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The Milwaukee Bucks have been involved in several historic winning streaks

jr radcliffe, milwaukee journal sentinel
·4 min read

The Milwaukee Bucks are well acquainted with winning streaks.

They've opened the 2022-23 season at 9-0, the best start in franchise history, three years after racking up 18 straight wins in the 2018-19 season to mark the second-longest winning streak of any variety in franchise history.

Whether it's going on win streaks of their own or ending historical ones, check out these great moments in Bucks streaks.

A record setter en route to the title

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar of the Milwaukee Bucks and Wes Unseld of the Baltimore Bullets fight for position during Game One of the 1971 NBA Finals. The Bucks won 20 straight games that season on their way to the title.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar of the Milwaukee Bucks and Wes Unseld of the Baltimore Bullets fight for position during Game One of the 1971 NBA Finals. The Bucks won 20 straight games that season on their way to the title.

From Feb. 6 to March 8, 1971, the eventual NBA champion Bucks couldn't be beaten. They racked up 20 straight wins, setting an NBA record. (The previous high had been 18; the 20-game streak wouldn't last long, though).

By the time Milwaukee lost to the Bulls in overtime to snap the streak, the Bucks knew they were playoff bound and were gearing up for the postseason. They lost the next two games in a row.

More:These are the longest winning streaks in Bucks history, featuring a whole lot of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

More:Bucks win ninth straight by beating Thunder 108-94 without Giannis Antetokounmpo

Led by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Oscar Robertson, Milwaukee was only occasionally tested during the rampage. More importantly, the Bucks went 12-2 in the postesason — and one of those losses required a dramatic buzzer beater by the San Francisco Warriors. Milwaukee got past the Warriors, Lakers and Baltimore Bullets to claim the franchise's first championship in just its third year of existence. It would be the only Bucks title until 2021.

Someone finally beats the Lakers

That 20-game winning streak didn't even last a full season. The 1971-72 Lakers obliterated it.

Starting Nov. 5, 1971, the Lakers won a staggering 33 games in a row, crossing into the new year before finally seeing it end. The team to turn the feat, of course, was the Milwaukee Bucks, winning 120-104 over L.A. at The MECCA on Jan. 9, 1972.

The Lakers, buoyed by stars Jerry West, Gail Goodrich and Wilt Chamberlain, wound up losing four of six but then went on to finish 69-13 and went on to win the 1972 championship. That run included a win over the Bucks in the Western Conference finals, 4-2.

Abdul-Jabbar wrote about the contest between his current and future team earlier this year. That streak remains the longest in NBA history, with Miami (27 in the 2012-13 season) coming closest. Across two seasons, the Golden State Warriors racked up 28. Which brings us to …

The 24-1 game against the Warriors

Mallory Edens holds up a "24-1" shirt during the second half of the Milwaukee Bucks' game against the Golden State Warriors on Dec. 12, 2015, the night the Bucks handed the Warriors their first loss of the season.
Mallory Edens holds up a "24-1" shirt during the second half of the Milwaukee Bucks' game against the Golden State Warriors on Dec. 12, 2015, the night the Bucks handed the Warriors their first loss of the season.

You think 9-0 is good, huh? In 2015, Golden State won its first 24 games, an unforgettable run that finally came to an end in Milwaukee on Dec. 12, 2015.

Golden State had beaten Boston the night before in double overtime, and the Bucks game marked the end of a seven-game road trip. Bucks fans famously passed out "24-1" T-shirts (Steph Curry would later get his hands on one as a memento) after Milwaukee prevailed, 108-95.

Greg Monroe (!!) had 28 points, 11 rebounds and five assists in the victory. The Warriors went on to post an all-time great season at 73-9, although they lost in a legendary seven-game NBA Finals against Cleveland and LeBron James.

Other moments in streak

Rob Deer's three-run homer in the ninth inning on April 19, 1987, tied the game and helped the Brewers defeat the Rangers for a 12th straight victory to open the season.
Rob Deer's three-run homer in the ninth inning on April 19, 1987, tied the game and helped the Brewers defeat the Rangers for a 12th straight victory to open the season.

The Bucks' streak of 83 straight games scoring 100 points or more ended against Charlotte in early March 2020. Milwaukee still won the game, 93-85, for its 11th win in 12 games. Times were good in the moments before the NBA (and world) was interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Milwaukee Brewers won 13 games in a row to start the 1987 season; the win everyone remembers, of course, is Team Streak's 12th win in walk-off fashion at County Stadium on Easter.

Counting playoff games, the Green Bay Packers won 19 straight games from the end of the 2010 campaign into a 13-0 start at the outset of 2011. That's the second most (counting regular season and playoff games) behind New England's 21 straight wins from 2003-04. The crown jewel, of course, was the Super Bowl in early 2011.

JR Radcliffe can be reached at (262) 361-9141 or jradcliffe@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @JRRadcliffe.

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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Milwaukee Bucks have been involved in several historic streaks