This might come as a bit of a surprise considering how good he’s been for the Milwaukee Bucks over the course of his tenure, but entering Sunday’s game against the Oklahoma City Thunder, Khris Middleton had only recorded one triple-double in his career. That did end up changing in the Bucks’ 118-93 win over Oklahoma City, although it took a little convincing on Middleton’s part.
With the Bucks up 107-86 in the fourth quarter, Doc Rivers wanted to empty his bench and get his starters out of the game. Middleton was among them, but he noticed that he was only one point away from getting a triple-double — he already had 10 assists and 10 rebounds. As such, he asked Rivers to keep him in, he got the chance, and on the ensuing possession, he hit a jumper to get to 11 points.
“Let me get a triple-double. One more point.”
Khris Middleton, who had 9 points, expressed his displeasure with Bucks coach Doc Rivers for not letting him get a TD heading into the timeout
Next possession, he scored giving him his 2nd career TD
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— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) March 25, 2024
“I said a little word to Doc, I was feeling it – I guess you could say,” Middleton said after the game, according to Lori Nickel of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “I realized I was one point away; I could be in control, I could hopefully knock down the jump shot, like I did tonight.”
Fortunately things ended up working out well for Rivers here, as Middleton immediately committed a transition take foul after this and went to the bench.