Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Bucks’ title quest sputters in first leg
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — The Milwaukee Bucks’ hopes of winning their first NBA title since 1971 got off to a rocky start.
Nikola Vucevic scored a playoff career-high 35 points and had 14 rebounds, and the Orlando Magic stunned the top-seeded Bucks 122-110 on Tuesday in the league’s fanfree Disney World bubble.
Terrence Ross scored 18 points, Gary Clark added 15, and D.J. Augustin had 11 points and 11 assists for the eighth-seeded Magic, who were 14-point underdogs.
Orlando took a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven series, an intriguing result given that the Bucks can’t rely on home-court advantage in these pandemic-altered playoffs.
“We don’t care what other people have to say,” Vucevic said. “We focus on ourselves, and we came out and played a great game on both ends of the floor.”
Giannis Antetokounmpo finished with 31 points, 17 rebounds and 7 assists for Milwaukee. Last season’s MVP was held without a field goal over the final 11 minutes.
“You have to really be ready for what they do,” Vucevic said. “Especially us against a team like Milwaukee where we have to make sure we know their stuff and we are prepared for everything. Tonight, we definitely were on top of that. We did a good job executing the game plan.”
The Bucks came into the postseason as the favorites to win the NBA title. But they went 3-5 in seeding games in the bubble, and that sluggish play carried over into the postseason.
George Hill said the Bucks needed to do some “soul searching.”
Antetokounmpo didn’t go that far, saying the Bucks’ energy level was fine, but that they need to make more shots. Milwaukee made 43% from the field and was 14 of 42 from three-point land.
“There’s no magic wand to point and things are going to change,” Antetokounmpo said. “You’ve got to come out, play hard, play even harder, play together and have fun.”
Milwaukee swept the season series against Orlando, winning four games by an average of 17 points, but struggled with the Magic’s stingy defense, which caused 16 turnovers and repeatedly clogged the lane, forcing Antetokounmpo to settle for jump shots.
The Magic led most of the game.
Orlando used a 15-2 run to build a 51-33 lead midway through the second quarter behind 16 points from Vucevic.
Milwaukee made several runs in the second half, but the Magic had an answer every time.
Vucevic had 14 points in the third quarter, scoring down in the low post against smaller defenders and stepping out to knock down threes against bigger men as the Magic carried a 13-point lead into the fourth quarter.
ORLANDO (122)
Clark 4-12 3-3 15, Ennis III 3-5 3-3 11, Vucevic 15-24 0-0 35, Fournier 3-8 0-0 9, Fultz 6-11 2-2 15, Birch 1-2 2-2 4, Iwundu 2-3 0-1 4, Ross 7-13 4-4 18, Augustin 3-11 4-4 11. Totals 44-89 18-19 122.
MILWAUKEE (110)
G.Antetokounmpo 12-25 4-9 31, Middleton 4-12 4-6 14, B.Lopez 2-9 1-2 5, Bledsoe 5-11 4-5 15, Matthews 4-6 0-0 10, Korver 2-3 1-1 6, Williams 2-4 0-0 6, R.Lopez 1-1 0-0 2, Connaughton 1-4 0-0 3, DiVincenzo 1-6 0-0 2, Hill 5-9 4-5 16, Mason 0-0 0-0 0. Totals
39-90 18-28 110.
Orlando .......... 33 29 30 30 — 122 Milwaukee ...... 23 29 27 31 — 110 3-Point Goals—Orlando 16-41 (Vucevic 5-8, Clark 4-12, Fournier 3-7, Ennis III 2-3, Augustin 1-4, Fultz 1-4, Ross 0-3), Milwaukee 14-42 (G.Antetokounmpo 3-7, Hill 2-4, Matthews 2-4, Williams 2-4, Middleton 2-6, Korver 1-2, Connaughton 1-4, Bledsoe 1-5, DiVincenzo 0-2, B.Lopez 0-4). Fouled Out—None. Rebounds—Orlando 48 (Vucevic 14), Milwaukee 47 (G.Antetokounmpo 17). Assists—Orlando 29 (Augustin 11), Milwaukee 28 (G.Antetokounmpo 7). Total Fouls—Orlando 26, Milwaukee 19.
