The Milwaukee Bucks are in their 30th and final season playing at the BMO Harris Bradley Center. By the time this season ends, the Bradley Center will have hosted 1,204 regular-season games and at least 38 playoff games.
Many of those games have themselves been memorable or have featured remarkable moments. Over the course of the season, the Journal Sentinel's Matt Velazquez will select one — sometimes two — notable games that occurred at the Bradley Center for each calendar day throughout the regular season and extending into the playoffs.
Check back each day to learn about — or relive — some of the Bradley Center's most memorable games. Many, but not all, are going to be positive moments for the Bucks. There will be buzzer-beaters, triple-doubles, franchise records and other stellar performances.
There also will be tough losses and extraordinary performances by opposing teams and players. Of course, part of any team's history involves both great highs and unforgettable lows.
DECEMBER
12/23/2016: Giannis Antetokounmpo was serenaded with M-V-P chants — something fairly new to him — as he set what was then a career-high with 39 points in a 123-96 win over the Washington Wizards. He had a chance for 40 points, but missed his final free-throw attempt. He added eight rebounds, six assists and two steals in the blowout. Jabari Parker had 21 poijts and eight rebounds and rookie Malcolm Brogdon scored 17 points on 7 of 7 shooting, the best output of his career to that point. Curiously, Mirza Teletovic went 0 of 9 from the field yet was plus-24 during his 24 minutes on the court.
12/22/2007: Yi Jianlian was nearly automatic in leading the Bucks to a 103-99 victory over the Charlotte Bobcats. The rookie center, who also had 10 rebounds, made 14 of his 17 shot attempts on the way to 29 points, the most in his one season with the Bucks. He had 15 points in the first half then scored three straight buckets out of the break as he added 10 points in the third quarter.
12/21/2000: The Bucks held the New Jersey Nets to 33.3% shooting on this night, the lowest percentage by an opponent at the Bradley Center. The Nets only had 29 points at halftime and 47 through three quarters, but rallied for 31 points in the fourth quarter to tie the game on a Stephon Marbury three-pointer with 5.6 seconds left. Ray Allen responded at the other end, clinching an 80-78 win by burying a 15-footer with 0.3 seconds left. Allen and Tim Thomas led the Bucks with 16 points each in the victory.
12/20/2006: The Bucks trailed the Miami Heat by three at halftime then turned things around in a big way in the second half. Milwaukee put up 68 points in the final two frames to run away with a 121-95 victory. Mo Williams starred for the Bucks, recording the first and only triple-double of his career with 19 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists.
12/19/2009: The Bucks had not won a home game on Dec. 19 in the Bradley Center-era until 2017 when they held off the Cleveland Cavaliers for a 119-116 win. Before that, this contest was as close as they got. Ersan Ilyasova scored off a feed from Brandon Jennings with five seconds left to give the Bucks a one-point lead over the Sacramento Kings. After a timeout, though, Kings guard Tyreke Evans, who had a game-high 24 points, made a layup with 0.9 seconds left and Andrew Bogut’s 12-footer at the other end was off the mark as Sacramento escaped with a 96-95 win. All five Bucks starters scored in double figures, led by Carlos Delfino’s 17 points. Bogut (15 points, 13 rebounds) and Ilyasova (14 points, 10 rebounds) each recorded double-doubles.
12/18/2004: Teams had trouble stopping Philadelphia 76ers guard Allen Iverson throughout his career and especially during the 2004-’05 season when he led the league with an average of 30.7 points per game. On this night in Milwaukee, Iverson put up 54 points, the most by any player — either on the Bucks or their opponent — in Bradley Center history at the time, to lead the 76ers to a 116-97 win over the Bucks. Michael Redd was Milwaukee’s top scorer with 29 points.
12/17/2002: The Bucks just needed one last stop to outlast the Toronto Raptors in regulation, but Lindsey Hunter had other plans, burying a 27-footer with 1.5 seconds left to send the game to overtime tied at 104. Milwaukee built a five-point lead early in the extra session on a three-pointer by Ray Allen, but Toronto crept back to take a one-point lead with 30 seconds to play. That margin stretched to three points when the Bucks inbounded with 14 seconds left hoping to get some payback for Hunter’s shot and send the game to another overtime. They didn’t get the chance as Tim Thomas had the ball stolen by Jerome Williams and Morris Peterson made a pair of free throws to give the Raptors a 122-117 victory. Allen led the Bucks with 37 points in the loss.
