Tag: Giannis

Basket Ball / Sports

Bucks begin title defense with 127-104 victory over Nets

Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks didn’t let the celebration of the franchise’s first NBA championship in half a century distract them as they opened their title defense.

In his first game since scoring 50 points in a title-clinching Game 6 NBA Finals victory over the Phoenix Suns, Antetokounmpo had 32 points, 14 rebounds and seven assists to lead the Bucks to a 127-104 victory over the Brooklyn Nets on Tuesday night.

”We’re part of history,” Antetokounmpo said. ”I’m excited. But now it’s over with. We’ve got to focus on building good habits, keep moving forward and keep playing good basketball and hopefully we can repeat this again this year, next year and all the years that we’re going to be here down the road.”

Khris Middleton and Pat Connaughton each added 20 points to help the Bucks withstand the loss of Jrue Holiday, who sat out the second half with a bruised right heel after scoring 12 points. Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer said MRI results on Holiday were encouraging.

Kevin Durant led the Nets with 32 points and 11 rebounds. Patty Mills scored 21 points and shot 7 of 7 from 3-point range. James Harden added 20 points.

”We weren’t very good,” Brooklyn coach Steve Nash said. ”If you’re not playing at a high level against the champs, you’re not going to win.”

The Nets were missing star guard Kyrie Irving, who isn’t with the team due to his refusal to get a COVID-19 vaccine.

A New York mandate requires professional athletes on local teams to be vaccinated to practice or play in public venues. Rather than using Irving exclusively in road games, the Nets decided he wouldn’t play or practice with them at all until he could be a full participant.

After receiving their rings, raising a banner and watching a highlight video of their first NBA championship since 1971, the Bucks defeated the team that nearly eliminated them in the second round of the playoffs. Antetokounmpo acknowledged that he teared up a little bit during the pregame …

Basket Ball / Sports

Milwaukee Bucks win first NBA championship since 1971 behind Giannis Antetokounmpo’s legendary MVP showing

The Milwaukee Bucks were fairly quick champions after their inception. The team was founded in 1968, won a coin flip (ironically against the Phoenix Suns) for the right to draft Lew Alcindor a year later, and in 1971, they captured the franchise’s first championship. With their star big man in place, Milwaukee seemed likely to continue adding rings to its collection for years to come. That’s not how it happened.

Alcindor, who by then had changed his name to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, asked to be traded and ultimately landed with the Los Angeles Lakers. Marques Johnson and Sidney Moncrief came up short. Ray Allen and Sam Cassell came up short. The Bucks had the No. 1 pick three more times after landing Alcindor, but passed on Bernard King in 1977, Jason Kidd in 1994 and Chris Paul in 2005. Their 2013 selection of a young forward from Greece looked like an afterthought for a team that could never quite make it over the hump.

But that unassuming young forward grew into an MVP. So dominant was Giannis Antetokounmpo that fans began to worry that, like Abdul-Jabbar before him, he would seek out greener pastures. But before the 2020-21 season, Antetokounmpo signed a five-year extension with the Bucks that signaled a commitment. He didn’t just want to win the championship. He wanted to win it in Milwaukee.

That dream became a reality on Tuesday as the Bucks won their first championship in 50 years as the Greek Freak made history with 50 points in a 105-98 Game 6 win, arguably one of the most historic performances we’ve seen in a clinching game. They defeated that very Suns team they flipped for Alcindor with decades earlier thanks to another strong outing from Antetokounmpo. That he got to win the title in front of his home fans in Milwaukee was the icing on the cake for a player who has become synonymous with the city he plays in.

Antetokounmpo grew up poor in Greece, and his acclimation to the United States was on full

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Basket Ball / Sports

Milwaukee win Game 4 to even up finals series

The Milwaukee Bucks and Phoenix Suns treated fans to the most exciting matchup of the NBA Finals to this point in Game 4 as the Bucks ultimately came out on top with a 109-103 hard-fought win at Fiserv Forum Wednesday night .

Devin Booker was phenomenal for the Suns as he finished with a game-high 42 points and made NBA history along the way as well. He was also involved in one of the most controversial plays of the night as he appeared to foul Jrue Holiday late in the fourth quarter, a foul that would have been his sixth of the game, which the officials seemingly disregarded. In the end, Booker’s offensive explosion wasn’t enough to overcome the Bucks as Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton combined for 66 points to lead the charge for Milwaukee and, ultimately, help them even this series.

With the win, the Bucks carry all the momentum into Game 5 in Phoenix on Saturday night as this is now, essentially, a best-of-three series. Here are three takeaways from Milwaukee’s Game 4 win.

1. An all-time duel

Shaquille O’Neal and Allen Iverson. Michael Jordan and Charles Barkley. Jerry West and John Havlicek. Khris Middleton and Devin Booker. Those are the four sets of opposing players in NBA history to both score 40 points in an NBA Finals games. The first six were all obvious Hall of Famers. If the game they played tonight is any indication, Middleton and Booker are headed down that same path.

