Bucks rout Bulls 116-100 in Game 5, advance to face Celtics
MILWAUKEE (AP) — The defending NBA champion Milwaukee Bucks continue to produce in the postseason even without key performers.
The Chicago Bulls simply don’t have that kind of depth or playoff savvy.
Giannis Antetokounmpo had 33 points and nine rebounds and the Bucks routed the Bulls 116-100 on Wednesday night to finish off their first-round series in five games.
The Bucks won the last three games by an average of 23.3 points despite playing without Khris Middleton, the All- Star who sprained the medial collateral ligament in his left knee during the fourth quarter of Game 2.
The third-seeded Bucks advanced to face second- seeded Boston in the Eastern Conference semifinals, with Game 1 on Sunday in Boston. The Celtics swept Brooklyn.
“After Game 2, we kind of talked about how we know what the deal was,” Antetokounmpo said. “The team knew what the deal was. We knew what we had to do. We had to be desperate. We had to go out there and compete at a high level, pay attention to detail as much as possible, help one another defensively. We’ve got to do it as a team.”
The Bucks have been through this before. They won their first title since 1971 last season despite losing Antetokounmpo for the last two games of the Eastern Conference finals due to a hyperextended knee
“We’ve been talking about the depth of the roster, the quality of the roster a lot this season,” Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer said. “Other guys have gotten opportunities and played well. Our defense has tightened up, and we’ve leaned hard on that these three games. We’ve got depth. We’ve got a good group.”