12/16/2009: With 5.4 seconds left on the clock and the Bucks leading the Lakers by a point in overtime, Lakers star Kobe Bryant caught an inbound pass just behind half court, drove inside the three-point arc, backed down Charlie Bell and turned for a fadeaway jumper. It caught nothing but net with the clock at zero to send the Bucks to a 107-106 loss.
12/15/2007: The Bucks had their way with the Minnesota Timberwolves, leading by as many as 12 points in the fourth quarter on the way to a 95-92 win. The final margin looked closer than it was because Rashad McCants hit a three-pointer with 1.2 seconds left. The most memorable aspect of the game was Bucks rookie Yi Jianlian, a 7-footer from China who the Bucks had taken with the No. 6 overall pick in the 2007 draft despite Jianlian’s apparent disinterest in playing in Milwaukee. In his 23rd NBA game, he set a new career high with 22 points, including eight in the final 3 1/2 minutes to help seal the win. That total remained the second-most points he scored for the Bucks in his year with the team before being traded to the New Jersey Nets in the summer of 2008.
12/14/2004: The five-win Bucks led the Sacramento Kings (13-6) by as many as 10 points with 7:23 remaining in the game, but the Kings bounced right back with a 12-0 run as the Bucks missed five shots in a row. The teams spent the final five minutes within two points of each other before Milwaukee's Mike James missed his first free throw of the night after making his previous five attempts to leave the game tied with 4.2 seconds left. Mike Bibby inbounded to Kings forward Chris Webber at the top of the key and Webber took a jab step with his right foot before launching a three-pointer that circled the rim and went down to give the Kings an 89-86 win. Desmond Mason had 23 points to lead the Bucks in the loss while Bibby paced the Kings with 27 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists.
12/13/2013: The Bucks held a two-point advantage and the opportunity to inbound the ball with 19.2 seconds left against the Chicago Bulls. The ball made its way to Gary Neal along the sideline where he was expecting to draw a foul. Instead, Bulls forward Joakim Noah reached for and grabbed the ball, forcing a jump ball between him and Neal, which Noah easily won. Bulls forward Mike Dunleavy Jr., a former Buck from 2011-’13 who was playing his his first game at the Bradley Center since leaving the Bucks in free agency, caught a pass from Kirk Hinrich near the top of the key and banked in a three-pointer with 5.8 seconds left to give the Bulls a 91-90 lead — their first of the second half. An O.J. Mayo floater was blocked by none other than Noah at the other end as the Bulls held on for the win. Noah led the Bulls with 21 points, 18 rebounds, five assists, three steals and three blocks. Neal had a team-high 17 points off the bench for the Bucks.
12/12/2015: The Bucks ended the Golden State Warriors’ season-opening, 24-game win streak with a 108-95 victory. Center Greg Monroe carried the Bucks with 28 points, 11 rebounds and five assists and scored 11 points in the fourth quarter, much to the delight of the sellout crowd of 18,717, which included fans wearing 24-1 T-shirts. In busting Golden State's streak, Milwaukee became the first team that season to hold the Warriors under 100 points and the Bucks limited Stephen Curry to just two three-pointers and 28 points. It appeared that Milwaukee's Giannis Antetokounmpo had recorded his first career triple-double in the victory with 11 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists, but two assists were later rescinded.
12/11/1988: Trailing by a point with three seconds remaining, the Bucks had one last chance to put away the Los Angeles Lakers and in the process end Los Angeles' seven-game win streak. The ball found Jay Humphries at the top of the key — just as the Lakers had hoped — and Magic Johnson and Michael Cooper advanced on him. Humphries, a Los Angeles native who played high school basketball in Inglewood, split the double-team and nailed a 16-footer at the buzzer to give the Bucks the victory. Humphries finished with 18 points while Sidney Moncrief led all scorers with 23 and Terry Cummings added 20.
12/10/2005: At just 21 years old, Cleveland Cavaliers phenom LeBron James surpassed the 50-point mark for the second time in his career by pouring in 52 points against the Bucks. But that wasn't enough for Cleveland to grab a win at the Bradley Center. The Bucks put forth a balanced attack led by 24 points from T.J. Ford, who went 5 of 5 on three-pointers, 23 points from Michael Redd and 21 from rookie center Andrew Bogut in a 111-106 victory.
