Bucks lock down Bulls, lock up 2nd-round spot

NBA

MILWAUKEE — The Bucks lost forward Khris Middleton to a sprained MCL and responded with three consecutive victories over the Chicago Bulls, advancing to the second round of the NBA playoffs with a 116-100 win in Game 5 on Wednesday.

The Bucks will play the Celtics in the second round; Game 1 is scheduled for Sunday in Boston.

After splitting the first two games of the series, Milwaukee asserted its dominance over Chicago. The Bucks held the Bulls to under 100 points in three of the five games, winning each of the final three games by double digits.

Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 33 points on 11-of-15 shooting, adding nine rebounds, in the series finale.

With Bulls guards Zach LaVine (health and safety protocols) and Alex Caruso (concussion protocol) both sidelined for Wednesday’s game, the Bucks were able to key in defensively on Bulls star DeMar DeRozan, who was limited to 11 points on 5-of-10 shooting.

All 10 of DeRozan’s field goal attempts were contested, and he was double teamed 27 times in Game 5, the most doubles of a single player in a playoff game in the past three seasons, according to research by ESPN Stats & Information. He faced 24 double teams in the previous four games combined.

The Bucks turned up the defensive intensity to make up for the absence of Middleton, who sprained the MCL in his left knee during the fourth quarter of Game 2.

The team’s initial timeline for Middleton had him scheduled to be re-evaluated in two weeks, which puts his availability for the start of the second round in jeopardy.

Products You May Like

Articles You May Like

Bentley beats Pauls in middleweight title thriller
Rohit: ‘We were not good enough with bat’
Follow live: Lions take on NFC North rival Packers, look to extend 10-game win streak
Hawks top Knicks, keep surprise Cup run going
Blake Griffin, Curry among Paul’s former teammates to congratulate him on assist milestone

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *