Even without Giannis Antetokounmpo, injured in the Achilles tendon, and Khris Middleton, the Bucks remain a formidable team. Doc Rivers' players have just reminded us of this by signing a sixth victory in a row! This night, it was the Clippers of the Harden-George-Leonard trio who paid the price, while the Californians had been up to 15 lengths ahead after the break.
After the heat from Damian Lillard, author of four 3-point baskets in less than 8 minutes to start the match (19-16), it was quite logically the Clippers who got their hands on the match, by showing themselves they are also skillful from afar. First there were two arrows from James Harden then long shots from Bones Hyland and Daniel Theis to bring the gap to +10 (23-33).
Good sequences from Pat Beverley and Bobby Portis kept the locals in the game, until two baskets from Damian Lillard brought the gap back to two small points (48-50). Suddenly, at halftime (48-55), all hopes remained for Milwaukee.
15-0, service to follow!
Despite all the efforts of the Harden-George-Leonard trio to get rid of Doc Rivers' troops, the Bucks managed to hang on, coming back from a gap of 15 points (59-74) to revive hope at 12 minutes from the end, on a 3-pointer from Malik Beasley to conclude the third quarter (73-81). The pressure was all the more felt when Giannis Antetokounmpo's teammates reversed the trend, relying first on their defense then the 3-pointers of Bobby Portis, AJ Green. Damian Lillard also made his contribution with a 2+1 and a 3-pointer, but it was the whole team that helped reverse the momentum.
There was Pat Beverley's 3-pointer to equalize at 96-96, AJ Green's 3-pointer to go ahead and the basket then two shots from Bobby Portis to complete a scathing 15-0 (105-96). “BP” then secured the blow with a hook then a 3-pointer which exploded the Fiserv Forum, allowing the Bucks to take the lead with a 113-106 victory.
WHAT YOU MUST REMEMBER
– A stunning fourth quarter. Back-to-back, the Clippers knew they had to kill the game before the start of the fourth quarter to avoid a difficult end to the match. They almost succeeded in moving to +15 five minutes from the end of the third act, but were unable to go the distance afterwards. As a result, Milwaukee was able to continue to believe in it and then knew how to come back into the game, pushed by its audience and its iron defense, since the Californians remained stuck for a long time at 15 points scored, while conceding… a 15-0 of the other side of the floor. The Californians ended up finding the light at the very end of the match, far too late to hope for anything.
– Bobby Portis excited. If Damian Lillard was of course eagerly awaited in the absence of Giannis Antetokounmpo, and he responded by passing 41 points to the Clippers, Bobby Portis was the hero at the end of the match and the symbol of the revolt led by the Bucks at this moment of the meeting. He simply scored half of his 28 points in the fourth quarter alone! And his baskets each time hurt the Clippers very badly, to the point of putting them out of harm's way. We also don't forget his 16 rebounds which also sum up well the gnac of post 4 once again very valuable this night.
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How to read the stats? Min = Minutes; Shots = Successful shots / Attempted shots; 3pts = 3-points / 3-points attempted; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; O = offensive rebound; D=defensive rebound; T = Total rebounds; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal fouls; Int = Intercepts; Bp = Lost balls; Ct: Against; +/- = Point differential when the player is on the field; Pts = Points; Eval: player evaluation calculated from positive actions – negative actions.
