While they were first in the West a few days ago, their home defeats against the Nets and then against the Jazz had already knocked the Blazers off their pedestal. Damian Lillard again injured, their “road trip” of four games was going to be complicated, and the first game in Milwaukee illustrated it well.
Because if Anfernee Simons (29 points, 5 assists) and his comrades held in the first half, they failed to keep pace with Giannis Antetokounmpo (37 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists) after the break.
Milwaukee wins the third quarter 30-18 and just has to control opposing comeback attempts.
WHAT YOU MUST REMEMBER
– Giannis Antetokounmpo still hammers the defense. “Obviously, when you play Giannis, you know it will be a complicated night. He’s so hard to defend. It required the involvement of all five players to control it. » Anfernee Simons summarized the puzzle posed by the “Greek Freak”, whose accelerations put a lot of pressure on opposing defenses. With his 37 points at 16/24, the Greek insisted in the racket or at mid-distance, where he was particularly effective (5/6), to open the Blazers’ defense.
– The third quarter. The “Greek Freak” set the tone on the way back from the locker room, and with 19 of his team’s 30 points in the third quarter, he outright scored more points than all the Blazers (18) in those 12 minutes. Enough to allow the Bucks to take off and be able to manage the end of the game.
– The Blazers have heart. This is the third loss in a row for Portland, which therefore falls in the ranking of this very dense Western conference. Nevertheless, without Damian Lillard, Chauncey Billups can count on players who do not let go of matches, like Josh Hart, Jerami Grant, Jusuf Nurkic or Justise Winslow.
TOPS/FLOPS
✅ Giannis Antetokounmpo. Necessarily. The “Greek Freak” puts such pressure on the opponent that he opens the game for his team, and drags everyone in his wake.
✅ Anfernee Simons. His offensive talent kept the Blazers in the game for as long as possible, like that extremely difficult shot, at the buzzer of the first half, to bring his team back to a small possession. He finished the game with 29 points at 12/23 shooting, 5 assists and 4 rebounds.
✅ Grayson Allen. Giannis Antetokounmpo had support, whether it was Brook Lopez and Bobby Portis under the circle, or Jrue Holiday in the final quarter. But the aggressiveness of Grayson Allen (17 points, 8 rebounds) was perhaps the most remarkable help to reverse Portland’s defense.
⛔ Shaedon Sharpe. Replacing Damian Lillard in the five major of the Blazers, the rookie was clumsy (1/9) and did not know how to influence the game. Pressed by the defense of the Bucks, he rushed.
THE FOLLOWING
Milwaukee (12-4): the Bucks host the Bulls tomorrow night (2:00 a.m.)
Portland (10-7): the “road trip” continues in Cleveland, also tomorrow evening (01:00)
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