Burries drives late comeback as Bucks beat Thunder 128-126

Brayden Burries tied the game with a dunk, Cormac Ryan supplied the go-ahead layup, and the Milwaukee Bucks completed a comeback to beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 128-126 on Wednesday at Paycom Center. Milwaukee had trailed 91-70 in the third quarter before its reserves finished a game that Oklahoma City’s starters had controlled early.

Myles Turner led the Bucks with 19 points. Kel’el Ware added 18 points and 12 rebounds, while Burries scored 16. The rookie guard was central to the closing stretch, scoring eight Milwaukee points in the final 2:13, including the dunk that made it 122-122 with 1:04 left.

Ryan’s driving layup off an Ousmane Dieng assist gave Milwaukee a 124-122 lead with 28.7 seconds remaining. After Brooks Barnhizer missed a three, Burries grabbed the rebound and made both free throws at 7.4 seconds. Otega Oweh scored for Oklahoma City, but Dieng answered with two free throws at four seconds to restore a four-point lead.

Josh Dix missed a late three, and Barnhizer’s tip-in at 0.5 seconds supplied the final margin. Milwaukee had protected its lead through the fouling sequence after spending most of the night trying to recover it.

The first half looked very different. Oklahoma City scored 44 points in the opening quarter and led 82-64 at halftime. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 17 points in 18 minutes, making all five field-goal attempts, including three threes, and all four free throws. Jalen Williams added 16 points and six assists.

Aday Mara’s production continued into the third. He scored 22 points on 10-for-10 shooting, grabbed six rebounds and committed no turnovers. His basket and free throw with 9:19 left put the Thunder ahead by 21. Milwaukee responded before the quarter ended.

Milwaukee then scored 19 straight points. Ware finished inside, Turner made a three and worked at the foul line, and Ryan Rollins’ three cut the deficit to 91-89. The Bucks entered the fourth trailing 102-97.

Milwaukee also lost Nate Ament to a left ankle sprain. CBS Sports’ RotoWire report said he would not return. The rookie finished with three points and four rebounds in 10 minutes.

Bennett Stirtz helped Oklahoma City push the lead back to 113-103 with 7:28 left. He finished with 20 points and four threes. Pete Nance answered with consecutive Milwaukee threes, and the Bucks continued working their way back before Burries and Ryan completed the final rally.

Clemente Almanza’s Thunder Wire preview had described this as Oklahoma City’s second game in two nights, following Tuesday’s loss to New Orleans. Wednesday offered another productive look at Mara and Stirtz, alongside the returning regulars, but the closing group could not hold the advantage.

Milwaukee finished with 20 offensive rebounds and 26 made free throws. Rollins and Dieng each had seven assists. The Bucks moved to 1-1 in preseason play; Oklahoma City fell to 0-2 and next visits Atlanta on Monday.