The 14th seeded Milwaukee Bucks opened tournament play against the 19th seeded Sacramento Kings who were without probable regular season starters De’Aaron Fox and Buddy Hield. The Bucks’ trotted out a now healthy Gary Payton II, Rashad Vaughn, Sterling Brown, D.J. Wilson, and Tim Kempton to counter the neutered Kings lineup. Vaughn looked to continue his Vegas summer-like hot streak early on:
Unfortunately the Bucks shot 5/23 in the first quarter and cashed in a total of 12 points. Kings’ big man, Skal Labissiere nearly outscored the Bucks by himself as he tallied 11 first quarter points.