the police to report issues within the building over the last year because they felt nothing was being done.
The Fifth Street School Apartments is not listed as a nuisance because they do not currently meet the number of calls required to fit the designation, according to Milwaukee police. It is unclear why the property was previously not listed as a nuisance.
After about two years of residents pleading for help and a Journal Sentinel investigation into the conditions at the property, Milwaukee Police are now working with Gorman & Company to address the issues at the property, and according to residents, discussions about hiring a security guard are taking place.
Once a property is listed as a nuisance, the departments will work with the property owner to resolve the problems, according to Neighborhood Services.
Still, some residents at the property asked the Journal Sentinel what it takes for a property to be considered a nuisance since the Fifth Street School does not meet the requirements.
“I can’t believe what’s going on here hasn’t been considered a nuisance,” said Piper Thomas, a resident at the apartment complex.
What makes a property a nuisance?
The two main government entities that deal with nuisance properties are the Milwaukee Police Department and the City of Milwaukee Department of Neighborhood Services.
A property can be labeled as a nuisance when there is regular “activity” that affects the whole neighborhood, residents of the building or workers in a commercial space, according to Neighborhood Services.
Some examples of nuisances include:
- Pets or animals that disturb neighbors
A property can be considered a nuisance if a minimum of three phone calls to the police in 30 days in under a year. Milwaukee police do not need to convict anyone for the three calls to count towards a nuisance classification.
Police also do not need to witness the nuisance activity for the property to fit the classification, according to a Milwaukee police procedural document.
Milwaukee Police stated that the Fifth Street School Apartments do not currently meet the call volume requirements to be listed as a nuisance property, despite receiving hundreds of police calls in the last five years.
Residents told the Journal Sentinel some tenants recently stopped calling the police to report problems within the building because they had lost confidence that something would be done about the issues they faced.
If the property does not meet the call volume requirement, but there are still concerns about resident safety, the police department’s Community Partnership Unit may still follow up with the property.
If the Community Partnership Unit steps in, the next steps may include assigning an officer to lead an investigation into the property and imposing potential penalties if the property owner does not work to resolve the problems with the property.
What happens once a property is labeled as a nuisance?
The Department of Neighborhood Services will send a letter to the property owner requesting a plan to fix the issues once it is given a nuisance designation. The owner must send over their plan for remediation, and if it is approved by the department, they have 45 days to put the plan into action, or they can be fined.
If the owners feel the designation is unwarranted, they can appeal; however, if the appeal is denied, the owner must then send over a plan to resolve the issues or face potential fines.
If there are no calls reporting nuisance activity in those 45 days, then it will remain listed as a nuisance property for one year. The nuisance designation will expire at the end of the year-long monitoring period if no continued issues arise.
If the problems continue, Neighborhood Services will ask the property owner for a modified plan, and the owner will need to submit one within 10 days of the request, and the year-long monitoring period will restart.
The property owner will be billed every 30 days if the problems are not resolved. Three bills in one year will cause the property to be labeled as a “chronic nuisance,” and the citations could increase to amounts between $1,000 and $5,000.
How to get a property investigated as a nuisance
If residents are concerned that a property presents severe public safety issues, they should first contact the property owner or manager to resolve the issues.
Concerned neighbors can use the Department of Neighborhood Services’ property data to find contact information for nearby property owners or call (414) 286-2286 for assistance.
If that does not work, they contact Milwaukee Police through its non-emergency number at (414) 933-4444, or the anonymous tipline, P3Tips, which can also be reached at (414) 224-TIPS. It will help to have photos or other pieces of evidence to show to officers.
Residents can also request an inspector from Neighborhood Services. Depending on the tip, the inspector may come to the property and provide the police with their findings.
Local organizations like Community Advocates can also help with tenant-landlord disputes and things related to nuisance properties. If a resident is living in a Berrada Properties building, the organization has a division dedicated to tenant settlement compensation and assistance.
If anyone is unsure if a property is already listed as a nuisance or for general information, call the city help line (414) 286-CITY (2489).
Everett Eaton covers Harambee, just north of downtown Milwaukee, for the Journal Sentinel’s Neighborhood Dispatch. Reach him at ejeaton@gannett.com. As part of the newsroom, all of Everett’s work and coverage decisions are overseen solely by Journal Sentinel editors.
Support for the Dispatch comes from Bader Philanthropies, Zilber Family Foundation, Journal Foundation, Northwestern Mutual Foundation, Greater Milwaukee Foundation and individual contributions to the Journal Sentinel Community-Funded Journalism Project. The project is administered by Local Media Foundation, tax ID #36‐4427750, a Section 501(c)(3) charitable trust affiliated with Local Media Association.
Learn more about our community-funded journalism and how to make a tax-deductible gift at bit.ly/MJS_support . Checks can be addressed to Local Media Foundation with “JS Community Journalism” in the memo, then mailed to: Local Media Foundation, P.O. Box 85015, Chicago, IL 60689.
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