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Bucks season is on the brink after game 5 loss

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Eric Bledsoe – File Photo – Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images).

The Milwaukee Bucks are facing playoff elimination after losing home court advantage and falling to the Toronto Raptors 105-99 at Fiserv Forum on Thursday night.

The Bucks captured the first two games of the series, but have now dropped three straight for the first time this season.

Kawhi Leonard scored 35 points, hitting the 30 point mark for the fourth time in the series.  Leonard added five three-pointers and had seven rebounds and nine assists.  Fred VanVleet added 21 points, hitting 7 of 9 three-pointers in the Toronto victory.

Giannis Antetokounmpo had 24 points for the Bucks, while Eric Bledsoe added 20.  Guard Malcolm Brogdon returned to the starting lineup and added 18 points and 11 rebounds.

The Bucks led by 10 after the first quarter and as many as 14 in the first half, but maintaining consistency on offense was a problem again.

Khris Middleton struggled offensively, not hitting his first field goal of the game until the first minute of the fourth quarter.  Middleton had missed his first six shots.

The Bucks now head to Toronto for Game 6 of the series, needing a victory to get the series back to Milwaukee for a game seven on Memorial Day.

Antetokounmpo unanimously selected to All-NBA First Team

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Giannis Antetokounmpo – Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images).

Giannis Antetokounmpo was unanimously selected to the All-NBA First Team, marking the first Milwaukee Bucks player to earn First Team honors since Sidney Moncrief following the 1982-83 season.  The Bucks forward is just the fourth player in franchise history to garner All-NBA First Team honors, joining Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Marques Johnson and Moncrief.

In his sixth season, Antetokounmpo led the Bucks to the best record (60-22) in the NBA and the team’s most wins since the 1980-81 season, while setting new career highs in points (27.7, ranked 3rd in the NBA), rebounds (12.5, ranked 6th in the NBA) and assists (5.9) per game.  He became just the ninth player in NBA history to average at least 25.0 points, 10.0 rebounds and 5.0 assists per game.

Antetokounmpo is joined on the All-NBA First Team by James Harden (Houston), Stephen Curry (Golden State), Paul George (Oklahoma City) and Nikola Jokic (Denver).

 

Antetokounmpo & Bledsoe named to NBA All-Defensive First Team

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Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo and guard Eric Bledsoe have both been named to the 2018-19 NBA All-Defensive First Team.  This is the first time since 1990-91 (Alvin Robertson) that the Bucks have had a player selected to the All-Defensive First Team and just the third time in franchise history that Milwaukee has had two players selected to the All-Defensive First Team in the same season.

The Bucks were the top-rated defense in the NBA this season and held opponents to a league-low 43.3 field goal percentage.  Antetokounmpo averaged 1.5 blocks per game, the second highest mark of his career and Bledsoe added 1.5 steals a game.

For Antetokounmpo, this is his first selection to the All-Defensive First Team after being named Second Team All-Defense [Read more…]

Raptors knock off Bucks 118-112 in 2OT (AUDIO)

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The Toronto Raptors showed the basketball world that they have no interest in going quietly when it comes to their Eastern Conference Finals series with the Milwaukee Bucks.

The Bucks opened game three with a quick 2-0 lead before the Raptors took over and controlled game three the rest of the way.

Kawhi Leonard poured in 36 points, including eight in the second overtime to lead Toronto to a 118-112 victory, drawing to withing 2-1 in the series with game four on Tuesday night.

Pascal Siakam added 25 points and 11 rebounds and Marc Gasol had 16 points, 12 rebounds and five blocked shots to lead the Raptors to the win. [Read more…]

Bucks comeback to capture ECF Game 1 (AUDIO)

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Brook Lopez – Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images).

The Milwaukee Bucks struck the first blow in the Eastern Conference finals, coming from behind to knock off the Toronto Raptors 108-100 in the series opener at Fiserv Forum.

Brook Lopez fueled a 32-17 fourth-quarter rally by the Bucks, scoring 13 of his career playoff best 29 points in the final period.

Giannis Antetokounmpo added 24 points, 14 rebounds and six assists and Malcolm Brogdon scored 15 points off the bench to lead the Bucks.

The Raptors led 83-76 after three quarters and looked like they were about to steal the series opener in Milwaukee, but they went cold in the final quarter.

Kawhi Leonard had 31 points and Kyle Lowry added 30, but Lowry is the only Raptors player that had any [Read more…]

Bucks advance to Eastern Conference Finals (AUDIO)

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Malcolm Brogdon returns for the Bucks Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images)

After dropping the series opener, the Milwaukee Bucks swept the next four games, including Wednesday nights 116-91 win over the Boston Celtics, winning the series 4-1.

