Bucks Face Magic In Potential Series-Clinching Game
The Milwaukee Bucks will play the Orlando Magic in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Playoffs First Round on Wednesday. Milwaukee currently leads the series 3-1.
The Bucks were surprised by a Game 1 loss, but they have managed to bounce back admirably since them and have now racked up three straight wins. Milwaukee looked absolutely dominant during Monday's win. Giannis Antetokounmpo paced the Bucks once again, as the MVP candidate ended with 31 points, 15 rebounds and eight assists. Khris Middleton provided decent value on both ends of the court, as he notched 21 points, 10 boards and three dimes. Wesley Matthews notched 12 points, while Kyle Korver had 10 points coming off the bench. George Hill had nine points with six dimes. Brook Lopez posted 10 points and drained two treys.
The Bucks are at full strength for Wednesday's contest, as they don't have injury concerns to note.
On the other hand, things have gone south for the Magic following their Game 1 win, and now they are hoping for a miracle in Game 5 to extend their season. Nikola Vucevic was Orlando's best player in Game 4 once again, as he came close to post a triple-double thanks to 31 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists. However, he can't do everything on his own and the other players have struggled to cooperate, particularly on the offensive end of the court. Some notable performances from Game 4 include Markelle Fultz, who had 15 points with seven assists, while Evan Fournier had 12 points and eight boards. Terrence Ross looked impressive off the bench once again, and he ended with 19 points and eight rebounds. Orlando has failed to stop the Bucks defensively, though, and that has hurt their chances.
Michael Carter-Williams (foot), Aaron Gordon (hamstring) and Melvin Frazier (back) are all questionable -- at best -- for Game 5, and a potential return of Gordon would boost Orlando on both ends of the court. Chuma Okeke (knee), Mo Bamba (illness), Jonathan Isaac (knee) and Al-Farouq Aminu (knee) are all out for the remainder of the 2019-20 season.
The Bucks were surprised by a Game 1 loss, but they have managed to bounce back admirably since them and have now racked up three straight wins. Milwaukee looked absolutely dominant during Monday's win. Giannis Antetokounmpo paced the Bucks once again, as the MVP candidate ended with 31 points, 15 rebounds and eight assists. Khris Middleton provided decent value on both ends of the court, as he notched 21 points, 10 boards and three dimes. Wesley Matthews notched 12 points, while Kyle Korver had 10 points coming off the bench. George Hill had nine points with six dimes. Brook Lopez posted 10 points and drained two treys.
The Bucks are at full strength for Wednesday's contest, as they don't have injury concerns to note.
On the other hand, things have gone south for the Magic following their Game 1 win, and now they are hoping for a miracle in Game 5 to extend their season. Nikola Vucevic was Orlando's best player in Game 4 once again, as he came close to post a triple-double thanks to 31 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists. However, he can't do everything on his own and the other players have struggled to cooperate, particularly on the offensive end of the court. Some notable performances from Game 4 include Markelle Fultz, who had 15 points with seven assists, while Evan Fournier had 12 points and eight boards. Terrence Ross looked impressive off the bench once again, and he ended with 19 points and eight rebounds. Orlando has failed to stop the Bucks defensively, though, and that has hurt their chances.
Michael Carter-Williams (foot), Aaron Gordon (hamstring) and Melvin Frazier (back) are all questionable -- at best -- for Game 5, and a potential return of Gordon would boost Orlando on both ends of the court. Chuma Okeke (knee), Mo Bamba (illness), Jonathan Isaac (knee) and Al-Farouq Aminu (knee) are all out for the remainder of the 2019-20 season.
Thunder Look To Build Off Two Straight Wins
By Dan Bruno
The Oklahoma City Thunder play the Houston Rockets in Game 5 of the Western Conference first-round playoffs on Wednesday at Orlando.
After falling down 2-0 in the series, the Thunder have done an incredible job to battle back and win the last two games to tie the series at 2-2, heading into Game 5. They did a great job in Game 4, carrying over momentum from their impressive win in Game 3, as they jumped out to an 11-3 start. However, the Rockets came out on fire in the third and built a 15-point lead by the mid point of the quarter, but the Thunder rallied back to make it a one-point game heading into the fourth. The score stayed very tight through the fourth, but the Thunder came up clutch in the last minute, going 6-of-6 from the foul line and also taking care of business on the defensive end, to come out on top and even the series.
Dennis Schroder led the Thunder in scoring for the second straight game, with 30 points on 10-of-16 shooting, in 31 minutes off the bench. Chris Paul tallied 26 points also for the second straight game, and added six rebounds, three assists and three steals. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander totaled 18 points, 12 rebounds and six assists, while Steven Adams was the only other player to score in double digits for OKC, with 12 points and eight rebounds. The Thunder can turn the tables on the Rockets and take control of the series by continuing to play with the confidence and high effort that has earned them two straight wins.
Meanwhile, despite the fact that James Harden led the Rockets with 32 points, 15 assists, eight rebounds and four steals, he was still limited to 11-of-25 shooting, largely due to the excellent defensive effort of the Thunder's rookie Luguentz Dort. Eric Gordon had a solid outing with 23 points on 8-of-15 shooting, while Danuel House Jr. chipped in 21 points and six rebounds. The Rockets will look to get back in the driver's seat but will have to press on without Russell Westbrook (quad), who will remained sidelined through Wednesday.
