Game Five may have taken place a few days later than originally planned, but the Milwaukee Bucks defeated the Orlando Magic 118-104 to move onto a second round match-up against the Miami Heat.
Originally scheduled for Wednesday, Game Five ended up being postponed following the Bucks’ boycott in protest of the police shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin. For a while, it seemed as if they playoffs might be cancelled as multiple teams also boycotted their games. However, after a few meetings, play resumed today.
The Bucks were led by Giannis Antetokounmpo who had 28 points, 17 rebounds, 3 assists, and a block in just 28 minutes. The 2020 Defensive Player of the Year was limited on minutes due to foul trouble. With Giannis out of the game, the Magic staged a third quarter comeback, at one point trailing by only six. In the fourth, they pulled to within three when the unsung hero of the game took over.
Marvin Williams, the elder statesman on the Bucks, came out of a timeout with vengeance. With defensive intensity and a cool stroke, Williams scored 12 points on 4/8 shooting. He was 4/5 from behind the arc. Most importantly, he grabbed seven rebounds, six defensive, limiting the Magic and stopping their comeback.
Khris Middleton added 21 points and 10 rebounds for the Bucks, his second straight double-double in the series. Brook Lopez had 16 points and Eric Bledsoe had 10. George Hill came off the bench and scored 11, rounding out the list of Bucks to score in double figures.
The Orlando Magic were, of course, led by Nikola Vucevic, who had 22 points and 15 rebounds. Unfortunately for the Magic, his shooting stroke went cold and he only shot 9/25 from the floor (3/10 from behind the arc).
Game Note
A credit to this Magic team: they could have easily accepted the Bucks forfeit earlier this week. In fact, the Bucks expected them to, and were willing to take the loss. However, in a show of solidarity, the Magic refused the forfeit and chose to play Game Five instead of a Game Six. In other words, the Magic could have improved to be being down 3-2 instead of 3-1 and given themselves a better chance of advancing. Principle won out, though, and they stood with Milwaukee.
This is the first time the Bucks have won a playoff series in back-to-back seasons since 1986-87.
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