12/9/1990: The Bucks trailed the Seattle SuperSonics by one heading into the fourth quarter, but that deficit didn’t last long. Fueled by eight points from Ricky Pierce, the Bucks embarked on a 15-4 quarter-opening run to take a double-digit lead and never looked back en route to their 10th straight home win to start the season. Milwaukee, which won by a final score of 105-99, got 24 points from Pierce, including 14 in the fourth quarter. Alvin Robertson flirted with a quadruple-double, finishing with 19 points, nine assists, eight rebounds and seven steals in the win. Shawn Kemp led the Sonics with 31 points and 10 rebounds.
12/8/2010: With 0.5 seconds on the clock, Luc Richard Mbah a Moute lofted an inbound pass toward the hoop in the direction of Andrew Bogut, who was streaking toward the basket. Bogut leapt over Indiana Pacers center Jeff Foster and tapped the ball into the hoop to beat the buzzer and give the Bucks a 97-95 victory.
12/7/2016: Jabari Parker put up 27 points and Giannis Antetokounmpo recorded his seventh career triple-double with 15 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists as the Bucks survived a barrage of 17 three-pointers to beat the Portland Trail Blazers, 115-107.
12/6/1988: Ricky Pierce had 24 points and Terry Cummings added 21 points and 12 rebounds as the Bucks turned a tight game into a blowout in the second half on the way to a 109-84 win over the Detroit Pistons. The victory was the 1,000th in franchise history.
12/5/1990 and 12/5/1999: In 1990, Alvin Robertson scored eight of his 31 points in overtime to lead the Bucks past the Cleveland Cavaliers, 113-109. Robertson also had 11 rebounds, five assists and five steals. The game was Milwaukee’s second overtime contest in as many nights, reaching an extra period after Craig Ehlo missed a three-point attempt as time expired in regulation. In 1999, Sam Cassell dished out 18 assists in a 103-97 win over the Dallas Mavericks. At the time, the 18 assists marked a career high for Cassell, who reached 19 assists just 24 days later in a loss to the Charlotte Hornets. Eighteen assists remain tied for Cassell’s most at the Bradley Center.
12/4/2010: The Bucks took full advantage of a depleted Orlando Magic lineup in a 96-85 victory to snap Orlando’s six-game win streak. The Magic were without Jameer Nelson and Dwight Howard and playing with just eight players available. With Howard out, Bucks center Andrew Bogut dominated the interior, scoring 31 points and grabbing 18 rebounds — eight offensive — while blocking a pair of shots in the victory. Bogut’s only issues came at the free-throw line, where he went 5 of 16 and couldn’t take advantage of the Magic intentionally fouling him in the fourth quarter. Brandon Jennings chipped in 27 points, seven rebounds and six assists.
12/3/2014: The Bucks built an eight-point lead over the Dallas Mavericks with less than 4 1/2 minutes left before Monta Ellis turned things around. Ellis, who had played with the Bucks from March 2012 through the 2012-’13 season, scored 10 of his 23 points over the final four minutes, including making the Mavericks’ final four field goals. The last one decided the outcome of the game, as Ellis took an inbound with the game tied and drove inside the three-point arc before spinning left and launching an 18-foot fadeaway off his left foot that caught nothing but net to give Dallas a 107-105 win. Brandon Knight had 25 points, six rebounds, five assists and four steals for the Bucks in the loss.
12/2/1992: Frank Brickowski collected 23 points, 10 rebounds, six assists and four steals to lead the Bucks to a 100-97 victory over the Miami Heat. Blue Edwards added 20 points, Anthony Avent chipped in 18 points and three blocks and Alvin Robertson had 11 points, five rebounds, five assists and three steals. The teams attempted 37 free throws each with the Bucks making 29 free throws and the Heat only making 23. Milwaukee and Miami combined to make 1 of 18 free throws, with Robertson making the only connection while the Heat went 0 of 7.
12/1/2012: Bucks forward Ersan Ilyasova grabbed a rebound off a miss by Boston Celtics guard Paul Pierce with 36.8 seconds left and Milwaukee trailing by one to set up a chance for the Bucks to take the lead. After a timeout, Brandon Jennings caught a pass from Marquis Daniels and knocked down a three-pointer with 24.0 seconds left to put the Bucks ahead. The Celtics missed their final three shot attempts — all three-pointers — as the Bucks held on for a 91-88 win. Bucks center Larry Sanders finished with 18 points, 16 rebounds and five blocks in the victory, leading the team in each category. The game started in mercurial fashion, with the Bucks scoring just 11 points in the first quarter followed by 36 in the second.