After falling down 2-0 in the series, the Thunder have done an incredible job to battle back and win the last two games to tie the series at 2-2, heading into Game 5. They did a great job in Game 4, carrying over momentum from their impressive win in Game 3, as they jumped out to an 11-3 start. However, the Rockets came out on fire in the third and built a 15-point lead by the mid point of the quarter, but the Thunder rallied back to make it a one-point game heading into the fourth. The score stayed very tight through the fourth, but the Thunder came up clutch in the last minute, going 6-of-6 from the foul line and also taking care of business on the defensive end, to come out on top and even the series.
Dennis Schroder led the Thunder in scoring for the second straight game, with 30 points on 10-of-16 shooting, in 31 minutes off the bench. Chris Paul tallied 26 points also for the second straight game, and added six rebounds, three assists and three steals. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander totaled 18 points, 12 rebounds and six assists, while Steven Adams was the only other player to score in double digits for OKC, with 12 points and eight rebounds. The Thunder can turn the tables on the Rockets and take control of the series by continuing to play with the confidence and high effort that has earned them two straight wins.
Meanwhile, despite the fact that James Harden led the Rockets with 32 points, 15 assists, eight rebounds and four steals, he was still limited to 11-of-25 shooting, largely due to the excellent defensive effort of the Thunder's rookie Luguentz Dort. Eric Gordon had a solid outing with 23 points on 8-of-15 shooting, while Danuel House Jr. chipped in 21 points and six rebounds. The Rockets will look to get back in the driver's seat but will have to press on without Russell Westbrook (quad), who will remained sidelined through Wednesday.
Lakers Look to End Series Against Blazers
The Los Angeles Lakers play host to the Portland Trail Blazers in Game 5 of the Western Conference first-round playoffs in Orlando on Wednesday.
The Lakers (3-1) looked lost after their Game 1 defeat but they've been a different team since then. In fact, they had their best win of the Orlando bubble on Monday, handing Portland a 135-115 beatdown. The final scoreline doesn't do that game justice though, with Los Angeles holding a double-digit lead for the final 42 minutes. In addition, that 20-point final margin was the closest the game got in the second half. LeBron James had yet another dominating performance but it's scary for Portland that he and Anthony Davis got some rest. Neither guy even sniffed 30 minutes of playing time and it's scary to think that these guys essentially rested in yet another win. That marks their third-straight win in this series, winning those games by an average of 17 points per outing. That's the Lakers team that we saw in the regular season before the big break and it has Portland looking lost in the post season and well on their way home.
The Trail Blazers (1-3) had some seriously high hopes after sneaking into the playoffs and taking down Game 1 but they just haven't looked the same since. They're allowing Los Angeles to score over 120 points in those last three outings, while barely cracking 100 points themselves. That's a really bad combination of bad defense and even worse offense, putting this team in quite the hole. What's really evident is that this team is tired, playing competitive basketball for the last three weeks. It took everything they had to sneak into the playoffs and that steamrolling train appears to have finally put on the brakes. Damian Lillard is the one who carried this team to this point, but he's just 17-of-43 from the field since injuring his finger in Game 2 and this team simply can't beat the Lakers unless he averages close to 40. That looks even more disastrous when you see that Lillard was ruled out for this game because of a knee issue.
If Los Angeles is able to prevail in this game, they'll play the winner of the Houston-Oklahoma City series, which is currently tied at 2-2 and could go either way.
The Lakers (3-1) looked lost after their Game 1 defeat but they've been a different team since then. In fact, they had their best win of the Orlando bubble on Monday, handing Portland a 135-115 beatdown. The final scoreline doesn't do that game justice though, with Los Angeles holding a double-digit lead for the final 42 minutes. In addition, that 20-point final margin was the closest the game got in the second half. LeBron James had yet another dominating performance but it's scary for Portland that he and Anthony Davis got some rest. Neither guy even sniffed 30 minutes of playing time and it's scary to think that these guys essentially rested in yet another win. That marks their third-straight win in this series, winning those games by an average of 17 points per outing. That's the Lakers team that we saw in the regular season before the big break and it has Portland looking lost in the post season and well on their way home.
The Trail Blazers (1-3) had some seriously high hopes after sneaking into the playoffs and taking down Game 1 but they just haven't looked the same since. They're allowing Los Angeles to score over 120 points in those last three outings, while barely cracking 100 points themselves. That's a really bad combination of bad defense and even worse offense, putting this team in quite the hole. What's really evident is that this team is tired, playing competitive basketball for the last three weeks. It took everything they had to sneak into the playoffs and that steamrolling train appears to have finally put on the brakes. Damian Lillard is the one who carried this team to this point, but he's just 17-of-43 from the field since injuring his finger in Game 2 and this team simply can't beat the Lakers unless he averages close to 40. That looks even more disastrous when you see that Lillard was ruled out for this game because of a knee issue.
If Los Angeles is able to prevail in this game, they'll play the winner of the Houston-Oklahoma City series, which is currently tied at 2-2 and could go either way.