BAM! Bucks' scoring trio among best in NBA, team history
Since the arrival of Eric Bledsoe, the Milwaukee Bucks have had a triple threat on the court with the guard, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton pouring in the points.
They've been nicknamed the "Marquee Three" (not our favorite) and "E.K.G" (by announcers Jim Paschke and Marques Johnson). We're not sure how "BAM!" (Bledsoe-Antetokounmpo-Middleton) hasn't taken off. But no matter what you call them, their names are being said often in every Bucks game.
The Bucks' (insert your favorite nickname here) are just one of two team trios to have three players averaging 18 points or more per game, New Orleans being the other. Antetokounmpo enters Wednesday's game against Indiana at 29.0 points per game, Middleton 20.4 and Bledsoe 18.6.
If they can keep this up the rest of the season, it would be the first time the Bucks have had three players averaging 18+ points since the 2002-03 season with Ray Allen, Sam Cassell and Gary Payton, although the latter only played in 28 games. For three straight seasons from 1999-2002, Allen, Cassell and Glenn Robinson turned the trick. The only other time Milwaukee has had three players score that much was in 1970-71 with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Oscar Robertson and Bob Dandridge.
Antetokounmpo, Bledsoe and Middleton have really been ramping things up in the last month. Since December:
Antetokounmpo: 28.8 points per game, 54.3 percent shooting
Bledsoe: 19.9 points per game, 47.2 percent shooting
Middleton: 21.9 points per game, 47.4 percent shooting
In parts thanks to those three, Milwaukee has shot at least 45 percent from the field in each of the last 13 games (since Dec. 6). That's the fourth-longest such streak for the Bucks in the last 30 years.
Other notes:
-- Antetokounmpo has had at 20+ points and 5+ rebounds in 24 consecutive games. The last player with a longer streak was Shaquille O'Neal, with 27 in the 2000-01 season.
-- John Henson has 17 games with 2 or more blocks this season, which is tied for fourth-most in the NBA this season. Indiana's Myles Turner is second with 21 such games.
-- The Bucks have played 10 consecutive games decided by fewer than 10 points, tied for the longest such streak in team history. It was also done from Nov. 26-Dec. 13, 1974 and March 20-April 6, 2011. This is also tied for the longest streak in the NBA this season. Cleveland also had a 10-game streak of games decided by single digits from Dec. 6-25.
Statistics courtesy of STATS and basketball-reference
