The Lakers veteran became a wonder soldier, Beverley clashed, and Harry slumped 6 of 14!
Text: Lao Kan Kanqiu
Editor|Lao Kan Kanqiu
On May 1, Beijing time, in the first round of the NBA playoffs, the Milwaukee Bucks sat at home and faced the Indiana Pacers. The current score is 1-3, and the Bucks are stepping on the cliff, and they are about to go out if they lose one more game. Obviously, in the face of Antetokounmpo's absence due to injury, Lillard is still not enough to take on the heavy responsibility, as if he is back to the Trail Blazers period, and he also suffered a level 1 Achilles tendon strain in G3. According to the latest report from Shams, he will most likely miss the next few games in the series. It has to be said that the Bucks' playoff prospects are slim. Before the game, the American media ESPN also gave a win rate prediction: the Bucks have a win rate of 52.1%, and the Pacers have a 47.9% win rate.
After the Bucks lacked the two cores of Brother Alphabet and Lillard one after another, Middleton, who was affected by injuries in the regular season, stood up at a critical moment in the playoffs, according to the American media Statmamba This season's ranking of players in average points per game from the regular season to the playoffs, Middleton ranked first in the league with +11.2 points (15.1 points-26.3 points), while Harden of the Clippers ranked second with +9.4 points (16.6 points-26 points), and Lillard ranked second with +8 points (24.3 points - 32.3 points) ranked third. As for the team's difficult situation, the new coach Rivers Sr. bluntly said in an interview with reporters that he would fight one game at a time, but in the face of the Pacers, the strongest offensive player in the league, their defense will usher in a more severe challenge.
In terms of injuries, the Bucks' Antetokounmpo and Lillard continue to be absent, with the starting five being Middleton, Beverley, Lopez, Portis, and Beasley, while the Pacers' Mathurin is absent and the starting lineup is Turner, Nesmith, Haliburton, Siakam, and Nembhard.
At the beginning of the first quarter, Da Lopez received the ball and hit the inside, fearless to take off defensively and staged a one-handed dunk, giving the Bucks the first place. Middleton continued his recent hot hand, hitting one after another, and had scored 10 points in the opening game, directly stopping the Pacers. After a timeout, Shepard hit a three-pointer and the Pacers went on a 17-4 run to build a seven-point lead. Lopez Da Lopez hit a two-pointer to stop the bleeding, Doug McDermott had a three-pointer and Portis stepped back with a two-pointer to return the color to put the Bucks eight points behind the Pacers at 23-31 at the end of the first quarter.
Brother Alphabet and Lillard don't play, they have been cheering for the team off the court, and they are obviously still very anxious. Back in the second quarter, Beverley also stepped up and scored four points in a row, Portis made a jumper, and the Bucks narrowed the gap to four points. Middleton grabbed an offensive rebound in the restricted area alone, and also caused the opponent to foul, and the audience applauded warmly, which was really hard, and then played 3+1 to successfully overtake the score. Beverley didn't give the ball, Toppin pushed Beverley to the bench, the two sides clashed, Toppin ate a technical foul, and then Beverley singled Haliburton and caused a foul, excited to celebrate and then than a short gesture, Connaughton received the ball at the top of the arc and hit a big open three-pointer, and the Bucks had a lead of 7 points. At halftime, the score of the two sides was 48-53, and the Bucks completed the comeback in the second quarter.
In the halftime, the Bucks Beverley made 4 of 5 shots and scored 12 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assists, while Middleton made 4 of 12 shots, 2 of 4 three-pointers and 7 of 8 free throws to get 17 points, 7 rebounds and 2 assists. On the Pacers' side, Haliburton shot 4-of-7 from the field and 3-of-5 from three-point range to finish with 11 points, 1 rebound and 3 assists, while Siakam shot 2-of-7 from the field and finished with 6 points, 2 rebounds and 1 assist.
Yibian fought again, Middleton faced the two defenses and hit the basket, hit the board and added free throws, and the Bucks opened with a wave of 9-0 offensive climax, and the lead has reached double digits. Beasley missed a strong shot from the free throw line, and Lopez Da Lopez grabbed a rebound in the front court with a basket and dunked with both hands. The Pacers made a passing error in the connection, and Beverley went straight to Portis with a fast break, and scored an easy layup, once again hitting a 6-0 small climax, and the difference had reached 15 points, directly stopping the Pacers. After the timeout, the Pacers' offense still did not improve, and they still couldn't attack and defend, but Beasley hit two three-pointers in a row again, and the Bucks had a lead of 21 points, and the Bucks played a 34-19 attack wave in the first quarter.
In the fourth quarter, the Pacers made a series of mistakes at the beginning, Beasley seized the opportunity to hold the ball and scored a defensive layup, and the Bucks' lead was as high as 25 points. Then the Bucks were a little slack, and the Pacers grabbed a counterattack with successive mistakes, narrowing the gap to within 20 points, and Rivers Sr. called a timeout in time. After the timeout, Beasley made a strong three-point shot against the defense, and his hand was really hot, and he has scored 16 points so far. There was no more suspense in the game, and Carlisle surrendered five minutes early and replaced him with a substitute. In the end, the Bucks reversed the Pacers and chased the score to 2-3, and it is worth mentioning that from trailing the Pacers by 10 points in the first quarter to leading by 23 points, the Bucks completed a 33-point reversal.
In terms of statistics, on the Bucks' side, Middleton blasted 29 points, 12 rebounds and 5 assists, Portis scored 29 points and 10 rebounds, and the Lakers' two veterans became the winning wonders, Beasley contributed 18 points in the second half, Beverley also scored 13 points, 4 rebounds, 12 assists and 2 steals, and Lopez 12 points and 3 rebounds. On the Pacers' side, Haliburton had a sluggish performance, with only 16 points, 4 rebounds and 6 assists on 6-of-14 shooting, Turner 13 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists, Siakam 12 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists, Nesmith 7 points, Toppin 12 points, Nembhard 12 points and 5 assists.