On May 1, Beijing time, the fifth game of the first round of the NBA playoffs continued. The Milwaukee Bucks are back home to face the Indiana Pacers.
Previously, the Bucks trailed the Pacers 1:3 and were forced to the edge of the cliff. G4 Lillard and Antetokounmpo are both sidelined due to injury, and G5 Antetokounmpo and Lillard continue to be sidelined, and it seems that Antetokounmpo's recovery is not as optimistic as imagined.
Although the Bucks were a remnant, they played a desperate fighting spirit in this game. After trailing 23-31 in the first quarter, they went on two consecutive quarters with a 30-17 and 34-19 spurt to crush the Pacers.
In the end, the Bucks defeated the Pacers 115-92 to tie the score to 2-3, buying time for the duo to recuperate. The game gave birth to two incredible and five indisputable facts.
Two incredible:
The first incredible thing is that the Bucks outscored the Pacers by 23 points and suppressed the Pacers, the league's leading offense, to 92 points. 92 points is the Pacers' lowest score in the round, and the desperate defense is just unusual.
The second incredibleness is that the Bucks have two players with a plus/minus of 30+. Beverley played 36 minutes, contributing 13 points, 12 assists, 2 steals and 1 block, with a game-high plus/minus of +36. Portis played 39 minutes, contributing 29 points and 10 rebounds, and was second in the game with a plus/minus of +30.
Five indisputable facts:
The first indisputable fact is that the 32-year-old Middleton still has gas in the tank, and today he once again cut 29 points, 12 rebounds and 5 assists. In the past three games, he has averaged 32 points, 10.6 rebounds and 5 assists per game, and even Lillard can't play such comprehensive statistics.
The second indisputable fact is that Portis is the X-factor for the Bucks. When Brother Alphabet was there, his data was inconspicuous. But in the absence of Brother Alphabet, he was able to handle it, and today he played the best performance of the playoffs, which was the key to the Bucks' wave of play.
The third indisputable fact is that Beverley's play can make or break a match. In the two games won by the Bucks, Beverley contributed a total of 20 assists and had a plus/minus of +53 in both games. In the three games the Bucks lost, Beverley contributed only eight assists and had a plus/minus of -43 in three games.
The fourth indisputable fact is that Siakam needs to be stimulated by Lillard to play. In the first two games, Lillard averaged 34.5 points and 5 boards, and Sika averaged 32.5 points and 12 boards. In the last three games, Lillard played poorly with an injury in one game, missed two games due to injury, and Sika averaged 14 points and 7.3 boards in the last three games, which is too much contrast.
The fifth indisputable fact is that Turner is the barometer that determines the Pacers' victory. G1 and G5 lost, and Turner averaged 15 points and 6.5 rebounds per game. G2~G4 wins, Turner averages 26.6 points and 8.3 rebounds per game. As long as Turner plays well, the Pacers can win.