The clash of the night between the third in the West and the leader in the East kept all its promises. In a white-hot Golden 1 Center, it was Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Bucks who took the best, disposing of Sacramento in the “money-time” after a fierce fight.
Sacramento got off to the best start, then the “Greek Freak” started his “show” with a 3-pointer at the buzzer, a big tomar, then a basket after an offensive rebound (13-16). It took a big De’Aaron Fox at the end of the quarter for the Kings to stay the course after 12 minutes (32-27).
Trey Lyles and Chimezie Metu were then solid relays to accompany Domantas Sabonis in his destructive enterprise during the second act (11 points in less than four minutes), bringing his own to +15 (56-41)! Brook Lopez and Jrue Holiday in turn helped the “Greek Freak” to limit the damage at the break (62-53).
Reinvigorated after the break, the Bucks then retorted by starting the third quarter with an 11-2 thanks to the address of Khris Middleton (64-63), until two new missiles from the Middleton-Antetokounmpo tandem did not put the two teams tied (76-76).
A new match had just started in which the two teams fought a merciless battle. Giannis Antetokounmpo opened fire first by chaining an alley-oop then a 2+1 (78-83). De’Aaron Fox responded with three baskets in a row then a 2 + 1 to start the last act (90-90), before seeing Kevin Huerter catch fire with four 3-point baskets before the start of “money-time” (108-106)!
Milwaukee placed a 7-0 powered by the Middleton-Antetokounmpo pair (108-113) before placing a final fatal acceleration to the Kings, marked by 3-pointers from Grayson Allen, Khris Middleton and Brook Lopez as well as the dunk of the ” Greek Freak” and Jrue Holiday (119-130). A final dunk from Grayson Allen helped Milwaukee secure the win, 133-124.
WHAT YOU MUST REMEMBER
– A playoff atmosphere. There was a big atmosphere at the Golden 1 Center for one of the Kings’ season-ending clashes. The fans were served with a big game, suspense almost to the end and two big performances between Giannis Antetokounmpo’s 46 points and Kevin Huerter’s 8/11 3-pointer. The match even ended in a fight between Trey Lyles and Brook Lopez. Roll on next month!
– Brook Lopez and Trey Lyles expelled. The situation degenerated somewhat 15 seconds from the end, between Trey Lyles and Brook Lopez, two beautiful babies who were difficult to separate. Brook Lopez did not appreciate Trey Lyles’ foul on Giannis Antetokounmpo at the very end of the match and did not fail to let him know. The altercation quickly degenerated before the two players were separated and sent off.
– One foot and four toes in the playoffs. The Bucks could have validated their place in the playoffs this night. It was necessary to win and hope for a loss of Miami against Utah. If they did the job, the Heat also did it on their side, so we will have to wait for the next success for Milwaukee to already secure their ticket for the “post-season”.
TOPS/FLOPS
✅ Giannis Antetokounmpo. A perfect return for the Greek! A permanent poison and a really complete performance with 46 points, address (2/2 from afar, 6/7 in the throw), and the impact on the meeting until the end, like his ball came out perfectly for Brook Lopez’s last 3-pointer.
✅ Kevin Hurter. He could have been the X factor of the game with his superb 8/11 from 3-pointers (career best).
✅ The Fox-Sabonis tandem. A full match for the first, a mammoth triple-double that goes by the wayside with this setback for the second. He will once again only have missed the victory to validate their full individual performances.
THE FOLLOWING
Sacramento (40-27) : The Kings will be in Chicago on Wednesday night to start their last big road trip of the season (01:00).
Milwaukee (49-19) : the Bucks continue in Phoenix tonight (03:00).
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