Charles F. Gardner

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

One word comes to mind when evaluating the Milwaukee Bucks’ four-game winning streak.

Trust.

Bucks coach Jason Kidd always is talking about it, and now he is seeing it from his players on the court.

So when the Brooklyn Nets made a big comeback in the third quarter Saturday and the Bucks’ play got quite ragged, Kidd sat back.

“I thought it got a little sloppy,” Kidd said. “I wanted to see if they were going to figure it out.

“I wasn’t going to call timeout. I wanted to see if they were going to talk themselves through it because that’s what good teams do.”

The Bucks let a 16-point lead slip away but righted themselves in time to take a second straight victory over the Nets over a three-day span. This time a 37-point fourth quarter led to a 112-103 victory, just as the Bucks produced a 38-point third quarter in Brooklyn on Thursday in a 111-93 decision.

Now bigger challenges are coming, starting with the San Antonio Spurs at home on Monday night. The Spurs are 11-0 on the road, the only NBA team with a perfect away record, and 16-4 overall.

Last season San Antonio crushed Milwaukee by 25 points in two matchups, a 95-70 victory in Texas and a 123-98 pasting at the BMO Harris Bradley Center.

Bucks center John Henson said he thought the Bucks would know a lot more about their status after they face the Spurs and Portland Trail Blazers (on Wednesday).

“I think that was a big game for our growth, just being solid,” Henson said of Saturday’s victory. “Ask me Wednesday how I feel and I think we’ll have a better gauge of where we are.”

Kidd was confident enough in the fourth quarter to place the ball in Jabari Parker’s hands in key situations. Parker got to the foul line twice and was 2 of 4 while also grabbing three rebounds in the quarter.

Matthew Dellavedova responded with 12 points in the quarter on 4-of-5 shooting and making all four of his free throws. When the Nets defense played him for the lob and backed off, he took his shots and made them.

“I’m just blessed, man,” Parker said of his role. “I’m just glad he (Kidd) took a chance.

“It’s not really just scoring. It’s making plays; that’s all that counts.”

Giannis Antetokounmpo continues to impress. He nearly had a triple-double in just 30 minutes against the Nets on Thursday and came back with 16 points, 10 rebounds, six assists and five blocks in 35 minutes on Saturday.

Kidd was asked if he has a model he’s trying to use in shaping Antetokounmpo’s game.

“I think we’re in the early stages of seeing where he can take us and what he can handle before we give him everything,” Kidd said.

“We’ve got to be a little patient. There’s a little trial-and-error, too, with it. But there’s a lot of communication between the two of us of understanding where we’re trying to go.

“What he’s done is shown he can handle a lot right now. And there’s going to be a time where we’re going to raise the bar again and see how he does.

“But the model? You look being around some of the best in the world in LeBron (James) and Dirk (Nowitzki). Man, wouldn’t it be cool to have those two combined as one player.”

The Bucks have settled into a 10-man rotation with the season nearing the quarter pole. Henson is starting at center with Greg Monroe playing a strong role off the bench.

Malcolm Brogdon has played well as the backup point guard and Michael Beasley and Mirza Teletovic provide strong relief and scoring punch at forward.

“It helps keep the minutes down for Giannis and Jabari when Beasley and Mirza play,” Kidd said. “You look at John playing at a very high level and Moose (Monroe).

“Yes, the rotation is a little bit more consistent. But there are always changes or foul trouble we have to be prepared for. You can see the team is starting to come together and that’s good.”

Kidd went five deep in his rotation Saturday and all the bench players exceeded 14 minutes. Monroe and Brogdon each played 21, while Beasley went 18, Jason Terry 17 and Teletovic 15.