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Giannis Antetokounmpo wins second straight MVP Award

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

Milwaukee Bucks star forward Giannis Antetokounmpo has captured his second straight NBA MVP Award.  According to ESPN, the award is set to be officially announced on NBA TV at 1 p.m. Friday afternoon.

Antetokounmpo joins Michael Jordan (1987-88) and Hakeem Olajuwon (1993-94) as the only players to win both the MVP and Defensive Player of the Year  honors in the same year.  He also joins LeBron James (2009 and 2010) and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (1971 and 1972) as the only players in league history to win two MVP awards at age 25 or younger.

Antetokounmpo is the 14th player in NBA history to earn MVP honors multiple times and the 12th player to win it in back-to-back years.

In his seventh season, Antetokounmpo averaged 29.5 points (5th in NBA) and 13.6 rebounds (2nd in NBA) per game, which were both career-high marks.  He also dished out 5.6 assists a game, while shooting 55.3% from the field.  Giannis was the only player in the league to rank inside the top-15 in both scoring and rebounding this season and was the only one to average at least 20 points, 10 rebounds and five assists per game.

 

 

Money won’t be an object for the Bucks moving forward

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

Milwaukee Bucks co-owner and governor Marc Lasry, meeting with Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo last Friday, told the reigning NBA MVP that the franchise is willing to spend into the luxury tax to deliver him a championship supporting cast.

According to ESPN, the Bucks’ payroll will be close to the proposed $132.7 million luxury-tax threshold for 2020-21.

Lasry assured Antetokounmpo and his agent, Alex Saratsis, that they would make some personnel upgrades that could be available to the franchise in the offseason.  Antetokounmpo left for vacation but is expected to meet with Lasry upon his return.

Antetokounmpo will have to decide whether he will sign an extension with the Bucks or enter the 2020-21 season in the final year of his contract and eligible for free agency in 2021.

The Bucks will offer Antetokounmpo a supermax deal that will pay him somewhere just short of $250 million over five [Read more…]

Bucks season comes to an end in Orlando (AUDIO)

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Mike Budenholzer File Photo – Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Gary Dineen/NBAE via Getty Images)

With all-star forward Giannis Antetokounmpo watching from the bench, the Milwaukee Bucks season came to an end, falling to the Miami Heat 103-94 inside the bubble in Orlando.

The Bucks played some of their best defense of the season, forcing the Heat into 22 turnovers.  But they didn’t have enough offensively to win their second straight and force Miami into a game 6.  Instead, the Heat won the series four games to one and advance to the Eastern Conference finals against either Boston or Toronto.

The Bucks started strong, leading by as many as 13 points in the first quarter and led by nine at the break.  But the Heat outscored Milwaukee 33-18 in the second quarter.

The Bucks fought their way back once again in the third quarter, crawling to within one-point at 57-56 with 9 1/2 minutes left.  Then went 6 1/2 minutes without a field goal.

Khris Middleton, who led the Bucks with 23 points, hit just 3 of his 15 field goal attempts in the second half.  Donte DiVincenzo got the start for the Bucks with Antetokounmpo out of the lineup.  He scored 17 points and came through with another strong defensive showing. [Read more…]

Strong showing for Bucks on NBA’s All-Defensive Teams

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Giannis Antetokounmpo – File Photo (Photo by Gary Dineen/NBAE via Getty Images)

After winning the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year Award, Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo headlined the league’s All Defensive First Team.

Antetokounmpo was joined on the first team by Lakers forward Anthony Davis, Utah center Rudy Gobert, Philadelphia’s Ben Simmons and Boston’s Marcus Smart.

Bucks teammates Brook Lopez and Eric Bledsoe were both voted to the NBA’s All Defensive Second Team.  They were joined by LA Clippers teammates Kawhi Leonard and Patrick Beverley and Miami big man Bam Adebayo.

The Bucks became the first team to have three players named to the two All-Defensive teams  since Memphis teammates Tony Allen, Mike Conley and Marc Gasol did it in the 2012-13 season.

The only NBA individual award left to be handed out is the Most Valuable Player Award.  That honor is expected to go to Giannis Antetokounmpo for the second straight year.

Bucks lose Giannis but force a game five against Miami

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After dropping the first three games in the series, the Milwaukee Bucks were staring at elimination against the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference semifinals.  If that wasn’t bad enough, the Bucks lost NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo in the second quarter with a sprained right ankle.

But Khris Middleton took over, scoring 21 of his 36 points in the third quarter, then making a huge 3-pointer with 6.3 seconds left in overtime as the Bucks knocked off the Heat 118-115.

Antetokounmpo scored 19 points in only 11 minutes before departing.  Brook Lopez and George Hill added 14 points each as the Bucks forced a game five on Tuesday.

Bam Adebayo had 26 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists to lead the Heat.  Duncan Robinson added 20 points, Jae Crowder had 18 and Goran Dragic and Jimmy Butler had 17 each.

