Already diminished without Giannis Antetokounmpo whose resumption date remains uncertain, the Bucks learned of Damian Lillard's withdrawal on Sunday afternoon. To make matters worse, they lost Bobby Portis after seven minutes in Game 4! But it's not about injury…
With 5 minutes remaining in the first quarter, the Bucks' sixth man was stupidly ejected. It all starts with a rebound fight with Andrew Nembhard, then it turns into a real altercation. Portis violently pushes the Pacers player then punches him in the face. Result: two technical fouls, synonymous with expulsion. One more incident between two teams who spent the season tussling with each other, and it was Portis who cracked.
“It's tough to lose two of your best players, then lose the guy who was one of your best backups all year and is now in a starting role.”, regrets Khris Middleton.
Portis
If this is the very first expulsion in the playoffs for Bobby Portis, could there be worse timing to abandon his teammates? “He let himself get overwhelmed by his emotions… For most of the year, he did a very good job of flirting with that line and never crossing it,” continues the Bucks winger. “Tonight he crossed it at the worst time for us. »
Same regrets from Brook Lopez, who also wants to congratulate those who took over. “It was obviously complicated… I didn’t really see what happened. I just saw part of the slow motion. But it's unfortunate. I'm not sure the two initiated anything… But it ended up like this… I'm just proud of how the others handled it. Many raised their level of play, and played very well for the vast majority of the match. »