HEAT 113, PACERS 101
Jimmy Butler scored 28 points, Goran Dragic had 24 and Miami beat Indiana in the opener of their Eastern Conference first-round series.
The Heat pulled away in the closing minutes, long after the Pacers had lost star guard Victor Oladipo to an eye injury.
Bam Adebayo had 17 points, 10 rebounds and 6 assists for the Heat, who were just a little bit better in a mostly even matchup between the Nos. 4 and 5 seeds, who were separated by a game in the standings.
Oladipo was limited to eight minutes before he was scratched in the left eye with 3:26 remaining in the first quarter, appearing to be hit first by Miami’s Jae Crowder.
It was a three-point game midway through the final period before Butler hit a couple of three-pointers and Dragic added one in an 11-2 surge that made it 107-95 with just over two minutes remaining.
T,J. Warren and Malcolm Brogdon scored 22 points apiece for the Pacers, who will try to even the series on Thursday.
MIAMI (113)
Butler 8-15 10-12 28, Crowder 3-6 0-0 8, Adebayo 7-14 3-4 17, Dragic 9-19 2-2 24, Robinson 2-8 0-1 6, Olynyk 2-4 0-0 5, Iguodala 2-3 0-0 4, Jones Jr. 2-3 1-2 6, Herro 5-9 4-4 15. Totals 40-81 20-25 113.
INDIANA (101)
A.Holiday 3-5 2-2 9, Warren 9-18 0-0 22, Turner 4-11 1-2 9, Brogdon 6-18 9-10 22, Oladipo 0-2 4-4 4, McDermott 1-4 0-0 3, Sampson 5-6 0-0 10, J.Holiday 4-4 0-0 11, McConnell 2-4 1-2 5, Sumner 2-4 2-2 6. Totals
36-76 19-22 101.
Miami ........... 27 29 25 32 — 113 Indiana .......... 33 19 28 21 — 101 3-Point Goals—Miami 13-35 (Dragic 4-9, Butler 2-2, Crowder 2-5, Robinson 2-8, Jones Jr. 1-2, Olynyk 1-3, Herro 1-5), Indiana 10-24 (Warren 4-5, J.Holiday 3-3, A.Holiday 1-2, McDermott 1-3, Brogdon 1-6, Turner 0-3). Fouled Out—None. Rebounds—Miami 35 (Adebayo 10), Indiana 37 (Turner 9). Assists—Miami 22 (Adebayo 6), Indiana 22 (Brogdon 10). Total Fouls—
Miami 17, Indiana 23.
ROCKETS 123, THUNDER 108
James Harden had 37 points and 11 rebounds, and Houston rolled past Oklahoma City in Game 1 of their first-round Western Conference playoff series.
Houston All-Star Russell Westbrook, who played his previous 11 years with the Thunder, was out with a quad injury. The fourth-seeded Rockets still made 20 three-pointers and shot 48% from the field.
Jeff Green scored 22 points and Eric Gordon added 21 for Houston.
Danilo Gallinari matched a playoff career-high with 29 points for the fifth-seeded Thunder.
OKLAHOMA CITY (108)
Ferguson 2-3 0-0 6, Gallinari 9-17 9-9 29, Adams 7-13 3-6 17, Gilgeous-Alexander 2-8 4-4 9, Paul 7-14 3-4 20, Burton 0-0 0-0 0, Diallo 2-6 2-2 7, Nader 0-1 0-0 0, Noel 1-3 0-0 2, Roberson 0-1 0-0 0, Muscala 1-1 0-0 3, Bazley 3-5 0-0 9, Schroder 3-12 0-0 6. Totals 37-84 21-25 108.
