Welcome to the Basketball Hangover. I write about what’s happening in the NBA daily. Hey! We’re in the playoffs now!
The Bucks didn’t back down in Game 3 of their series with the Nets.
(PHOTO CREDIT: Benny Sieu/USA Today.)
The Milwaukee Bucks were annihilated in Game 2. But coming back home for Game 3 gave them a renewed purpose and some desperation.
They certainly acted desperate at the start. The deer scored the first 9 points of the game and got off to a 30-11 first quarter romp. Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton took charge early, often, and throughout the entire game.
The supernova Nets immediately came back. They got some great help from Bruce Brown (more on him later!). The former New Jersey Nets whittled the deficit down to three by halftime.
From then on, it became a tense defensive struggle. The Nets finally took the lead, 70-69 (heh heh), early in the fourth. There was a three-minute period where neither team scored. Then Kevin Durant took over for a bit and gave the Nets an 83-80 lead with a minute and change left. Middleton made a lay-up to cut the deficit down to one.
Bruce Brown missed a jumper, which led to a Bucks push. Jrue Holiday spun around Brown to give Milwaukee the lead. Then in the ensuing possession, an errant inbounds pass led to Brown getting the ball. He found the open lane but Brook Lopez‘s defense made Brown throw up a wild lay-up that only hit glass. Middleton made foul shots with a couple of ticks left to give Milwaukee a three-point lead. Durant was double-teamed in the last possession and managed to get a shot off. The shot nearly went in but nearlys don’t count in bucket-getting and Milwaukee survived Game 3.
The shooting was NOT great for both teams with the Bucks only making .378 of their shots while the Nets were only hitting at a .362 clip. Middleton bounced back in a big way with 35 points and 15 rebounds while Giannis went for 33 points and 14 boards. Nobody else scored in double figures but Lopez rejected 6 shots. On the other side, Durant had 30-11-5 to go along with four steals. Kyrie Irving put in 22 while the embattled Brown scored 16 (although, of course, he’d love to have those last plays back).
I think it’s impressive that the Bucks came back like that. It’s easy to fold after getting waxed in the first two games. Like I said before, the “good news” that despite losing by 39 in Game 2 was that they still only lost one game. Whether it’s a three-point margin or a 39-point blowout.
Now it’s a series. Milwaukee can tie it with one more win. And that 39-point loss would seem like a distant memory.
Bullet Passes
The Jazz are resilient as hell. Yeah, they were up by 21 points against the Clippers. The Clippers are a very good team so it wasn’t anything surprising when they rallied back. Reggie Jackson was huge in their comeback, scoring 16 of his 29 points in the third.
But the Jazz are the #1 seed for a reason. Jordan Clarkson kept them at bay in the third. Rudy Gobert, Royce O’Neale, and Joe Ingles scored big buckets to separate themselves from the Clips. Then Donovan Mitchell put the finishing touches. Again, they didn’t have Mike Conley. But when you have two guys vying for the 6th Man of the Year award this season, you’ve got quite the deep bench.
I must say that the Clippers baffle me. They had two golden opportunities to steal home court against a Jazz team without Mike Conley. And they couldn’t do it.
Yes, Clippers win both home games in L.A. and they’re back in it. But you just can’t help but think what a waste those two games were.
I want to stop short of saying that Donovan Mitchell is in that superstar tier. But he’s been turning in superstar playoff performances. He averaged more than 36 points in that Denver series last year. He scored 37 against the Clippers in what was quite the battle in Game 2. Donovan is averaging 32.7 points per game in these playoffs.
I don’t get why he can’t be a good #1 option, according to some pundits. Dude, he is BLITZING the postseason.
The NBA teams got a memo that the 2021-22 season will be back to its normal schedule.
So there’s that possibility that the finalists could be done as late as July 22 and turn around and start the season on October 19. That is 89 days in between. And even then, that’s not counting Olympics, training camp, and postseason.
The athletes need every day they can get. I don’t think the fans would blink if the league started the season around the first week of November or something and end the postseason around the first week of July (the way the schedule is structured now). But I also wouldn’t be opposed to stars sitting out the first two weeks, if need be.
I understand getting back to normalcy ASAP. But we saw the results of having a quick turnaround for these athletes. The finalists were mostly hurt and got eliminated in the first round. Hopefully, that’s not the case for next season.
NBA Playoff Scoreboard
June 10, 2021
NBA Playoff Series Count
EAST
#1 Sixers are tied with #5 Hawks, 1-1.
#2 Nets lead #3 Bucks, 2-1.
#1 Sixers defeat #8 Wizards, 4-1.
#5 Hawks defeat #4 Knicks, 4-1.
#2 Nets defeat #7 Celtics, 4-1.
#3 Bucks defeat #6 Heat, 4-0.
WEST
#1 Jazz lead #4 Clippers, 2-0.
#2 Suns lead #3 Nuggets, 2-0.
#1 Jazz defeat #8 Grizzlies, 4-1.
#4 Clippers defeat #5 Mavericks, 4-3.
#2 Suns defeat #7 Lakers, 4-2.
#3 Nuggets defeat #6 Blazers, 4-2.
Watch This Play
GIANNIS STAMPEDE
OH. MY. GIANNIS!! pic.twitter.com/8SmK6u0Hf4
— Milwaukee Bucks (@Bucks) June 10, 2021
That is just terrifying. YOU try to get in the way of that.
Everyone, please take care of yourselves during this pandemic. And that goes for everyone involved with the NBA as well.
You can find Rey-Rey on Twitter at @TheNoLookPass.
You can also check out Rey-Rey’s podcast, Rey-Rey Is Fundamental, for more basketball content and, really, whatever else.
R.I.P. Nala.