The Milwaukee Bucks erased a 19-point deficit to beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 128-126 in a preseason thriller at Paycom Center on Wednesday night.
Oklahoma City controlled the first half, taking a 44-35 lead after one quarter and extending the advantage to 82-64 by halftime. The Thunder shot 49% from the field and 37% from three-point range through the game, but Milwaukee steadily cut into the deficit after the break.
The Bucks outscored Oklahoma City 33-20 in the third quarter to enter the final period trailing 102-97. They then completed the comeback during a tightly contested fourth quarter that featured several lead changes.
Bennett Stirtz appeared to have put the Thunder in control again, hitting a three-pointer with 1:32 remaining to give Oklahoma City a 121-118 lead. Milwaukee answered through Brayden Burries, who tied the game at 122 with 1:04 left before Cormac Ryan’s driving layup put the Bucks ahead 124-122 with 28.7 seconds remaining.
Burries then converted two free throws with 7.4 seconds left to give Milwaukee a 126-124 advantage. Ousmane Dieng made two more free throws with four seconds remaining, extending the lead to four before Brooks Barnhizer scored at the other end with 0.5 seconds left.
Burries finished with 16 points, five rebounds and two steals in 21 minutes, while Dieng contributed eight points, five rebounds and seven assists. Kasparas Jakucionis added 10 points and four assists off the bench.
Myles Turner led Milwaukee’s starters with 19 points, five rebounds and two blocks, shooting 5-of-8 from the field and 7-of-8 from the free-throw line. Kel’el Ware recorded 18 points and 12 rebounds, while Tyler Herro scored 13 points and made three of his six three-point attempts.
Ryan Rollins added 12 points and seven assists for the Bucks, who shot 46% from the field and 32% from three-point range.
The Thunder were led by rookie Aday Mara, who scored 22 points on a perfect 10-of-10 shooting from the field. He also grabbed six rebounds and blocked one shot in 25 minutes.
Stirtz finished with 20 points, five rebounds and two assists, making four of seven three-point attempts. Alex Caruso added 12 points while going 4-of-6 from three-point range, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 17 points on 5-of-5 shooting, including 3-of-3 from beyond the arc.
Jalen Williams contributed 16 points and six assists for Oklahoma City, while Cason Wallace had seven points and six assists.
Milwaukee improved to 1-1 in the preseason, while Oklahoma City dropped to 0-2 after its second consecutive home loss.
