Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Antetokounmpo jumps up for Bucks
Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo marked his arrival on the big stage in his second trip to the NBA postseason, and now he’s looking for more.
Antetokounmpo, 22, will be looking to once again put his stamp on the Bucks’ series against Toronto in their Game 2 showdown, one of three NBA playoffs games tonight that feature lower seeds trying to take 2-0 series leads.
Other games on tap: Boston, the East’s top-seeded team, trying to bounce back from Sunday’s emotional loss to No. 8 seed Chicago, and a Utah team looking to build on its Game 1 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers despite the loss of starting center Rudy Gobert, who suffered a left knee injury in the openig minute of the game.
Milwaukee Coach Jason Kidd said that Antetokounmpo is stepping into his own at the right time.
“He set the tone for everyone offensively and defensively, and just understanding he came out aggressive, he didn’t wait,” Kidd said. “We’re going to need that from him.”
It’s a big step for Antetokounmpo, known as the “Greek Freak,” who was in his second NBA season in the Bucks’ last playoff appearance in 2014-2015. He averaged 12.7 points a game that season.
“He answered whatever call he answered and executed the game plan,” Kidd said. “He didn’t force things, he let the game come to him.”
Some things to know about tonight’s matchups:
BUCKS AT RAPTORS
NEED TO KNOW Antetokounmpo’s strong regular-season performance against Toronto carried over into Game 1, when he had 28 points and eight rebounds. Milwaukee’s star averaged 24.8 points, 7.8 rebounds and 7.0 assists in 4 regular-season against the Raptors.
KEEP AN EYE ON Guard Malcolm Brogdon will face Raptors guard Kyle Lowry, who struggled with his shooting in Game 1. Brogdon, a rookie, has provided a calming and steady presence at point guard on both ends of the floor.
INJURY UPDATE Serge Ibaka did not practice Monday because of a sprained left ankle suffered when he stepped on Antetokounmpo’s foot in the third quarter Saturday, but Toronto Coach Dwane Casey said Ibaka should be ready to go.
PRESSURE IS ON Khris Middleton. The forward had nine assists against Toronto in Game 1 but was held to 10 points on 4-of-15 shooting in 40 minutes. It was the second time that Middleton had played at least 40 minutes since coming back from a hamstring injury on Feb. 8. He’s one of Milwaukee’s best all-around players, but if Middleton can get going from the outside, that should create more spacing on the floor and room for Antetokounmpo to maneuver to the rim.
BULLS AT CELTICS
NEED TO KNOW Boston point guard Isaiah Thomas is preparing to play Game 2 before flying out to Tacoma, Wash., to be with his family to finalize funeral arrangements for his younger sister Chyna Thomas, 22, who died in a car accident early Saturday. Thomas played in Game 1 against Chicago, scoring a game-high 33 points, to go along with 6 assists and 5 rebounds. Bulls guard Dwyane Wade said that Thomas produced like they expected him to in Game 1, but he said he is expecting Jimmy Butler, who had 23 of his 30 points in the second half of Sunday’s 106-102 victory, to produce as well. Wade said before practice Monday the Bulls have to give them a different defensive look with Butler guarding Thomas at times. “If you get their offense out a little further, if it takes a little bit more time off the clock, all those things help,” Wade said. “It’s good to be able to have a guy like that to say, ‘get us 30, and then go guard the guy that’s got 30.’”
KEEP AN EYE ON The rebounding battle. The Bulls dominated the offensive glass 20-12, leading to 23 second-chance points in their Game 1 victory. The Bulls outrebounded the Celtics 53-36 for the game. Chicago also outrebounded Boston
in three of their four regular-season meetings.
INJURY UPDATE Both teams are injury-free coming out of the opener.
PRESSURE IS ON The Bulls bench to keep up its production. Second-year forward Bobby Portis (Little Rock Hall/ Arkansas Razorbacks) had 19 points in the opener to lead the Bulls’ young reserves, who outscored their Boston counterparts 35-22. Chicago’s second unit had its biggest impact at the start of the second quarter, outscoring Boston 10-0 to put Chicago in front.
JAZZ AT CLIPPERS
NEED TO KNOW The Jazz gained homecourt advantage by winning their first playoff game since 2010 on a floater at the buzzer by Joe Johnson (Little Rock Central/Arkansas Razorbacks). It was their third victory in 21 games against the Clippers. Utah is in the postseason for the first time in five years.
KEEP AN EYE ON Whether the Jazz can contain Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan without injured big man Gobert, who was among the NBA’s leaders in several defensive categories this season. INJURY UPDATE Gobert (hyperextended left knee/bone bruise) isn’t expected to play tonight. Clippers backup guard Austin Rivers (strained left hamstring) has resumed shooting, but isn’t expected back yet. PRESSURE IS ON The Clippers. They’ve never gotten past the second round and have lost at least one home game in every playoff series they’ve been in since 2005-2006. It was especially costly two years ago, when they blew a 3-1 lead against Houston, lost Game 6 at home and got beat on the road in Game 7.