MEMPHIS - The first time Brandon Jennings took the court for the Milwaukee Bucks, he was a 20-year-old rookie coming off a year playing professionally in Italy instead of going to college.
In that game on Oct. 30, 2009, Jennings nearly recorded a triple-double with 17 points, nine rebounds and nine assists.
Fast forward to Monday night at FedExForum, where Jennings made his 2017-'18 season debut and played his first game in a Bucks uniform since 2013.
“I was nervous," Jennings said. "I felt like it was my first rookie game again. Just putting on that jersey was a blessing and I was just very grateful."
In the first game of his second stint with the Bucks, Jennings reprised his rookie debut, again flirting with a triple-double to help the Bucks to a 121-103 victory that dealt the Memphis Grizzlies their 18th consecutive loss. Jennings, who logged 24 minutes off the bench, finished the night with 16 points, 12 assists and eight rebounds.
“We wanted more," Bucks coach Joe Prunty deadpanned with a smirk before going on to praise Jennings.
Jennings had joined the Bucks on Sunday morning by signing a 10-day contract. He started the season playing in China before joining the Bucks' G League affiliate, the Wisconsin Herd, in February.
That time with the G League was something both Prunty and Jennings pointed to Monday night as an important aspect of Jennings being able to fit in with the Bucks so quickly.
“That gets back to the value of the G League," Prunty said of Jennings being comfortable running Milwauke's offense. "You come back, you get a feel; you get a feel for the system and that’s the value. (Herd coach) Jordan Brady’s done a nice job of bringing him in and implementing him with the Herd. The teams, we do similar things so that helps him in that regard.”
BOX SCORE: Bucks 121, Grizzlies 103
It didn't take long for Jennings to heat up. He made his first appearance with 3 minutes 3 seconds left in the first quarter and racked up two rebounds and a pair of assists before the end of the period. Then, still in the lineup to start the second, he scored Milwaukee's first five points with a finger roll and curl through the lane and into the corner for a three-pointer.
That was the start of an 11-point second quarter for Jennings, who closed the half with an assist to John Henson that gave Jennings 11 points, nine assists and six rebounds at intermission.
“I think just seeing that ball go in for the first time on an NBA floor just built a lot of my confidence," Jennings said.
Jennings got extra minutes in the third quarter and early in the fourth as starting point guard Eric Bledsoe went to the bench with four fouls. Given the extra opportunity, Jennings helped guide the Bucks to a 17-point lead heading into the fourth quarter.
"I wasn’t expecting to do the numbers, I just thought I was going to play 10, 12 minutes," Jennings said. “I was real tired. I kept telling Bled, ‘Don’t foul, stop fouling. I’m tired.’ My nerves were running and everything like that but it was good.”
During that fourth quarter, though, turnovers made the game more interesting. The Bucks committed six of their 19 turnovers in the first five minutes of the period. The Grizzlies made the most of those giveaways, scoring 30 total points off Bucks turnovers, and Memphis used those extra fourth-quarter possessions to cut the margin to single digits.
It got as close as six points when Bledsoe, who returned for Jennings with 8 minutes 44 seconds remaining, quieted the run with back-to-back bursts to the rim for layups. The margin never got below double digits again.
Khris Middleton finished the night with a team-high 24 points on 9-of-14 shooting, including 11 points in the first quarter. Middleton also impacted the game in other ways, grabbing six rebounds and dishing out four of Milwaukee's season-high-tying 33 assists.
“Khris was really good," Prunty said. "In the first quarter and in a couple stretches had it going really well. I thought we did a nice job of playing to him.”
Giannis Antetokounmpo, who also dealt with foul trouble and got off to a slow start, ended with 20 points while playing 27 minutes, 46 seconds — his second-fewest minutes in a game this season. After the game, Antetokounmpo wasn't thinking about being limited to five first-half points or finishing with a team-high six turnovers.
Instead, he was appreciating the team's first win in Memphis since Nov. 21, 2009 as well as what Jennings did on the court.
“It’s crazy," Antetokounmpo said. "Brandon Jennings is an NBA player. Guy surprised me with what he did tonight. Hopefully, he can help us moving forward.”
Bledsoe kicked in 14 points, Tony Snell knocked down four three-pointers for 12 points and Henson finished with 11 points, seven rebounds and a pair of blocks, including a rejection of Marc Gasol with just over four minutes left that led to an and-one for Antetokounmpo.
While the team played well collectively, it was Jennings who was the star of the night. This game and his strong showing marked the culmination of the comeback that began in 2015 when he tore his left Achilles while with the Detroit Pistons — in a game against the Bucks, no less.
"I don't think it's a question whether he can play in the NBA," said John Henson, who is the lone Buck who played with Jennings in the past and felt like Monday's game was like looking back at the player he knew from the 2012-'13 season. "He can clearly play, so I’m excited to have him. On a 10-day, for a guy like that with that type of talent, it's rare."
Since Jennings suffered his Achilles injury, he played in 129 regular-season NBA games and showed flashes of his former self but wasn't the same. In those contests with four different teams, he averaged 7.0 points while shooting just 36.2% in 20.7 minutes per game.
Jennings credits his time playing professionally in China with Shanxi Zhongyu this season for not only helping him improve physically but also getting him in the right mental state of mind.
“It’s just all the hard work I was putting in in China," Jennings said. "People don’t understand I was still hurt with my Achilles injury, so now I’m finally healthy and I was able to really just revamp my whole self. ...
“I just was able to find myself again. I was really mentally messed up in the head because of my so-called career-ending injury. Just always wanted to bounce back from that. … I tried to get a lot of negative thoughts and things out of my head and it really helped me.”
As exciting as Monday night was in terms of his comeback, Jennings knows he has more work in front of him. Nearly putting up a triple-double is nice, but he's on a 10-day contract and knows he has more to prove if he wants his time in the NBA to continue.
“One thing about being on a 10-day contract is you’ve got to have a sense of urgency," Jennings said. "I’ve got 10 days to prove myself and I’m going to use every opportunity, every game for that. I’m just going to give my all every night.”
UP NEXT
Teams: Milwaukee Bucks (36-31) at Orlando Magic (20-47).
When: 6 p.m. Wednesday.
Where: Amway Center.
About the Magic: Orlando's season-long struggles have continued since the all-star break, with the Magic going 2-8 since the annual showcase. That includes a current four-game losing streak heading into their game Tuesday night in San Antonio to close out a five-game road trip. The status of Orlando's top two scorers remains in doubt for Wednesday's game. Evan Fournier has missed the past two games with sprained left MCL, and Aaron Gordon has been sidelined the past two games while in the concussion protocol.