Milwaukee (USA), Jun 13 (EFE) .- Greek power forward Giannis Antetokounmpo was happy to have been able to get a second win against the Brooklyn Nets after his team won 107-96 and tied (2- 2) the best-of-seven series, but also recognized that they will have to improve in the immediate future.
“We are very happy, but we have to keep improving, keep playing together and hopefully we can go to Brooklyn and win a road game,” said Antetokounmpo, who contributed a double-double of 34 points and 12 rebounds. “There will be the key. Now both teams have benefited from the advantage of the field and they are the ones who have it ”.
However, Antetokounmpo stressed that his team had taken a step forward in the way it reacted after losing the first two games and winning the third was decisive.
“This time we were much better as a team, more confident in our game as a whole and that showed in the final result,” said Antetokounmpo, who always imposed his dominance inside and outside the paint.
For his part, Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer recalled that a phase of the competition has been reached in which you have to give everything on the field to achieve victory.
“At this stage, it is necessary to give everything on the field to find a way to achieve victory,” Budenholzer stressed. “It certainly helps that more guys contribute and shoot. PJ Tucker was phenomenal on both sides of the court. “
The power forward, who was traded from the Houston Rockets in the final stretch of the regular season, had combined in the first three games of the tie to score nine goals and the fourth finished with 13, seven rebounds, one assist and one ball recovery that were decisive.
“I knew I could help the team and that it is also time to do it, because in this type of playoff you have to be ready at all times,” Tucker said. “The confidence of the whole team in me is very supportive.”
While the Nets not only lost the game, the second in a row, but also All-Star point guard Kyrie Irving, with a sprained right ankle.
Something that worries the Nets coach, Canadian rookie Steve Nash, who also could not count on All-Star guard James Harden, who missed the fourth consecutive game.
The good news, within the black day experienced by the Nets, was that the first X-rays that they did to Irving, who collided with Antetokounmpo and put his foot wrong when resting him on the ground, is that they were negative.
At least that’s what Nash reported, who also admitted that the status of the seven-time All-Star for Game 5 on Tuesday night at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, is uncertain at this time.
“We’ll have to see how it goes,” Nash said. “We will cross our fingers”.
As for what he expects from the series in the next three games, Nash was categorical in acknowledging that anything could happen and the margin of error no longer existed for either team.
“Now it’s a three-game series,” said Nash, who makes his playoff debut with the team. “We have to get home, rest and prepare the mind and body. Stay positive. “
Power forward Jeff Green, who returned to competition after being out due to a foot injury, admitted that the Bucks put in more physical effort and that made a difference in the bottom line.
“They went running,” said Green, who finished as a reserve with eight points and five rebounds. “And we just don’t recover.” EFE
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