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Giannis breaks franchise scoring record, Bucks beat Nets in OT

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Giannis Antetokounmpo

Giannis Antetokounmpo broke the franchise scoring record on Thursday night, helping the Milwaukee Bucks clinch a spot in the post-season playoffs with a 120-119 overtime win over the Nets in Brooklyn.

The record breaker wasn’t just your ordinary basket either.  Giannis nailed a step-back three-pointer over Brooklyn’s Andrew Drummond with 18 seconds left to play in regulation to tie the game 110-110 and send it to overtime.

Antetokounmpo then hit a pair of free throws with 3-seconds to play to give the Bucks with 1-point, overtime win.

Giannis surpassed Bucks legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who had the franchise mark of 14,211, which he set in 467 games over six seasons from 1969-1975.  It took Antetokounmpo 652 games in nine seasons to surpass Abdul-Jabbar’s record and he had help from the three point shot, which hadn’t yet come into play when Abdul-Jabbar was playing in Milwaukee.

Antetokounmpo poured in 44 points for the game and finished the night with 14,216 career points.

The Bucks return home to face the Los Angeles Clippers on Friday night.

Wisconsin’s Davis declares for NBA Draft

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The old saying, “All good things come to an end,” is fitting for the Wisconsin Badgers and their fans.  Sophomore guard Johnny Davis announced Thursday on ESPN’s NBA Today, that he is leaving Madison for the NBA.

Davis said, “I will forever cherish the experiences I had and the relationships I built during my time in Madison and I am so thankful I chose to be a Badger.  With that being said, I am extremely excited to have the opportunity to pursue a lifelong dream and will be declaring for the 2022 NBA Draft.  I am so grateful for the support everyone has given me, for the opportunities basketball has brought into my life, and for the chance to continue to play the game I love.”

A projected lottery pick in the upcoming NBA Draft, Davis looks to become the first Badger drafted since Frank Kaminsky (9th overall) and Sam Dekker (18th overall) were each selected in the 2015 NBA Draft.

Davis averaged 19.7 points and 8.2 rebounds a game this season and led the nation in scoring against top-25 opponents during the regular season (24.1).

Davis won Big Ten Player of the Year honors and is a finalist for both the Naismith Award and the Wooden Award.

The NBA Draft Combine is scheduled for May 16-22 and the NBA Draft Lottery is set for May 17, both in Chicago.  The NBA Draft will take place Thursday, June 23 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.

Bucks acquire draft rights to two players in draft night deal with Pacers

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The Milwaukee Bucks have acquired the draft rights to Sandro Mamukelashvili and Georgios Kalaitzakis, who were selected by the Indiana Pacers with the 54th and 60th overall picks in the 2021 NBA Draft, in exchange for the draft rights to Isaiah Todd, who was selected by the Bucks with the 31st overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft.  The Bucks also receive two future second round draft picks to complete the trade.

Mamukelashvili, a 6’11, 240-pound-pound forward from Seton Hall, was named the 2020-21 co-Big East Player of the Year, earned First Team All-Big East honors and was named an AP All-America Honorable Mention after averaging 17.5 points (2nd in Big East), 7.6 rebounds (5th in the Big East) and 3.2 assists (12th in the Big East) per game as a senior last season.  The Republic of Georgia native was also a top-five finalist for the 2020-21 Karl Malone Award, which honors the top power forward in college basketball, and was one of only two players [Read more…]

Suns grab game 1 of NBA finals

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Chris Paul poured in 32 points and Devin Booker added 27 to lead the Phoenix Suns to a 118-105 win in game one of the NBA Finals against the Milwaukee Bucks in Phoenix.

Giannis Antetokounmpo returned to the Bucks lineup after missing the previous two games with a hyperextended left knee.  Giannis had 20 points and 17 rebounds in 35 minutes.  Khris Middleton led the Bucks with 29 points.

The loss means the Bucks will have to play from behind after dropping Game 1 of their third straight series.

The series opener for the Suns was their first NBA Finals game in Phoenix since Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls won their third straight championship in six games in 1993.  The Suns made their only other finals appearance in 1976.

Prior to this year, the Suns hadn’t made the playoffs since 2010.  Just two years ago, the Suns were last in the Western Conference with a 19-63 record.

The Bucks are making their third finals appearance, having won their only title in 1971.  Their only other opportunity came in 1974.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Antetokounmpo is doubtful for Game 5

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Giannis Antetokounmpo

The Milwaukee Bucks and Atlanta Hawks square off in game five of the NBA’s Eastern Conference Championship series at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee on Thursday night, but the Bucks are expected to be without their superstar forward Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Antetokounmpo suffered a hyper-extended left knee in Tuesday’s game four loss to the Hawks in Atlanta, but the good news came on Wednesday when an MRI revealed no structural damage to Giannis’ knee.

Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer said that as far as Antetokounmpo’s availability going forward, the team will take it day-by-day and see how he’s doing.

The series is tied 2-2 and if it goes to seven games, two of the three remaining games will be played in Milwaukee.

Atlanta played without their star guard Trae Young in Game 4 and his availability for Game 5 is also up in the air.

Young is Questionable for Game 4 Against the Bucks

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Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young suffered a bone bruise in his foot and is listed as questionable for Game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals against the Milwaukee Bucks on Tuesday night.  An MRI revealed the injury on Monday.

Young sprained his ankle with 36 seconds to go in the third quarter when he inadvertently stepped on the foot of game official Sean Wright.

Young had 32 points through the first three quarters on Sunday night but managed just three points in the fourth quarter after returning to the game.

Khris Middleton poured in 38 points to lead the Bucks to a 113-102 victory and a 2-1 lead in the series.  That’s back-to-back wins for the Bucks after dropping the series opener in Milwaukee.

 

Harden upgraded to doubtful for Game 5

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The Brooklyn Nets have upgraded guard James Harden to doubtful for Tuesday night’s Game 5 matchup with the Milwaukee Bucks in Brooklyn.

Harden will test his injured hamstring during a shootaround with the hopes of getting cleared to play in the crucial matchup.

Harden suffered “right hamstring tightness” in the opening minute of Game 1 of the series and hasn’t played since.  He’s pushing to play after the Bucks evened the series at 2-2 with back-to-back wins in Milwaukee.

The Nets will play without guard Kyrie Irving.  He was ruled out of Game 5 (sprained right ankle) on Monday.

The Bucks will be attempting to be the first round team in the series to steal a game.  They’ll need to win at least one game outside of Milwaukee to have a chance to win the series.

 

 

Antetokounmpo and Holiday named to NBA’s All-Defensive Team

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Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo and guard Jrue Holiday have both been named to the 2020-21 NBA All-Defensive First Team on Monday.

This marks the third straight season the Bucks have had multiple players named NBA All-Defense and the fourth time in franchise history that the Bucks have had two players earn First Team honors in the same season.

Antetokounmpo, the 2019-20 NBA Defensive Player of the Year, has now been named to the NBA All-Defensive First Team each of the last three seasons.  His three First Team honors are second-most in Bucks history, trailing only Sidney Moncrief who made First Team All-Defense four times.  Giannis was also named to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team following the 2016-17 season, giving him four NBA All-Defensive Team selections in his career.

Holiday has earned the third All-Defensive Team selection of his career and second First Team honor.  He’s now been named All-Defense in three of the last four seasons after earning First Team honors following the 2017-18 season and Second Team honors after the 2018-19 season.

Antetokounmpo and Holiday are joined on the 2020-21 NBA All-Defensive First Team by Rudy Gobert (Utah Jazz), Draymond Green (Golden State Warriors) and Ben Simmons (Philadelphia 76ers).

Bucks blownout by Brooklyn

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The Milwaukee Bucks never got into a rhythm Monday night and dropped game two of their second round playoff series to the Brooklyn Nets 125-86.  Brooklyn leads the series two games to none.

Nets star Kevin Durant scored 32 points in three quarters and Brooklyn led by as much as 49 points. They led 39-16 after the first quarter and 65-41 at halftime.  Kyrie Irving had 22 points.  All this without star James Harden, who sat out with a tight right hamstring.

Brooklyn shot 52 percent and was 21-42 from 3-point range.  The Bucks were 8-27 from downtown.  Giannis Antetokounmpo paced the Bucks with 18 points and 11 rebounds.

Game Three will be in Milwaukee Thursday night.

 

Bucks get a little time off after sweeping Miami

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Giannis Antetokounmpo

After losing in the second round of the NBA playoffs to Miami last season, the Milwaukee Bucks swept the Heat in the opening round of the playoffs this year.

The Bucks capped off the four-game sweep on Saturday with a 120-103 win.  They trailed by seven at halftime before mounting their comeback in the third quarter.

Giannis Antetokounmpo scored his first career triple-double and just the fourth in franchise playoff history.  Giannis had 20 points, 15 assists and 12 rebounds in the win.  Brook Lopez led the way with 25 points, while Bryn Forbes added 22 points and Khris Middleton had 20.

The Bucks will face either Brooklyn or Boston.  The Nets lead that series 3-1 over the Celtics at the moment.