BOSTON – Fourth quarter, the game is still in doubt and Janice Adetokunmpo decided: hey, let’s do something crazy. Bottled on the perimeter by Grant Williams, Adetokunmpo stepped to the edge, threw the ball from the backboard, caught it and threw a dunk between two Celtics defenders.
That increased Milwaukee’s lead to 16 by six minutes. And put an end to Boston’s fleeting hope of returning to Sunday’s 101-89 defeat.
“Throw it on the board,” Adetokunmpo said. “I’m lucky that God has blessed me with the ability to jump.”
Deadpanned Jrue Holiday: “I probably could [that] on a hoop of eight feet. “
Mike Budenholzer added: “It’s just pure talent, just pure instinct. He’s a great player, he does things that are unique, special and timely. It’s one of those plays where you’re just glad he’s on our side. “
Milwaukee took match 1 of the semifinals of the Eastern Conference on Sunday. And Adetokunmpo reminded everyone why he should still be considered the best player on the planet. It wasn’t retro Janice. He shoots 9-for-25. He missed both of his three. He committed a stupid foul – his fourth – at the end of the third quarter, which sent him to the bench. But he scored 24 points. He made 13 fights. He gave 12 assists. He contributed to Bucks’ suffocating defense.
And most importantly, his team won.
David Butler II / USA Today Sports
The MVP will be unveiled later this month. Janice will not win it. He will probably not finish higher than third. But his game on Sunday reminds him that when he is sharp, he is close to unstoppable. Those Boston defenders who effectively curbed Kevin Durant? Adetokunmpo broke right through them. As Boston mixed his defenses, Janice patiently parted.
“We went too fast [with double teams] sometimes, ”said Celtics coach Ime Udoka. “He will find those passes, so we have to be careful not to come too fast with the double.”
Scroll to Continue
Boston tackled Brooklyn last round. But this is a different series. Bucks love physical play. “I may be weird, but I’m thriving on physicality,” Adetokunmpo said. And Milwaukee can make it. Bucks ‘front line from Janice, Brooke Lopez and Bobby Portis dominated the Celtics’ front zone, controlling the cup (54-48 end of fights) and limiting Boston to 20 points in the fight. They forced turnovers (18) and scored many of them (27 points), while limiting the production of the Celtics in paint (20 points)
“They hit us in the mouth early,” said Jaylan Brown.
Al Horford said: “They were on different levels.
Boston has elite protection. In Game 1, Milwaukee’s was better. Jason Tatum scored 21 points. Brown had 12. As the Celtics, 33.3% of the field shot. They made only 10 shots on the inside of the line for three points. Lopez’s return from a back injury in mid-March made Bucks’ good defense great. In Match 1, Lopez made 10 rebounds and blocked three shots in 28 minutes. “He is so active,” Adetokunmpo said. “He was amazing.”
amazing? This is Adetokunmpo. Every other year, Antetokounmpo would be the MVP striker. He averaged 30 points, 11.6 rebounds and 5.8 assists during the regular season. He remained one of the best defensive players in the NBA. In the first round against Chicago, Janice averaged 28.6 points, 13.4 rebounds and 6.4 assists, figures that would have been better if he hadn’t played just 29 minutes in a game of laughter in Game 3.
The Bucks drew the first blood in this series. The absence of Chris Middleton, who is expected to miss this series with a knee injury, is significant, but Milwaukee believes he can win with a solid defense. After a slow first two games against Chicago, they looked like defending champions.
“I think we played much better in defense [since then]”Said Adetokunmpo. “We realized that in order to win matches, we have to be careful. One of our best goal scorers is not there. We know we have to be careful. If we don’t protect ourselves, we have no chance. “
The Celtics need to regroup. “We need to do a better job of doing what we want and not letting them dictate that during the game,” Tatum said. They must correspond to the physical form of Milwaukee. They have to get off the line for three points (50 attempts in game 1) and impose the problem in the paint.
The home court advantage is gone. The momentum gained from 4 games in Brooklyn stopped abruptly. “We’ve been resilient all year,” Brown said. “It’s just proof of what we’ve been through during the season, the ups and downs. This group has been tested, so we just have to come out with confidence and not lose faith in each other. “
And they must contain Janice. The former MVP will not win an MVP, but plays as an MVP. Middleton’s injury hurts. But against Boston, Adetokunmpo and strong defense may be enough.
More coverage of the NBA:
Add Comment