Matt Velazquez

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

The Milwaukee Bucks looked frustrated.

The foul calls weren't going their way, their defense was inconsistent and they just couldn't make any headway in their comeback attempt against the San Antonio Spurs on Saturday night at Fiserv Forum.

Late in the third quarter, Eric Bledsoe got upset with a call he wasn't even involved in and got whistled for a technical foul. Moments late, Giannis Antetokounmpo hesitated before launching an airball three-pointer then stopped himself short of punting the ball into the crowd.

But in the fourth quarter with the game on the line, the Bucks collected themselves to roar back to life. Antetokounmpo led the charge, putting the team on his back as he exorcized his demons at the free-throw line and ignited a critical, gutsy rally to carry his team to a 135-129 victory to close out a 4-2 home stand and keep the Bucks unbeaten in games following a loss.

BOX SCORE:Bucks 135, Spurs 129

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“This is the NBA, man, we can’t let one game dictate how the next game’s going to play out," Bledsoe said, referring to Friday's two-point loss to the Phoenix Suns. "We’ve got to come out and play hard like we did throughout this game.”

Milwaukee's comeback started with 7 minutes, 20 seconds left in the game, trailing the Spurs by 10. That's when Antetokounmpo, who hadn't gotten many whistles throughout the night, made a more concerted effort in the lane.

The Bucks as a whole had been on the wrong end of the free-throw battle all night, sending the Spurs to the line 28 times in the opening three quarters compared to just 12 trips for the Bucks. Antetokounmpo changed things virtually on his own.

He opened the comeback by collecting fouls on back-to-back plays and making all four of his free throws. After a three-pointer by Sterling Brown and a response by San Antonio's DeMar DeRozan, who had 34 points, at the other end, Antetokounmpo again found his way to the line, this time getting a layup to fall at the same time.

Antetokounmpo, who finished with 34 points, 18 rebounds and eight assists, ultimately went 10 of 11 from the free-throw line in the fourth quarter while scoring 14 of his 34 points in that period. A 66.4% free-throw shooter this season, he went 16 of 20 from the line to help fuel Milwaukee's victory.

“I think I’ve grown as a player to be able to relax, not show my frustration and yell to the refs," Antetokounmpo said. "I try to talk to them as nice as I can and tell them, ‘I think I was fouled on that play if you guys can go into halftime and look at that play again.’ I think it always works back in our favor when you’re nice and polite to them and you’re not frustrated. … It’s worked so far.”

But the fourth-quarter comeback wasn't just about him. Brown, who has played sparingly all season, got critical fourth-quarter minutes and responded with a pair of much-needed three-pointers and a high level of defensive intensity.

Malcolm Brogdon also scored seven of his 23 points in the final period, including a layup high off the window that put the Bucks ahead, 121-120. Khris Middleton, who was displaced early in the quarter by Brown, came up big with a three-pointer that put the Bucks up by four with just over two minutes left. That triple was part of a 21-point night for Middleton.

Bledsoe, who has had a knack for making big plays late in games this season, also stepped up. He assisted on the aforementioned Brogdon layup and hit Antetokounmpo with a pocket pass for a layup. Then, with the Bucks up three, under 1:20 left and the shot clock ticking down to five seconds, Bledsoe pulled the ball out to half court before speeding to the hoop, adding a pump fake on the way, and somehow connecting on a tough layup in traffic.

“I’m OK until he did the head fake at the three-point line with like one second," coach Mike Budenholzer said of that drive. "He covers so much ground. You feel like he’s going to make a good play. … Eric was great down the stretch.”

Bledsoe, who had 20 points and 10 assists, wasn't done. With the Bucks ahead by two with under 15 seconds left and the shot clock again winding down, he spun into the lane and was caught in mid-air as DeRozan came from the back side to contest. Seeing Bryn Forbes slide to defend the corner, Bledsoe made the quick decision to fire a pass back to Brogdon on the wing for a dagger three-pointer with 8.4 seconds left.

“At the end, I feel like Bledsoe’s such a good fourth-quarter player," Antetokounmpo said. "I trust him so much. Like, I was down on the other side of the court and I dribbled all the way to give the ball to Bledsoe because I think he’s going to make the right decisions. … It’s just fun playing with him.”

The victory came after the Bucks squandered a 15-point first-quarter lead, losing it almost as soon as they got it and leading only by one heading into the second. From then on the game was played tight, with the Spurs stretching the margin to double digits on a few occasions.

For the Bucks, the win was a critical one, moving them to 5-0 in games immediately after a loss and displaying a high level of resolve to claw back at the end after a largely frustrating night -- and the second game of a back-to-back at that.

“It was a big game today," Antetokounmpo said. "As I said yesterday, we’re a winning team now. Always, no matter what’s going on, no matter if we lost the game before, we’re always going to try to bounce back and get back on track. That’s what we did today.”

Man down: Ersan Ilyasova was a late scratch Saturday night due to right knee soreness. He was active and in uniform, but there was no situation in which he would have gotten onto the court.

Student vs. teacher: Saturday's game pitted Budenholzer against his former boss and friend Gregg Popovich, who he spent nearly two decades working for in San Antonio. For Budenholzer, the chance to spend time with Popovich – the two talked courtside during pre-game – superceded the game.

“It’s always a special game or whatever, just any time you get to see him, visit with him, catch up," Budenholzer said. "We had a lot of great years, learned so much, he’s such a big part of who I am. The games are probably secondary or third or something – I just always love to catch up and visit with him.”

Popovich had some fun with the media when asked about his feelings toward Budenholzer and what the matchup meant to him.

“Absolutely nothing," he said. "You want me to cry, pull out a picture of him in my wallet? He’s wonderful. You all have figured that out by now, probably.”

The two men may no longer be working side-by-side, but Popovich has kept in touch with his former assistant. He's seen the ways Budenholzer has connected with and changed the Bucks for the better. Popovich also knows what Antetokounmpo and Budenholzer have already built while working together and how well they have meshed.

“Every coach wants to have a good relationship with their best players and each of us is fortunate if we are able to have a superstar who is selfless and cares about the group," Popovich said. "Bud and I used to always talk about finding people who had gotten over themselves and Giannis is one of those people. In talking to Bud, he couldn’t be happier with his character and his team-like orientation. ... Bud appreciates that and knows how important that is.”