Playoff games now included.
This edition marks the Fourth Annual Top-10 Memorable Games story here at Bucks.com, and at least half of the games from this list would make the overall top-10 list if we combined all four of those seasons.
In the end, the Bucks lost more games (45) than they won (43), and in a few years we may look back on this season as an innocent type of time, back before first round series wins were taken for granted. In the end, it feels like these won’t be the best times of all, and that feels pretty good.
10 Memorable Games
10. Bulls 113, Bucks 106 – April 23, 2015 – BMO Harris Bradley Center
- Promise this is the only loss on the list. This was the most excruciating game of the season, but at times it was also the most exhilarating game of the season.
- For a good few minutes in the second quarter, the atmosphere inside was like just about nothing else you will ever see or feel or hear in an NBA stadium. The Bulls brought fans, and they made you hear them, but that only brought out the best in the Bucks fans (and there was a very clear majority of Bucks fans). When the Bucks went up 49-31 in the second quarter on a corner three by Jared Dudley, well, you could not hear the Bulls fans anymore. Also: Not a bad playoff home debut for Giannis Antetokounmpo, who scored 17 points in that first half.
- The Bucks had two chances to win the game at the buzzer, once in regulation and once in the first overtime. Obviously neither one fell, but this is about the most memorable games, and this one was rather unforgettable.
9. Bucks 95, Bulls 91 – April 1, 2015 – BMO Harris Bradley Center
- This was back when the Bulls always used to beat the Bucks in Milwaukee. Honestly, the Bulls had won nine straight in Milwaukee against the Bucks coming into this game. And they were up by four going into the fourth quarter. We also knew this was a likely playoff preview at the time.
- People were in the mood for a good game from Michael Carter-Williams – they had been so for quite some time – and he delivered, repeatedly posting up Aaron Brooks and scoring 21 points along with 10 rebounds. He lived in the paint on offense, and it felt like he was on to something. (Indeed, it would not be as easy when Derrick Rose returned to the lineup in the playoffs, but when he was at his best on offense in the playoffs, he was at his best in the paint.)
- At halftime, the Bucks did the April Fool’s Day thing and unveiled the team’s easy-on-the-eyes future colors.
8. Bucks 95, Knicks 79 – January 15, 2015 – The O2 Arena
- By this time, the Bucks were a long way off from Milwaukee for this “home” game in London, and they were just as far away from being the worst team in the NBA the previous season. The Bucks put on a bit of a show, jumping to a 14-0 lead and carrying on with a glut of around-the-back passes and alley-oop dunks.
- The Bucks led by as many as 26 and never trailed. It was one of the most comprehensive and easy wins in quite some time.
- The Knicks lost for the 16th time in a row. The NBA went to London to crown/dunce-cap a new worst team. The transition was official.
7. Bucks 93, Grizzlies 92 – November 8, 2014 – BMO Harris Bradley Center
- The Grizzlies were 6-0, and 4-0 on the road. They were the best team in the NBA. In past games, the Bucks were overmatched by the Marc Gasol/Zach Randolph frontcourt. The Bucks were also just 2-4, and just a few games removed from being the worst team in the league.
- Trailing by two with eight seconds to play, Brandon Knight drove to the basket and converted an and-one to tie the game, and then nailed the game-winning free throw with one second remaining. It was a classic game for the Bucks, with no single player reaching 20 points. Giannis Antetokounmpo led the way with 18 off the bench, one of his first breakout games of his breakout season.
- Things are maybe changing, you maybe started to think after this game.
6. Bucks 107, Hawks 77 – December 26, 2014 – Philips Arena
- ‘Twas the day after Christmas, and the Hawks were in the middle of a stretch during which they would win 35 of 38 games, the best run of any team in the league at any point this season.
- Of those three losses by the Hawks during that span, one was on a last-second shot by Tobias Harris in Orlando, and one was a 126-115 shootout against the Raptors.
- The other was this 30-point blowout at home to Milwaukee. Jared Dudley shot 10-10 from the field, the Bucks piled up 28 assists, and the Bucks won each and every quarter against one of the hottest teams of the decade.
5. Bucks 122, Nets 118 – November 19, 2014 – Barclays Center
- Somehow, this was merely the first of two triple-overtime games against the Nets this season. It was also the slightly more ridiculous and far more satisfying one.
- This game marked the first return to Brooklyn for Jason Kidd after coaching the Nets the previous season. He was not favored by the crowd.
- O.J. Mayo missed a game-winning attempt at the end of regulation. And then Brandon Knight (who shot just 5-20 from the field) missed a game-winning breakaway layup attempt at the buzzer in the first overtime, one of the wildest and most improbable plays in buzzer-beating history. At the end of the second overtime, it was Joe Johnson’s turn to miss a game-winning shot, after Knight had redeemed himself by nailing a three to tie the game. Knight sealed the win in the third overtime by sinking a couple free throws to give some sweet finality for Kidd and a 122-118 win for the Bucks.
4. Bucks 96, Suns 94 – December 15, 2014 – US Airways Center
- (This was also the worst night of the season. Jabari Parker tore his ACL.)
- Yet the Bucks impossibly made us a crack a smile by the end, coming back from nine points in the fourth quarter and hitting six straight shots to finish the game. The Suns led for the first 44 minutes of the game.
- The final shot was a twisting, turning, banking Khris Middleton 3-pointer at the buzzer.
3. Bucks 89, Heat 88 – March 24, 2015 – BMO Harris Bradley Center
- Khris Middleton game-winning, buzzer-beating 3-pointer, Version Two.
- This pass by Zaza Pachulia is still the pass of the year, not just by the Bucks, but in the NBA, right? And of course Jerryd Bayless tied Michael Beasley to gain a jump-ball and then of course Bayless won the jump-ball over Beasley.
- This was also exactly at the time when the Bucks were seriously sliding, having lost six in a row and 13 of 16. The popular sentiment at the time was that the Heat would cruise past the Bucks in the standings and that the Bucks would miss the playoffs altogether. These things did not happen.
2. Bucks 94, Bulls 88 – April 27, 2015 – United Center
- Look here if you would like: Ten Numbers from the Game 5 Win.
- Game 5 in Chicago. Bulls up 3-1. Close-out game for Chicago. And so much Michael Carter-Williams, who sprained his ankle, shot 10-for-11 in the paint, blocked three shots, dominated Derrick Rose, and almost had a triple-double.
- Things that sum up this game: The Bucks blocked Derrick Rose three times in less than a minute in the fourth quarter, and combined to block Rose and Jimmy Butler 10 times in the game. This was the fourth-best defense in the NBA.
1. Bucks 92, Bulls 90 – April 25, 2015 – BMO Harris Bradley Center
- And here: Ten Numbers from the Game 4 Win.
- The Bucks racked up a season-high 20 steals, including one of Derrick Rose in the final seconds of the game, on what would be the final Bulls offensive possession of the game.
Speaking of final offensive possessions of the game, Jason Kidd (and the overall coaching staff deserves credit here too) drew up a real beauty, freeing Jerryd Bayless for a layup over Rose on a pinpoint pass from Jared Dudley. This one felt pretty good.