Neither was particularly impressive in a first quarter that included only 43 total points. They then combined for 21 in the second before Booker erupted for a staggering 18 in the third without missing a shot. At that point, it looked as if the night belonged to him. Middleton had other ideas. With Booker relegated to the bench due to foul trouble, Middleton scored 14 points on 5-of-9 shooting. When Phoenix’s incredible defense took away all of their team-based actions, Middleton stepped into pick-and-roll jumpers that could not be denied. He …

Basket Ball / Sports

Giannis Antetokounmpo goes for 40-10 again, Milwaukee rolls in Game 3

We have ourselves a series. After dropping the first two games in Phoenix, the Milwaukee Bucks pulled out a much-needed 120-110 win over the Suns in Game 3 at Fiserv Forum Sunday night. With the victory, the Bucks now trail 2-1 in the NBA Finals, which is much more manageable than 3-0 — a deficit that’s proven to be historically unsurmountable.

As they have been throughout the postseason, the Bucks were led by Giannis Antetokounmpo, who had 40-plus points for the second consecutive game. In all, Antetokounmpo finished with 41 points, 13 rebounds and six assists in 38 minutes of action. It was an extremely impressive performance from the two-time MVP, but he also had his fair share of help. Jrue Holiday had 21 points, nine assists and five rebounds, while Khris Middleton added 18 points, seven rebounds and six assists of his own. Chris Paul led the way for Phoenix with 19 points and nine assists, and DeAndre Ayton added 18 points and nine rebounds, but ultimately their production wasn’t enough.

The win was a big one for the Bucks, and the loss was obviously disappointing for a Suns team that controlled the first two games of the series. Still, neither team can afford to dwell on it for too long as they have to prepare for Game 4 on Wednesday night. Here are four key takeaways from Milwaukee’s win over Phoenix in Game 3.

1. Giannis made some NBA history

Not only did Giannis Antetokounmpo propel the Bucks to a Game 3 win, but he also made some serious NBA history in the process. By finishing with 41 points and 13 rebounds, Antetokounmpo became just the second player ever to record 40-plus points and 10-plus rebounds in consecutive NBA Finals games. The only other player to do it was Shaquille O’Neal.

Antetokounmpo did a lot of his damage from the paint in Game 3. In fact, the 24 points that he scored in the paint tied the record for the most in a Finals game over the last …

Basket Ball / Sports

Giannis Antetokounmpo injured in Milwaukee’s Game 4 loss to Atlanta

The Milwaukee Bucks had a prime opportunity to take control of their series against the Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday night as Trae Young was sidelined with a bone bruise in his foot. While most fans and pundits thought Milwaukee would roll Atlanta for a relatively easy win, the exact opposite is what took place at State Farm Arena as the Bucks fell behind early and then stood no chance once Giannis Antetokounmpo was ruled out after hyperextending his knee as the Hawks cruised to a 110-88 victory.

Lou Williams was inserted into the starting lineup following Young’s injury and he responded in a major way finishing with a game-high 21 points to lead six Hawks players scoring in double figures. On the other side of the spectrum, Jrue Holiday led all scorers for Milwaukee with 19 points.

With the win, the Hawks have tied the series as things shift back to Milwaukee for Game 5. Given the fact that Atlanta entered the game without the services of Young, and leave it uncertain of Antetokounmpo’s status going forward, the Hawks have to feel good about their position after four games in the Eastern Conference finals.

Here are three key takeaways from the game:

1. Giannis goes down

The Hawks were already without Trae Young, and by the end of Game 4 neither team had their star on the court. Early in the third quarter, Giannis Antetokounmpo went up to try and deflect a lob that was thrown to Clint Capela. Upon landing, Giannis hyperextended his left knee, which was then pushed further back by by the force of Capela’s landing.

Grimacing in obvious pain, Giannis crumped to the ground on the baseline. He stayed down for some time under the attention of the Bucks’ medical staff, and slowly made his way to his feet with the support of trainers and his brother, Thanasis. Eventually, Giannis was able to hobble off the court and into the tunnel. There was a brief glimmer of hope when he returned to the bench a few …

Basket Ball / Sports

James Harden triple-double leads Nets past Celtics

The Brooklyn Nets are headed to the second round. The Eastern Conference’s second seed completed a gentleman’s sweep against the Boston Celtics on Tuesday. All three of the Nets’ stars put together strong performances, but James Harden led the way in the 123-109 victory.

Harden did a little bit of everything as usual and led all scorers with 34 points in a triple-double effort. He also grabbed 10 rebounds and dished out 10 assists to finish with a game-high 75.5 DKFP. Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant poured in 25 and 24 points, respectively. Boston’s lone star wasn’t enough to keep up with one of the NBA’s most productive offenses. Jayson Tatum only trailed Harden in points with 32 to go along with 9 rebounds and 5 assists. Tatum tallied 55.25 DKFP in a game-high 41 minutes.

The Nets covered the spread by the skin of their teeth as 12.5-point favorites. The absences of Kemba Walker and Robert Williams gave the home team a major edge, and it handled business for Brooklyn backers.

The Nets will take on the Milwaukee Bucks in the second round. Milwaukee lost its first matchup against Brooklyn two-thirds of its Big 3 were active, but won the next two matchups. Milwaukee’s offense and defense dominated the Miami Heat in a sweep in the first round thanks to far above-average offense and defense. Keeping that up against the NBA’s best scoring offense will be a challenge, but Giannis Antetokounmpo and company might have the tools to pull an upset off…