NOVEMBER
11/30/1990: The Bucks didn’t have leading scorer Ricky Pierce, who was out with a groin injury, or head coach Del Harris, who was out with the flu. That didn’t matter as Alvin Robertson, despite a sore back, led the Bucks past the reeling New York Knicks, 103-97. Robertson collected his fourth triple-double in a Bucks uniform, putting up 17 points, 15 rebounds and 10 rebounds.
11/29/2005: Dallas Mavericks guard Jason Terry, currently with the Bucks, tied the score at 100 with an 11-footer with 28.9 seconds left and after a miss from each team, the Bucks and Mavericks went to overtime. T.J. Ford gave the Bucks a 110-108 lead with a three-pointer with 31.9 seconds remaining in the extra frame and after a miss by Dirk Nowitzki, Bucks rookie center Andrew Bogut made a pair of free throws to give the Bucks some extra cushion. But with 5.1 seconds left, Terry, who had 37 points on the night, cut the margin back down to one with a three-pointer. Ford was then fouled, making one of two free throws. Terry tried to tie the game at the buzzer with a floater, but Bogut — who had 19 points and 14 rebounds — rejected Terry’s shot to seal the 113-111 win.
"I just remember I had a good game going and I knew I was going to be the one to take the shot," Terry said recently. "I remember after getting my shot blocked thinking to myself, 'Dang. ... He's going to be a good player in this league.' ...
"That was the loudest the Bucks arena has been probably since Sam Cassell and Ray Allen in my earlier years."
11/28/1992: The Bucks took advantage of 27 turnovers by the Washington Bullets on the way to a 97-95 victory to improve to 9-3. The teams shot a combined 70 free throws with the Bucks going 26 of 39 from the line and the Bullets making 21 of 31. Frank Brickowski led the Bucks with 25 points, 11 rebounds and six assists while Harvey Grant paced the Bullets with 35 points, six rebounds and five assists.
11/27/1993: Led by 19 points by Blue Edwards, the Bucks rallied from an 11-point deficit entering the fourth quarter to knock off the Boston Celtics, 89-85. The victory snapped an eight-game home losing streak dating back to the 1992-’93 season, the longest skid in franchise history.
11/26/1994: Penny Hardaway dominated this matchup with the Bucks from start to finish, leading the Orlando Magic to a 113-105 win. He made his first seven shots of the night on the way to what was then a career-high 35 points. Hardaway also dished out 12 assists and with 31.7 seconds remaining in the game, he collected his 10th rebound, giving him his second of four career triple-doubles. Todd Day, who drew the challenge of guarding Hardaway most of the night, finished with 26 points to lead the Bucks while Glenn Robinson contributed 25 points and Vin Baker had a double-double with 14 points and 15 rebounds in the loss.
11/25/1992: The Bucks held off the Cleveland Cavaliers, 94-85, on Thanksgiving eve to avenge a loss in Cleveland the night before. Forward Brad Lohaus led the Bucks with 18 points on 8-of 12-shooting off the bench while guard Alvin Robertson filled up the stat sheet with six points, 11 assists, eight rebounds, seven steals and two blocks. The victory kicked off what would become a four-game win streak, Milwaukee’s longest of the 1992-’93 season.
11/24/2001: Led by Ray Allen’s 21 points and Sam Cassel’s 18 points, seven assists, three steals and two blocks, the Bucks pushed their win streak to five games with a 95-88 victory over the Atlanta Hawks. The victory gave the Bucks a 9-1 record, matching the franchise’s best record through 10 games, something that the team had done four times prior — 1970-’71, 1971-’72, 1973-’74 and 1979-’80.
11/23/1988: On the eve of Thanksgiving, the Bucks stuffed the stat sheet offensively on the way to a 124-112 victory over the Washington Bullets. Forward Terry Cummings led the charge with 31 points in just 29 minutes and guard Sidney Moncrief added 17 points, eight assists, five rebounds, two steals and a block in 25 minutes. Four other Bucks scored in double figures, including Jeff Grayer who had a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds, in a game Milwaukee led by 28 heading into the fourth quarter.
