When the Bucks win, they win big

Blowouts are nothing new for the Milwaukee Bucks.

Of the Bucks’ 11 victories, eight have been by a double-digit margin and four have been by 20+ points.

Milwaukee currently owns the highest per-game point differential in wins in NBA history at 18.7 per victory. That bests the 1970-71 Bucks, who won 66 games by an average of 17.5 points. That team, of course, was led by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and went on to win the NBA championship in his second season.

Oddly enough, the 2011-12 Philadelphia 76ers — a team which finished just 35-31 — won their games by an average of 16.8 points, the third-highest mark in league history.

Since 2019-20, Milwaukee owns 20 wire-to-wire wins, meaning the team never trailed in those games. That’s double the amount of Utah, which ranks second with 10. The Los Angeles Clippers and Miami Heat are tied for third with nine.

Quick starts have been crucial to big Bucks victories. Milwaukee has built a lead after one quarter in 13 of 17 contests, and the Bucks are 11-1 after leading at halftime.

Milwaukee has had no trouble scoring the basketball against the New Orleans Pelicans, who host the Bucks on Friday night. Milwaukee has won the last four meetings between these two teams and has averaged 125.0 points in those games while shooting 36.8% from 3.

New Orleans is allowing the most opponent 3-point attempts per game (41.6), so you can expect the Bucks to let it fly against the Pelicans.

NOTABLE

— Brook Lopez is one of three NBA players with 25+ blocks and 25+ 3-pointers. Toronto’s Chris Boucher and Golden State’s Andrew Wiggins are the other two.

— Unsurprisingly, Giannis Antetokounmpo leads the Bucks with 1.49 points per shot attempt. But his brother, Thanasis, ranks second on the team with 1.48 points per shot.

— Friday night should be a battle on the boards. Milwaukee ranks second in the NBA with a +5.71 rebound differential, and New Orleans is right behind in third (+5.63).

Statistics courtesy Sportradar