The Heat coughed up 12 straight points in the final quarter as the Bucks erased a 12-point deficit to eventually force overtime.

 

Poor fourth quarter costs Bucks, trail Miami in series 3-0

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Giannis Antetokounmpo – File Photo (Photo by Gary Dineen/NBAE via Getty Images)

For three quarters on Friday night, it looked like the Milwaukee Bucks were on their way to a game three victory.  They led by 12 heading to the fourth quarter, only to see the Heat outscore the Bucks 40-13 in the final 12 minutes for a 115-100 win and a 3-0 Miami series lead.

Jimmy Butler scored 17 of his 30 points in the fourth quarter as the Bucks struggled to defend and rebound with Miami getting a number of second chance rebounds.  Eventually the Bucks started firing up three’s to no avail.  The Bucks hit 6 of 23 from the field, 0 for 10 from 3-point range and managed just 13 fourth quarter points.  They watched the Heat close the game on a 17-1 run.

No team in NBA history has ever won after tailing 3-0 and the way the Bucks have played in this series, they won’t be the first.

The team with the best record in the regular season, has not been able to take their game into the playoffs.

The Bucks used a 21-6 run of their own to go up 87-73 late in the third quarter, but their good fortunes stopped there.

Brook Lopez had 22 points to lead the Bucks.  Giannis Antetokounmpo added 21 points, 16 rebounds and nine assists.

The two teams play game four inside the bubble on Sunday.

Heat grab 2-0 series lead over Bucks

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A late rally by the Milwaukee Bucks made things interesting, but in the end, the Miami Heat prevailed 116-114 to take a 2-0 lead in their second round best-of-7 series inside the bubble in Orlando.

Khris Middleton drew a questionable foul call while shooting a three pointer with 4.3 seconds left and drained all three free throws to tie the game at 114.

After a timeout, the Heat advanced the ball to the front court and Jimmy Butler’s attempt at a game winning jumper was off the mark.  But instead of seeing the game head to overtime, the official called a foul on Giannis Antetokounmpo as he put his left hand on Butler after the ball was already in the air.  Butler went to the line and sank both free throws with no time left on the clock and the Heat pulled out the 2-point win. [Read more…]

Butler leads Miami past Bucks in series opener

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It took the Milwaukee Bucks five games to win their first NBA playoff series against the Orlando Magic and it will take at least that many to win a second round series against the Miami Heat.

Former Marquette standout Jimmy Butler poured in a playoff-career high 40 points to lead the Heat to a 114-105 win over the Bucks in their second round series opener in Orlando on Monday night.

While Butler was going off on the Bucks, the Heat were busy making life difficult for Giannis Antetokounmpo.  He finished with 18 points on 6 of 12 shooting but made just 4 of 12 free throw attempts.

Khris Middleton had 28 points and Brook Lopez added 24 on 8 of 10 shooting to lead the Bucks, who played without Eric Bledsoe (right [Read more…]

Quick turn-around for the Bucks, who face Miami Monday night

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Just two days after knocking the Orlando Magic out of the playoffs, the Milwaukee Bucks turn right around to open the second round of the playoffs against the Miami Heat on Monday night (5:30 p.m.) inside the NBA’s Orlando bubble.

The Heat swept the Indiana Pacers in the opening round of the playoffs and have had a week of rest since then.  The Bucks will have to overcome Miami’s advantage in prep time for the series opener.

The Bucks needed five games to dispatch the Magic after Orlando won the series opener.

“It is a very quick turn, but if you’ve been in the league a long time it’s probably happened to a team you’ve been a part of,” said Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer.  “I think one of our hopes is just to keep them as clean and free as they can be and go out and play and not over-complicate it, which coaches tend to do.”

No team defends the paint better than the Bucks do, but the test for Milwaukee will be to continue to defend the lane and get out to contest the three-point line.  Miami ranked second in the NBA in three-point percentage (37.9%) this season and hit just over 39% from distance in their four-game sweep of the Pacers.

Miami’s top shooter from the perimeter is second-year guard Duncan Robinson, who hit 44.6% from distance this season.

The Bucks could be without their starting point guard, Eric Bledsoe as well.  Bledsoe is listed as questionable with a right hamstring strain.

 

Bucks beat Magic, advance to second round

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Giannis Antetokounmpo had 28 points and 17 rebounds to lead the Milwaukee Bucks to a 119-104 win over the Orlando Magic, closing out their Eastern Conference first round playoff series in five games.

Khris Middleton added 21 points and 10 rebounds for the Bucks, who saw their 21-point fourth quarter lead trimmed to three before taking control from there.

Brook Lopez added 16 points and Marvin Williams had 12, all from three-point range, as the Bucks won four straight games after dropping the series opener.

Nicola Vicevic had 22 points and 15 rebounds and Evan Fournier added 18 points for the Magic.

The Bucks move on to the second round of the playoffs against the Miami Heat with game one of the series on Monday.