11/22/2006: The Bucks trailed the Philadelphia 76ers by seven entering the fourth quarter and quickly erased that deficit to tie the game in the opening 2 1/2 minutes of the period. Philadelphia opened up a four-point lead on a Willie Green three-pointer with 3:37 left, but that was the last field goal the 76ers would make. Michael Redd scored seven of his game-high 32 points over the final 3 1/2 minutes and the Bucks locked down defensively on the way to a 98-94 victory. Sixers guard Andre Iguodala recorded his second of nine career triple-doubles in the loss with 18 points, 16 rebounds and 10 assists.
11/21/1996 and 11/21/2016: In 1996, the Bucks scored just 65 points — their lowest total in a home game in franchise history, in a 73-65 loss to the Atlanta Hawks. Twenty years later, Giannis Antetokounmpo recorded his sixth career triple-double with 21 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists in a 93-89 win over the Orlando Magic. Jabari Parker added 22 points, including making a career-high 5 of 7 three-pointers, in the win.
11/20/1999: Utah Jazz forward Karl Malone scored 40 points at the Bradley Center three times in his career, doing so for the last time on this date to lead the Jazz to a 111-100 win over the Bucks. This 40-point performance was Malone's best shooting-wise as he made 17 of 25 shots (68.0%). Ray Allen led the Bucks — which trailed by 17 heading into the fourth quarter — with 23 points in the loss. John Stockton had 18 points and 12 assists for Utah.
11/19/1990: Before this date, no one in Bucks history had ever recorded double-digit steals in a single game. Alvin Robertson changed that, swiping 10 steals in a 114-104 win over the Utah Jazz. Robertson nearly accumulated a triple-double, finishing with 16 points and nine assists in the victory. The Jazz were done in by turnovers, giving the ball away 29 times. Utah point guard John Stockton was responsible for 10 of those on his own and ultimately went on to finish second in the NBA that season with 298 turnovers, 16 behind Magic Johnson who had the most. However, Stockton did contribute 14 points and 15 assists in the loss.
11/18/1999: Coming off their first NBA championship in franchise history, the San Antonio Spurs looked poised for another stellar season as they brought back dominant big men David Robinson and Tim Duncan. The Spurs started the season with a 7-2 record heading into their lone trip to Milwaukee. The Bucks are Spurs played even into the fourth quarter before the Bucks ran away with a 99-88 victory. Ray Allen (26 points), Glenn Robinson (22 points) and Sam Cassell (19 points) led Milwaukee in the victory while Dal Ellis added 13 points in 20 minutes off the bench. Duncan had 29 points and 14 rebounds in the loss, but also committed seven turnovers.
11/17/2001: The Bucks got off to a slow start against the Utah Jazz, never leading in the first half on the way to a 13-point halftime deficit. Utah’s advantage remained in the double-digits until late in the third quarter when the Bucks went on a 19-4 run to close the period. Tim Thomas scored 11 of his 15 points during that three-minute stretch, including back-to-back three-pointers and a three-point play that put Milwaukee ahead for the first time, 75-72 heading into the fourth. The game was tied five times in the fourth quarter but the Jazz never regained the lead thanks in large part to Glenn Robinson and Ray Allen leading a late 9-2 run. Robinson had 34 points and Allen added 18 as the Bucks improved to 6-1. Karl Malone had 30 points and 10 rebounds, Donyell Marshall added 22 points and 10 rebounds and John Stockton finished with 14 points and eight rebounds in the loss.
11/16/1989: Every team wants to get off to a strong start. On this day, the Bucks did just that, tying an NBA record with 50 first-quarter points on the way to a 132-113 victory over the Orlando Magic. Seven Bucks scored in double figures, led by Ricky Pierce's 28 off the bench. As a team, the Bucks shot 59.0% and only made 3 three-pointers during the blowout win. Only three teams had previously reached the half-century mark by the end of the first quarter — the Syracuse Nationals (1962), Boston Celtics (1982) and Utah Jazz (1982) — and just one has done it since, with the Phoenix Suns accomplishing the feat in 1990. The record-tying quarter remains Milwaukee's highest-scoring period at home, only surpassed by a 53-point fourth quarter in Cleveland in 1991.