HOUSTON (123)
House Jr. 4-8 0-0 9, Tucker 4-9 0-0 11, Covington 1-6 0-0 3, Gordon 7-17 5-5 21, Harden 12-22 7-8 37, Caboclo 1-1 0-0 2, Carroll 0-1 0-0 0, Green 8-12 3-4 22, Frazier 0-0 0-0 0, McLemore 5-8 0-0 14, Rivers 1-5 2-2 4. Totals 43-89 17-19 123.
Oklahoma City .20 32 31 25 — 108 Houston ......... 28 40 36 19 — 123 3-Point Goals—Oklahoma City 13-35 (Bazley 3-4, Paul 3-8, Ferguson 2-3, Gallinari 2-5, Gilgeous-Alexander 1-3, Diallo 1-4, Schroder 0-5), Houston 20-52 (Harden 6-13, McLemore 4-7, Green 3-7, Tucker 3-8, Gordon 2-6, House Jr. 1-4, Covington 1-5, Rivers 0-2).
Fouled Out—None. Rebounds—Oklahoma City 46 (Adams 12), Houston 36 (Harden 11). Assists—Oklahoma City 22 (Paul 9), Houston 25 (House Jr. 5). Total Fouls—Oklahoma City 20, Houston 26.
TRAIL BLAZERS 100, LAKERS 93
Damian Lillard had 34 points and Portland spoiled LeBron James’ first playoff appearance for Los Angeles in Game 1 of the teams’ playoff series.
James had 23 points, 17 rebounds and 15 assists for this 24th postseason triple-double. His assists were a career playoff high.
Jusuf Nurkic had 16 points and 15 rebounds for Portland, which led by as many as 16 points in the first half.
Trailing 78-75 going into the final period, the Lakers tied it at 78-78 on Kyle Kuzma’s three-pointer. James’ layup gave Los Angeles the lead, and Kuzma added a pair of free throws and another layup to extend it to 84-78.
Lillard’s three-pointer tied it at 87-87 with 5:46 to go, and CJ McCollum’s floater gave Portland the lead.
After Danny Green’s layup tied it again for Los Angeles, Lillard nailed a 3-pointer. Anthony Davis’ dunk got the Lakers within 95-93, but Gary Trent Jr. made a three-pointer that put Portland up 98-93 before Nurkic dunked to seal it.
PORTLAND (100)
Anthony 3-11 3-4 11, Gabriel 2-2 0-0 4, Nurkic 4-11 7-9 16, Lillard 9-21 10-10 34, McCollum 8-20 2-4 21, Trent Jr. 2-8 0-0 5, Hezonja 0-2 2-2 2, Whiteside 3-4 1-4 7. Totals 31-79 25-33 100.
L.A. LAKERS (93)
Davis 8-24 12-17 28, James 9-20 4-7 23, McGee 3-5 0-0 6, Caldwell-Pope 0-9 1-2 1, Green 4-12 0-0 10, Kuzma 5-14 3-4 14, Morris 2-2 0-1 5, Howard 2-5 0-0 4, Caruso 1-6 0-0 2, Waiters 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 34-97 20-31 93.
Portland ......... 36 21 21 22 — 100 L.A. Lakers ..... 25 31 19 18 — 93 3-Point Goals—Portland 13-34 (Lillard 6-13, McCollum 3-8, Anthony 2-5, Nurkic 1-2, Trent Jr. 1-4, Hezonja 0-2), L.A. Lakers 5-32 (Green 2-8, James 1-5, Kuzma 1-5, Caruso 0-3, Caldwell-Pope 0-5, Davis 0-5).
Fouled Out—None. Rebounds—Portland 50 (Nurkic 15), L.A. Lakers 55 (James 17). Assists—Portland 18 (Anthony, Lillard 5), L.A. Lakers 22 (James 16). Total Fouls—Portland 28, L.A. Lakers 23.