Washington Wizards Trail Milwaukee Bucks 70-65 at Halftime

A look in at the Washington Wizards' Monday night contest against Giannis Antetokounmpo, Damian Lillard, and the Milwaukee Bucks.

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The Washington Wizards (2-10) turned their focus to their next contest this NBA season with a home contest against the Milwaukee Bucks (9-4) on Monday night knowing they faced an uphill battle with stars like forward Giannis Antetokounmpo and guard Damian Lillard leading the way for the road squad.

Both the Wizards and Bucks came into the night as two of the worst in rebounding averaging less than 42 per game on each side. 

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Midway through the first quarter it was Milwaukee that led Washington in rebounding by a margin of six to four, but the home team held a 15-14 lead with guard Jordan Poole chipping in five.

Anytime you hold a lead against a team like the Bucks you feel good, but given that the Wizards held an 11-5 advantage at one point the quick turn in favor took some of the early energy out of the team.

Washington Wizards forward Deni Avdija (9) takes a shot between Milwaukee Bucks center Brook Lopez (11) and forward Bobby Portis (9) at Fiserv Forum / Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports

By the time coach Wes Unseld Jr. made his first sub of the game - putting guard Bilal Coulibaly in for Poole just after the six-minute mark - Milwaukee not only closed the gap but led 16-15.

At the end of the first quarter, Antetokounmpo led all players with six rebounds while Gafford led Washington with three and the Bucks held a 31-27 lead.

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By the time the game reached just under six minutes left in the half Milwaukee's lead had swelled to 56-42 with after visiting guard Cameron Payne drained a three-point shot to give his team the 14-point lead.

The first half came to a close with a flourish that included Coulibaly draining a three-point shot off a fast break and Wizards forward Kyle Kuzma dropping a bucket in from close range after a nice move got him free of the Bucks' defenses.

Gafford and Kuzma also added blocks to the stat sheet and solid ball movement and patience led to a late three from guard Landry Shamet.

Before the half came to a close Coulibaly wowed the home fans again securing a steal off Antetokounmpo and running the court to finish the play with a highlight dunk.

Because of the effort Washington finished the half trailing by just five, down to the Bucks 70-65.

Highlight of the Half: With 46 seconds left in the first quarter Wizards guard Jordan Poole drove the lane drawing defensive attention from the Bucks and leaving forward Danilo Gallinari alone near the basket. After Poole found Gallinari in the key Antetokounmpo closed in on him leaving Coulibaly alone to cut to the basket for a nice dunk, trimming the Bucks lead to 28-27 at the time.

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