11/15/1994: Everything was going perfectly for the Bucks in the first half as they took a 20-point lead over the Indiana Pacers into halftime. Then Milwaukee's offense went on a cold streak like the team had never seen. The Bucks set a franchise-low with 24 second-half points, including only 8 in the fourth quarter, but held on for an 82-81 victory. Glenn Robinson scored 18 points for Milwaukee and Todd Day block a three-point attempt by Byron Scott to close out the win. The 24 second-half points remain a home low for the Bucks. Since that game, they have scored 22 in a half twice, doing so in the second half at Seattle on Feb. 21, 2003 and in the first half at Boston on March 13, 2011.
11/14/2009: This was, unequivocally, the Brandon Jennings show. In just his seventh game, the rookie dominated to lead Milwaukee to a 129-125 win over the Golden State Warriors. He was held scoreless in the first quarter, then scored a Bucks rookie record 55 points over the final three periods on 21 of 34 shooting. His number of made baskets and attempts both remain Bradley Center records. Jennings was especially hot in the third quarter, scoring 29 points and making 13 of 14 shots. In the second half overall, he scored 45 points and went an astounding 17 of 21 from the field. Jennings’ 55 points made him the first NBA rookie to eclipse the half-century mark since Earl “The Pearl” Monroe scored 56 points for the Baltimore Bullets on Feb. 13, 1968.
11/13/1990: Milwaukee improved to 5-1 thanks in large part to Alvin Robertson’s third triple-double in a Bucks uniform. He had 15 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds in a 119-91 victory over the Boston Celtics. Jack Sikma contributed 21 points, 7 rebounds and 4 blocks in the victory.
11/12/2005: With 3:39 remaining, Indiana Pacers guard Fred Jones put the Pacers up by 14, which seemed to put the game away. But with a little luck, the Bucks made an improbable comeback. The Pacers went 6 of 16 from the free-throw line over the final two minutes and Michael Redd, who had a game-high 28 points, pulled Milwaukee within one by making three free throws with 7.3 seconds left. Jones then split a pair at the other end, missing the second. Bucks forward Bobby Simmons grabbed the rebound and pushed a pass ahead to Mo Williams, who turned, took two dribbles and launched a 29-footer that caught nothing but net as the buzzer sounded to give Milwaukee a 103-102 victory.
11/11/2006: The Utah Jazz took control early, building a 24-point lead midway through the second quarter and owned a 21-point advantage at halftime. Michael Redd refused to let the Bucks go down without a fight. The 6-foot-6 guard poured in 39 points in the second half, including knocking down a leaning three while double-teamed to tie the score at 111 with 6.9 seconds left. That basket also put Redd at 57 points, breaking Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s franchise record of 55 points set on Dec. 10, 1971. The memorable game wouldn’t conclude with a storybook ending for the Bucks, though, as Matt Harpring made a baseline, backdoor cut behind Redd for the game-winning score with 1.8 seconds left. Redd missed a three at the buzzer as the Jazz won, 113-111.
11/10/2001: The Bradley Center hosted an early-season battle of unbeatens as the 5-0 Minnesota Timberwolves came to Milwaukee to face the 4-0 Bucks. The game didn’t live up to its billing, though, as the Bucks scored just nine points in the first quarter and never recovered, falling 98-82. Kevin Garnett paced the Timberwolves with 20 points, 15 rebounds and five assists. Ray Allen had 16 points for the Bucks in their first loss.
11/9/1988 & 11/9/1989: The Bucks scored their first victory at the Bradley Center with a 114-103 win over the 76ers on Nov. 9, 1988. A year later, the Bucks marked the anniversary of their first Bradley Center win by playing the longest game of the shot-clock era, a 155-154 victory over the Seattle SuperSonics that lasted five overtimes. Dale Ellis scored 53 points in 69 minutes for Seattle while Jay Humphries paced Milwaukee in minutes with 62 and Ricky Pierce led the Bucks with 36 points off the bench.
11/8/1990: The Bucks turned a close game against the Philadelphia 76ers into a blowout in the third quarter when they dropped 41 points and held the 76ers to just 19. Milwaukee’s offense operated at a high level throughout the night, setting a team, Bradley Center record for the most points in a regulation game in a 141-111 victory. Ricky Pierce led all scorers with 28 points, Jay Humphries added 25 and Alvin Robertson scored 12 points to go with 12 assists. Four other Bucks scored in double figures as Milwaukee shot 59.4% from the field.
