Milwaukee Bucks 86, Brooklyn Nets 83
Nets lead series 2-1
It took a late-90’s, early 2000’s-style rockfight, but the Milwaukee Bucks finally get one over on the mighty Brooklyn Nets. It wasn’t pretty, but I’m sure Bucks fans will take it. Down 1-2 is lightyears better than being down 0-3.
The big difference between this game and the previous two in Brooklyn was that Milwaukee ramped up their defensive pressure. The Bucks played a more physical brand of defense. They were smart about it, though, only committing 12 fouls in the game. The Nets never really got into a flow, ending the evening shooting just 36.2 percent from the field and 25.0 percent from 3-point range.
Offensively, Milwaukee was all over the place. They kicked off the game with a 30-11 first quarter. Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton were responsible for all of the Bucks’ points in that frame, scoring 15 each. In that period, Milwaukee did a good job of controlling the pace and fearlessly attacking the basket.
Then, they inexplicably went away from that strategy in the second quarter. They were much less aggressive and the offense began stagnating. This allowed the Nets to walk down the big deficit, winning the second 31-15 and making it 45-42 Milwaukee at halftime.
The second half had little in the way of any consistent offense on either side. Both teams scored just 41 points in the latter two periods. Brooklyn won the third 23-22, the Bucks won the fourth 19-18.
The Bucks eeked out the win despite their continued struggles from 3-point range. Milwaukee went 6-of-31 (19.4 percent) from beyond the arc. This means Milwaukee has now made just 22.7 percent of their 3-point shots in these conference semifinals. Giannis Antetokounmpo, in particular, went a putrid 1-of-8 on the night. I’m not sure what possessed him to shoot so many 3-pointers this evening, but they certainly didn’t aid his team in this win.
That said, Giannis and Khris Middleton were really Milwaukee’s only source of offense. Middleton’s 35 points and Antetokounmpo’s 33 accounted for 79.1 percent of the Bucks’ total points. Per StatMuse, that is a NBA playoff record for a duo. The rest of the Bucks scored 18 points on 8-of-34 (23.5 percent) shooting from the field.
Nothing about this win is sustainable for the Bucks moving forward. If they actually want to win this series, they have multiple adjustments to make and they will need to be consistent when they implement them. However, I’m certain that they and their fanbase are still relieved to finally get a W in this series. We’ll see if the offense returns for either side in Game 4.
Utah Jazz 117, Los Angeles Clippers 111
Jazz lead series 2-0
Unlike Game 1, Utah held the lead for almost the entirety of Game 2. However, this was nowhere near a blowout, as the Jazz were forced to stave off multiple Clipper runs. This includes a 15-6 run to start the fourth quarter that ended with LA ahead 101-99. But in the end, the Jazz found a way to prevail and came away with a 2-0 lead in this series.
Rudy Gobert was presented with his Defensive Player of the Year trophy pregame, then went out and proved why he won the award in the first place. Gobert pulled down 19 defensive rebounds (20 total, both marks a playoff career high), blocked three shots, swiped two steals, and was a plus-14 when he was on the floor.
The Clippers also didn’t have an answer for Donovan Mitchell. Spida came away with 37 points, including six three-pointers. Regardless of the opponent, it seems that Playoff Mitchell is going to do whatever he wants. Teams can’t stop him, and best of luck trying to contain him. LA’s focus has to turn to restricting the rest of the team’s offense.
They couldn’t quite do that, either. Utah made 20 3-pointers in this game, their high for these playoffs and the most in 2020-21 since the 21 they dropped on May 5 versus Denver. Jordan Clarkson also sank six treys en route to 24 points off the bench. The Jazz shot 51.3 percent from beyond the arc. In contrast, the Clippers went 11-of-30 (36.7 percent) on their 3’s. A respectable percentage on most nights, but not tonight against the sharpshooting Jazz.
Clippers coach Tyronn Lue looked to play bigger with his lineups to start the game, starting Ivica Zubac and giving more time to DeMarcus Cousins. However, he ultimately turned back to his small-ball lineups for the final 15 minutes of the game.
Even though they lost, Los Angeles performed best in this game when Gobert was out. HIs absence allowed them to get into the paint and initiate their drive-and-kick game. They’re very dangerous when they get that going: according to Synergy, they are first among the final 16 playoff teams in Spot-Up offense.
Reggie Jackson continues his playoff ascendance, bouncing back from a quiet Game 1 to unleash a team-high 29 points with four triples. Paul George followed up with 27 points, 10 rebounds, and six assists. Kawhi Leonard added 21 points, five assists, and two steals.
Despite decent statlines from George and Leonard, the duo didn’t have a strong presence down the stretch. In the final 6:37 of the game, which starts immediately after LA’s 15-6 run, PG had eight points on 2-of-3 shooting while Kawhi was scoreless, missing his lone shot attempt in that span.
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