Trailing by 7 with under three minutes to go, the Milwaukee Bucks appeared on the verge of falling to the 6th seed in the East, behind Detroit, with a loss to the Miami Heat. They had other things in mind.
Led by 8 Brook Lopez points in the final 3:24 of regulation, the Bucks battled back to send the game to overtime tied at 111. After giving back the lead, they executed an 8-0 run to close out win number 43, 121-115, clinching their 9th straight playoff berth. The comeback keeps them half a game up on the Pistons, who lost to Memphis on Saturday, as Milwaukee prepares for the second leg of a back-to-back Sunday night versus New Orleans.
Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks Extinguish Miami Heat for Critical W
As the postseason approaches, the biggest question looming over the Bucks is the status of Damian Lillard, sidelined by a blood clot in his calf since March 18. Doc Rivers did deliver some incredibly positive news this week, indicating that Lillard may, against all odds, be able to return before season’s end. Deep vein thrombosis, like Lillard’s, typically takes several months to clear up.
Bobby Portis will also be available beginning next week, having served his 25-game suspension pending the conclusion of the Pelicans game. Whether he will be ready to jump into impactful action, however, remains unclear. Coming off a lengthy absence, Portis may need multiple games to recover real-time conditioning and rhythm. With only four games to do it before the postseason starts, how effective he can be presents another uncertainty.
The Bucks have stayed afloat during Lillard’s absence, going 5-4 and riding a three-game win streak after dropping four straight. Giannis Antetokounmpo has been a big reason for that–as he must be for his team to stand a chance. Coming off the NBA’s first-ever 35-15-20 stat line versus Philadelphia, the Greek Freak manhandled Miami for 36 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists while shooting 13-21 from the floor in 43 minutes of action.
It was his 7th consecutive game with at least 30 points and his third straight scoring 35+ with double-digit assists. Dating back to the game after the Dame news broke, he has shot 60% or better from the field 8 games in a row. Against Miami, he inked his name in the record books again.
Historic Season, Concerning Workload
For a player who will finish outside the top two in MVP voting (behind Nikola Jokic and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander), Giannis is having one of the greatest seasons ever. The two-time award winner is posting 30.5 PPG, 11.9 RPG, 6.3 APG with a 60.2 FG%. And his games against the 76ers and the Heat made him the first player since Wilt Chamberlain in 1968 to notch a 70-30-30 line in points, rebounds and assists across two contests.
The only bad thing about Giannis’ Herculean performance of late is that the Bucks need him to keep producing at this level until Lillard returns. Certainly he can do it, and he isn’t entirely by himself–Kevin Porter Jr. dropped 24, 12 and 8 on Miami off the bench. But wearing him down heading into the playoffs is far from ideal.
For Bucks fans, it stirs up uneasy feelings after injury kept Antetokounmpo out of Milwaukee’s first round series last year. The Bucks bowed out in the opening round for the second straight season as the Indiana Pacers won in 6 games.
In 2025, they will play Indiana again if the standings hold. Three games behind the Pacers in 4th, the Bucks are all but locked into the 5th or 6th spot. Their primary task is holding off the energetic Pistons. He may not have to make more history, but Giannis will likely have to keep his cape on for the foreseeable future.
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