11/7/1992: In June of 1992, the Bucks sent Jay Humphries and Larry Krystkowiak to the Utah Jazz in return for Blue Edwards, Eric Murdock and a first-round pick that Milwaukee used on Lee Mayberry. All three newcomers saw playing time in their Bradley Center debut, with Edwards making an especially strong impression in a 124-88 victory over the Boston Celtics. Edwards topped all scorers with 30 points, making 13 of his 14 field-goal attempts. He also added six rebounds, six assists, five steals and a block in 37 minutes. Edwards went on to lead the Bucks in scoring that season with Murdock right behind him, though Milwaukee finished with a 28-54 record.
11/6/2002: The defending Eastern Conference champion New Jersey Nets came into the Bradley Center attempting to go 5-0 for the first time in franchise history. Ray Allen, Toni Kukoc and the Bucks made sure that didn’t happen. Allen led all scorers with 29 points and Kukoc hit five three-pointers on the way to scoring 26 points in the Bucks' 99-93 victory. Current Bucks coach Jason Kidd led the Nets with 24 points while Richard Jefferson, who had been leading the Nets in scoring to that point, was held without a field goal on seven attempts and had just one point.
11/5/1988: The Bucks hosted their first regular-season game at the Bradley Center, falling 107-94 to the Atlanta Hawks. Terry Cummings had 19 points in the loss with Sidney Moncrief contributing 17. Moses Malone led Atlanta with 25 points and 16 assists. The Bucks got the last laugh during that season, though, beating the Hawks, 3-2, in the first round of the 1989 playoffs.
11/4/2006: Milwaukee’s starters accounted for 97 of the team’s 104 points and shoot nearly 65% on the way to a 104-91 win over the Sacramento Kings. Michael Redd led all scorers with 26 points and second-year forward Charlie Villanueva added 25 in his Bradley Center debut. Those two alone outscored the Kings’ starters, which combined for 44 points.
11/3/2001: The Bucks improved to 3-0 on the season in a game that looked almost like a three-on-three contest. Boston’s Paul Pierce (33 points), Antoine Walker (29 points) and Joe Johnson (23 points) outscored Milwaukee’s trio of Ray Allen (32 points), Sam Cassel (25 points) and Glenn Robinson (24 points), but the rest of the Bucks picked up the difference and then some in a 105-99 victory.
11/2/1991: The defending-champion Chicago Bulls, just one day removed from winning their home opener and receiving their championship rings from capturing the 1991 title, were brought back to earth by the Bucks in Milwaukee’s home opener. With 8.8 seconds left and the game tied at 107, Jay Humphries took the inbound near midcourt, spun inside the three-point arc at the top of the key and put up a leaner that caught nothing but net with 1.7 seconds left. A deep three-pointer by Michael Jordan fell short of the basket, giving the Bucks a 109-107 win. Humphries finished with 24 points on 10-of -13 shooting, which complemented a 29-point outburst by fellow guard Alvin Robertson. Jordan scored 46 points in the loss.
11/1/2003: The Bucks put on a defensive clinic in their home opener during the 2003-'04 season, holding the Chicago Bulls to 28% shooting and 68 points, including just 26 in the second half, on the way to a 98-68 blowout. What makes the victory even more impressive is that the Bucks missed 18 of their first 21 shots and fell behind, 15-2, to open the game. Joe Smith led all scorers with 19 points, with Tim Thomas and Michael Redd contributing 16 each. The win was Bucks coach and Milwaukee native Terry Porter's first at the Bradley Center. Milwaukee's victory also marked its 11th — of what would ultimately become 14 — consecutive home wins over the Bulls.
OCTOBER
10/31/2009: This Halloween matchup between the Bucks and Detroit Pistons marked the Bucks' first October home game since moving to the Bradley Center in 1988. It was also the home debut of rookie Brandon Jennings, who led Milwaukee with 24 points on 9 of 15 shooting, three assists and three steals in a 96-85 victory. Milwaukee's bench accounted for 52 points in the game, with Hakim Warrick contributing 21 points in the first of 48 games he'd play with the Bucks before being traded midseason in the deal that brought John Salmons to Milwaukee.
