Basketball
Bucks party in Portland with 29th John and 30th by Portis
The Bucks equalized in Portland, defeating the Blazers 137-108 and climbing to 3rd place in the East. For a rebound, Giannis Antetokoumbo (29/9/6) lost the double-double who had a season-high 4/7 three-pointers on a night where…Portis broke out and stopped 30 points.
Spray, wipe, done. The Bucks went to Portland and showed they had no appetite for jokes. So they hit the gas pedal when needed, had the boost they needed in the third period to “clean up” the game, and eventually clinched a comfortable 108-137 victory, with 137 points that marked the record for the year.
Giannis Antetokounbo started the game dynamically with 3/3 three points to set the tone for his team and then went into the game… idle and finished the game on 29 points with 3/5 two points, 4/7 three points (season high), 11/15 shots, 9 rebounds, 6 assists and 1 interception in 25 minutes of participation and reached 18 consecutive games with +25 points.
However, the night belonged to Bobby Portis, who finished the game on 30 points (a record for the year) with 6/8 three points (equaling his career record) while Chris Middleton added 14 points.
For the Blazers, Ben McLemore and Anferny Simmons had 19 points and CJ McCollum had 17 points, with the latter still having 1/8th three points.
At 33-21, the Bucks’ record, who overtook the Cavaliers and moved up to 3rd in the East, stands with their next game … immediately after beating the Clippers were lined up ). At 22-32 for the Blazers, who now have another 28 games to go to continue the… tanking aimed at the best possible draft peak in the 2022 NBA Drat.
The race
The game started with the Blazers playing zone from the first possession, while Nurkic made a poster of Giannis on one of their first attacks. None of this affected Antetokunbo, however, who started with 3/3 three-pointers, with the Bucks going 11-22 with “Guten Morgen” and the Greek freak hitting 10 quick points.
In fact, things went even better after that for “Elafia,” who was unaffected by Giannis going to the bench for a breather and running a 10-0 streak to escape 16-34. However, Portland closed the gap and ran 10-0 down to 26:34 in the final of the first period.
The second period started with the Blazers reducing to 35-40 and the Bucks immediately responding with an 8-0 series to walk away 35-48. However, Portland again didn’t give up and reduced to 46-52. However, Milwaukee again had the answer, ending the first half with a singles score of 18-8 and going into the dressing room 54-70 with Bobby Portis already having 17 points and John trailing behind with 15 points.
In the third period, the Bucks would “clean up” the game. Milwaukee entered the second half strongly, tightening their defense and just waiting for a breakout in offense. This was not long in coming as the visitors ran a 12-0 run midway through the third period, winning 61-89 to eventually go into the fourth period 75-107. The game was scored.
The fourth period was just…to be done. The two teams emptied their benches to rest their key players and all that was expected was to hear the final score, with Milwaukee claiming a comfortable win.
THE TWELVE MINUTES: 26-34, 54-70, 75-107, 108-137
PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZER (Chauncey Bilaps): Snell 9 (3), Nurkic 11 (10 rebounds), McCollum 17 (7/18 shots, 1/8 3-pointers, 6 assists), Simmons 19 (5/13 3-pointers), Eleby 2 , Winslow 6 (7 rebounds), Watford 7, McLemore 19 (4/12 3-points), Brown 10 (1), Blues 2, Smith 6 (6 assists)
MILGUOKI BUKS (Mike Budenholzer): G. Antetokunbo 29 (4 3-pointers, 9 rebounds, 6 assists), Middleton 14 (2/7 3-pointers, 7 assists, 5 steals), Porti 30 (6/8 3-pointers, 5 assists), Holiday 9 (1 3-pointer, 7 assists), Allen 8 (2), Monroe 6 (6 rebounds), Conaton 3 (1), Th. Hood 4, DiVincenzo 10 (2/7 3-pointers), Whittington 5 (1)
Portland Trail Blazers team stats: 27/40 two points, 14/45 three points, 12/21 shots, 38 rebounds, 25 assists, 6 steals, 6 blocks, 16 errors
Milwaukee Bucks team stats: 26/42 two points, 23/50 three points, 16/22 shots, 44 rebounds, 36 assists, 9 steals, 6 blocks, 10 errors
Source: sport24
Jessica Martinez is an author at Sportish, a publication dedicated to sports news and analysis. She covers various topics related to sports and provides insightful commentary on the latest developments in the world of sports.
