Following a frustrating loss in Chicago, the Spurs looked to get back in the win column against the Bucks on Wednesday night. Unfortunately, Milwaukee’s hot shooting led them to a 121-105 blowout victory, pushing San Antonio’s losing streak to three.

Despite the disappointing result, the Spurs started the game with a bang. Wemby was unsurprisingly at the center of attention, as he blocked Giannis on the first defensive possession before making a one-legged three. San Antonio used their ball movement to score from all three levels, while the Bucks relied on their outside shooting due to Wemby’s interior presence. As soon as the Alien was subbed out, though, Milwaukee went on a mini-run to break open an otherwise close game.

That trend continued in the second quarter as the Bucks built up an insurmountable lead. Milwaukee was only up by a point when Wemby sat halfway through the quarter, but by the time he came back, San Antonio was already down by 15. The offense completely stalled without Wemby’s interior presence, and it’s not a coincidence that San Antonio scored on their first possession with the big man back on the court. Unfortunately, the Bucks continued to build momentum, as they hit four threes in the final minutes of the half to build a double-digit lead.

Even so, the Spurs didn’t give up. CP3, specifically, caught fire in the third by hitting multiple threes to cut the deficit to under 10. San Antonio began playing with renewed vigor and looked to make a comeback, but it wasn’t meant to be. The Spurs’ execution was just a bit off all night: their passes and timing were always an inch short and a second late. As a result, Milwaukee soon rebuilt their lead, and the competitive portion of the game was over.

The starters for both teams stayed in the game at the beginning of the fourth, before the result became inevitable and key players started subbing off. It was a disappointing result in what was a highly anticipated game, and San Antonio is now left to regroup before their showdown in LA on Saturday night.

Game notes

• Wemby had his worst game in over a month, finishing with just 10 points on 4-10 shooting. He actually started the game with three highlight reel plays in the first six minutes but looked quite lethargic the rest of the night. This is just one game, but it’s still worth monitoring how engaged he looks on Saturday against the Lakers. Remember, Wemby posted a 5×5 the day after he scored just six points on five shots back in late October.
• Interestingly, the Spurs seemed to dislike the Wemby-Giannis matchup. Mitch Johnson made sure that Wemby was on the court at the start of the second quarter when Giannis sat, though that might just be both teams’ regular rotations. However, considering that Wemby looked the most engaged when guarding Giannis (he blocked him three times), it was still a bit surprising to see him play more as a roamer on defense. The Greek Freak was unsurprisingly most hesitant to attack the rim with Wemby on him, so the game might’ve been different had they been matched up more often.
• Keldon Johnson had a great game off the bench, as he scored 24 points and grabbed 11 boards on 7-15 shooting. On a night when most of the team lacked energy, Big Body brought some much-needed juice.
• Another bright spot? How about the Point God, who had 18 points and seven assists while making five out of six threes. Even at 39, CP tried to will the young team to make a comeback, and he’s at no fault for the end result.

Play of the game

What the heck even is this???

Next game: at Lakers on Saturday

The Spurs will look to get back in the win column on Saturday as they take on a Lakers team that has also lost two straight.

Milwaukee Bucks’ star Giannis Antetokounmpo had an eventful Monday night.

On the way to a 128-104 victory against the Toronto Raptors, Anetetokounmpo attempted to block an RJ Barrett layup late in the second quarter. On the attempt, Giannis seemed to catch his pinky on the rim and checked out of the game.

Visibly uncomfortable, the two-time MVP returned to the contest with a wrap on his finger. By doing so, he clinched a historic triple-double, per AP News’ Tim Reynolds. No player has ever posted an 11-point, 12-rebound, and 13-assist triple-double in league history.

After the game, that was not the cause of the most discussion among reporters, rather the health of the Greek superstar was the hot topic at the press conference. Head coach Doc Rivers spoke on Antetokounmpo.

“He needed stitches. He didn’t want to come out because he felt like he could finish, but it kept bleeding. It definitely was affecting him. You could see it really was hurting his ballhandling a little bit,” Rivers said. “I think he’s good. I just think it’s stitches, but I actually don’t know where. I think it’s somewhere on his hand.”

Antetokounmpo required three stitches on his right hand.

After the game, Antetokounmpo did not seem to be concerned, telling reporters that he was “fine” and was not going to “overthink” this injury.

The power forward was previously listed as a game-time decision as they look toward tonight’s matchup with the San Antonio Spurs but has been upgraded to probable according to Rivers.

Other ailing Bucks upgraded to available are Khris Middleton, despite surprisingly being listed as out Monday night due to ankle tendinitis, and Andre Jackson Jr., who despite a setback in his back injury will be available for Wednesday.

Antetokounmpo is enjoying an MVP-caliber season, once again. He leads the league in scoring with 31.6 points per game, and is sixth in the league in rebounds with 11.6 per game. Before the injury-impacted Monday night performance, he was averaging 32.3 points per game.

Middleton is another Buck who is a high-impact player, when available. In 12 appearances this season, he is averaging 12.7 points per game on 40.4% shooting from the three-point line.

At 18-16, which is good for the No.5 seed in the Eastern Conference, Milwaukee needs all the help they can get as they make another playoff push.

More Bucks: Doc Rivers Lays Into ‘Disappointing’ and ‘Frustrating’ Bucks Losses

 Happy World Typing Day; the perfect day to announce Qwertyfest MKE details! Also, OnMilwaukee is a proud sponsor of Qwertyfest.The typewriter was invented in Milwaukee 150+ years ago, and Qwertyfest MKE returns for the third year to celebrate the keyboard that changed the world (and still exists on our phones and computers today!) 

Qwertyfest is a three-day festival featuring music, art, history, food, drink, workshops, type-ins and more! The third annual event will take place Friday, Oct. 3 through Sunday, Oct. 5 at numerous locations throughout Milwaukee.

A full schedule of Qwertyfest MKE ’25 will be released later this year, but for now, you can count on:

• Opening night “Typewriter Ball” at Turner Hall
• Writers’ soiree at Newsroom Pub
• Typewriter brunch and bowling at Falcon Bowl
• Literary cemetery tours at Forest Home Cemetery (featuring the gravesite of typewriter inventor Christopher Latham Sholes)
• Live music, workshops, art-making, vending and more!

To stay in the loop, follow Qwertyfest on Instagram and Facebook. 

Qwertyfest MKE is currently looking for participants, sponsors and more. Contact organizers Tea Krulos or Molly Snyder (hey, that’s me!) at qwertyfest@gmail.com.

Here are photos from Qwertyfest 2023:

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