10/30/2010: The Bucks started the 2010 season with a pair of losses to the New Orleans Hornets and Minnesota Timberwolves. In those two games, second-year point guard established himself as the center of Milwaukee's offense, averaging 14.5 points and 8.5 assists — though his high volume of shots (29) and pedestrian shooting (31.0%) didn't bode well. Against the Charlotte Bobcats in the Bucks' home opener on Oct. 30, though, Jennings put everything together in masterful fashion on the way to his first and only triple-double in a 98-88 victory. He needed just eight shots to score 20 points while adding 10 assists and 10 rebounds. Carlos Delfino was the beneficiary of some of those assists, scoring a team-high 23 points while making five three-pointers.
10/29/2016: The Bucks squandered a late six-point lead and allowed the Brooklyn Nets to tie the score at 108 on a three-pointer by Bojan Bogdanovic with 11.6 seconds left. With the opportunity to take the last shot, coach Jason Kidd drew up a play for Jabari Parker, who attacked the left side of the rim and put up a layup with just over two seconds left. Nets center Justin Hamilton swatted it off the backboard, but Bucks center John Henson swooped in and quickly popped a putback attempt toward the hoop. The ball bounced along the back rim and in as time expired, giving Milwaukee a 110-108 victory. Henson had seven points, 12 rebounds on the evening while second-year guard Rashad Vaughn had a career-high 22 points in the victory.
10/28/2015: Prior to this night, all of the Bucks' season-opening games had come on the road during the Bradley Center era with their most recent season opener at home coming on Oct. 27, 1984, at the MECCA. Coming off a surprise playoff performance — bouncing from 15 wins in 2013-'14 to a .500 record the next season — the Bucks entered their season opener for 2015-'16 against the New York Knicks oozing optimism. That didn't last long, though, as the Knicks took all of the excitement out of the building early on the way to a 122-97 beatdown of the Bucks. Derrick Williams scored 24 points off the bench and 7-foot-3 rookie Kristaps Porzingis had an impressive 16 points in his debut. The Bucks got 22 points and 14 rebounds from prized free-agent acquisition Greg Monroe in his debut. Forward Giannis Antetkounmpo sat out, serving a one-game suspension stemming from an altercation with Mike Dunleavy Jr. during the previous spring's playoffs.
10/27: No games.
10/26/2016: Prior to the 2017-'18 season, this was the Bucks' earliest home game at the Bradley Center and served as the season opener. The Charlotte Hornets brought full-court pressure for most of the night with Nicolas Batum shadowing Giannis Antetokounmpo from end to end and the Bucks never led on the way to a 107-96 loss in front of a sellout crowd. Antetokounmpo led the Bucks with 31 points, nine rebounds and five assists while playing 39 minutes.
10/25: No games.
10/24: No games.
10/23/2017: Khris Middleton came up with a key block late and then a minute later sank a three-pointer to give the Bucks some breathing room as they earned a 103-94 victory over the Charlotte Hornets. Middleton finished with 20 points to support a strong effort by Giannis Antetokounmpo, who had 32 points, 14 rebounds, six assists and two blocks. Antetokounmpo’s 32 points put him at 147 through four games, pushing him one point ahead of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for the most in team history through four games.
10/22: No games.
10/21/2017: Giannis Antetokounmpo had a night to remember. Not only did he set a career high with 44 points, but he also came up with a pair of critical defensive plays to lead the Bucks to a 113-110 win over the Portland Trail Blazers. With the Bucks down a point, Antetokounmpo poked the ball away from Portland’s C.J. McCollum. Malcolm Brogdon collected it and pushed a pass to Antetokounmpo, who beat everyone across the court for the go-ahead dunk. Antetokounmpo then blocked Blazers center Jusuf Nurkic to seal the win. After the game, his teammates awarded him the game ball, which he dedicated to his father, Charles, who died suddenly of a heart attack on Sept. 29.
10/20/2017: The 2017-'18 home opener against the three-time defending Eastern Conference champion Cleveland Cavaliers was the earliest regular-season game at the Bradley Center. Giannis Antetokounmpo had 34 points, eight rebounds and eight assists, but it wasn’t enough as the Bucks fell, 116-97, in front of a sellout crowd. It was the Bucks’ third successive loss in a home opener and brought the team’s record to 20-10 in home openers at the Bradley Center.
Special thanks to Basketball-Reference.com, which was utilized during this project and made accessing information about past games much easier.