The Bucks improved to 8-1 in the postseason and advanced to the Eastern Conference finals for the first time since 2001.  That year, they lost to the Philadelphia 76ers in seven games.

The Bucks will face the winner of the series between Toronto and Philadelphia in the Conference finals.  Those two teams are playing game six in Philadelphia tonight.  The Raptors lead the 76ers 3-2.

Giannis Antetokounmpo led the way for the Bucks with 20 points, eight rebounds and eight assists.  Khris Middleton added 19 points and five other Bucks finished in double figures.

Even Malcolm Brogdon got in on the act, playing for the first time since suffering a foot injury on March [Read more…]

Bucks grab commanding 3-1 series lead (AUDIO)

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George Hill – Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images)

The Milwaukee Bucks struggled early and then saw shooters Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton take a third quarter seat on the bench with foul trouble.  But like they’ve done all season, the Bucks bench came to the rescue and outscored Boston 33-23 in the period, on the way to a 113-101 victory over the Celtics.

The win gave the Bucks a 3-1 Eastern Conference semifinal series lead with a chance to wrap it up in five games on Wednesday night at Fiserv Forum.

With the bench mob on the court, the Bucks rallied to take a 10-point lead and took an eight-point lead into the fourth quarter.

Giannis Antetokounmpo returned and scored 17 of his game high 39 points in that final period as the Bucks pulled away for the win.  Antetokounmpo also added 16 rebounds to his total. [Read more…]

Bucks follow a blowout with a blowout to tie series (AUDIO)

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Giannis Antetokounmpo – Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images).

After being blown out by the Boston Celtics in the series opener on Sunday, the Milwaukee Bucks evened the score with a knockout punch of their own.  The Bucks broke open a close game by outscoring the Celtics 39-18 in the third quarter, on their way to a 123-102 win at Fiserv Forum.

A part of that dominating third quarter was a 24-2 run and it helped the Bucks even the series at a game apiece.  During that stretch, the Celtics hit just 1 of 12 from the field and turned the ball over six times.  Overall, the Celtics shot just 39.5% from the field after a hot shooting game in the opener of the series on Sunday.

Giannis Antetokounmpo had 29 points and 10 rebounds.  Khris Middleton added 28 points and Eric Bledsoe added 21 for the Bucks.  But Bledsoe’s biggest contribution came on defense, holding Boston’s Kyrie Irving to nine points on 4-of-18 shooting.

Marcus Morris led the Celtics with 17 points. [Read more…]

Celtics dominate Bucks in game 1 victory

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The Milwaukee Bucks may have been the best team in the NBA during the regular season, but they looked like a deer in headlights in game 1 of their second round NBA playoff series against the Boston Celtics on Sunday.

The Celtics ran away with a 112-90 victory over the Bucks at Fiserv Forum.  It was the  Bucks most lopsided loss of the season and it couldn’t have come at a worse time.

Certainly the Bucks have lost games before and bounced back nicely.  They’ve also fallen behind big in games and were able to rebound.  But you can sense that any large deficit’s followed by big comebacks are going to be hard to come by against this veteran Celtics team.

Boston played with a sense of urgency and rightfully so.  When you go on the road in the NBA playoffs, you need to bring it or things won’t end well. [Read more…]

Bucks headed to second round of NBA playoffs (AUDIO)

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Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo – File Photo / Copyright 2016 NBAE (Photo by Gary Dineen/NBAE via Getty Images)

The NBA’s longest playoff series victory drought is finally over.  The Milwaukee Bucks knocked off the Detroit Pistons 127-104, advancing to the second round for the first time since 2001.  They swept the Pistons in four straight games.

Giannis Antetokounmpo poured in 41 points and added nine rebounds, four blocks and three assists.  He became the fifth player in Bucks history to score 40 or more points in a playoff game, joining Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Terry Cummings, Ray Allen and Michael Redd.

Detroit refused to go quietly, leading by six points at halftime and by as many as nine in the third quarter.  But behind Giannis, the Bucks went on a 42-10 run to break the game open.  Overall, Detroit was outscored 71-42 in the second half.

The Pistons game plan was to play physical, but they were whistled for 31 fouls, helping the Bucks cause at the free throw line.

Khris Middleton added 18 points for the Bucks.  Reggie Jackson had 26 points and Blake Griffin added 22 points for the Pistons.

The Bucks will get a day off on Tuesday, then it’s back to work to start preparing for their second round series against the Boston Celtics.

AUDIO: Mike Budenholzer says it was a good night for the Bucks :11

AUDIO: Giannis Antetokounmpo on winning his first playoff series :17

AUDIO: Nikola Mirotic says it’s a great feeling to be moving on :22