The Milwaukee Bucks showed a lot of heart Thursday night. They were without the reigning back-to-back NBA MVP, Giannis Antetokounmpo, who is currently out indefinitely with a sprained/dislocated knee. Even with their Superstar and leader out the Bucks still found a way to get it done in Game 5, defeating the Atlanta Hawks 123-112.
The Bucks now find themselves one victory away from their first NBA Finals appearance since 1974. There is still more work for the Bucks to do. But with two games to get one victory, the Bucks feel great about their chances now.
Brook Lopez led the way for the Milwaukee Bucks in game 5. He absolutely DOMINATED down low. As Shaq would say, “BARBEQUE CHICKEN.” Lopez scored 33 points on 14-of-18 shooting from the field. He also grabbed seven rebounds. He definitely had it going and his teammates continued to feed him.
“It’s exciting. But it’s obviously not done,” Lopez said. “We need to bottle that energy and effort we had tonight and do it again in two days.”
Bucks guard Jrue Holiday had himself a game as well. He was very aggressive offensively. He controlled the tempo of the game. He was getting wherever he wanted on the court and whenever as well. He scored 25 points on 9-of-20 shooting from the field. He also grabbed six rebounds and dished out a game-high 13 assists. Holiday spoke on what the Bucks’ mindset was coming into Game 5.
“It was one of the main priorities, just to be aggressive out of the gate, be the aggressor, be more aggressive than they were,” Bucks guard Jrue Holiday said. “We felt like those games in Atlanta, whether it was energy from the crowd or whatever it was, they swung and punched us in the mouth. We didn’t want to take any chances. We wanted to come out strong and hit first.”
Other Bucks players chipped in. Not just chipped in but made major contributions offensively to propel the Bucks to the 123-112 victory.
- Khris Middleton scored 26 points on 10-of-20 shooting from the field. He hit 2-of-6 from the three-point line. He also grabbed 13 rebounds and dished out eight assists on the night.
- Bobby Portis started in place of the injured Giannis Antetokounmpo. He scored 22 points on 9-of-20 shooting from the field. He made 1-of-3 from the three-point line. He also grabbed eight rebounds and dished out three assists.
The Bucks will now travel to Atlanta and a hostile environment at State Farm Arena. Game 6 is this Saturday, 7/3. Tip-off is at 8:30 pm.
