After scoring six points through the first three quarters, it seemed like Milwaukee Bucks star Khris Middleton was going to have another pedestrian outing on Sunday against the Houston Rockets. The three-time All-Star stepped it up in crunch time, though, scoring 14 points in the final period to finish with 20 points.
Thanks to his strong play down the stretch, Middleton was able to tie his season high in points as he helped the Bucks secure a 128-119 victory over the Rockets.
No one was surprised by Middleton’s explosion in the fourth quarter — especially not Giannis Antetokounmpo. The Bucks talisman has seen this type of eruption from his star teammate too many times in the past. Sunday was no different, via Eric Nehm of the The Athletic.
“That’s what he does,” Antetokounmpo said of Middleton’s clutch play. “We’ve been playing for a lot of years and usually, sometimes in the first, first two, three quarters, he’s trying to read the game. He never forces the issue. He lets the game come to him and then in the fourth quarter, whenever he feels like he wants to be aggressive, he decides to be aggressive. That’s what he’s been doing his whole career with me.”
According to Giannis, Middleton has the innate ability to flip the switch whenever necessary. More often than not, this happens during crunch time. Sunday’s clutch heroics against Houston was a perfect example of Middleton’s composure down the stretch.
Over his last five appearances, Middleton is now averaging 16.2 points on 50.0 percent shooting, to go along with 7.2 rebounds, 5.2 assists, and 1.0 steals, while also knocking down 1.6 triples per game on a 42.1-percent clip.
