Song of life or swan song. Surely that was the dichotomy between the Bucks’ options tonight. Claim your victory in the third game or just leave it as a shout of pride. The umpteenth of a shaky project. Life has caught on for those in Wisconsin, but at a very high price for those in New York. The injuries, the damn injuries, would come back at the worst possible time. Annus horribilis, forget, despise, vilify… erase, if that were possible, and with forgiveness for those who end up achieving glory. After jumping, Kyrie Irving fell on Giannis Antetokounmpo’s foot and his right ankle twisted totally, in an ugly way. Painful even on the other side of the TV. Sprain pending evaluation and which did not allow him to finish the match. Brooklyn, with James Harden absent from the first game of the first game in the series, has lost another member of its galactic trident. Brooklyn, already hurt in the sensations of the game, was definitely sinking into it. Milwaukee showed no mercy, he was a goat and finished as such: 107-96, 2-2 in the series. Who would say. The drama, which seemed to find its destination, travels again; now from Milwaukee to Brooklyn.
A war was planned and it was then that all the soldiers were on their feet. PJ Tucker, after missing a triple and retrieving the ball, hit his head with his treasure. He had been covered under the title “Bambi Goes Hard” and like all Bucks, like all deer, his pride was tainted. And PJ needs little to turn the heat up. Pat Connaughton, after a game in the paint with Blake Griffin, found himself bloodied to the ground, with a gap near the eye that forced him to leave the game momentarily. There was everything, for better and for worse. And, unfortunately, because it does not compensate, in both cases in the extreme. The first half (53-48), despite Irving’s exasperating injury, left 24 minutes of high basketball, playoff moments and two forces determined to fight it all. The second, irreparably tainted with what happened in the previous one, was an exercise in New York pride, a franchise that wants to be a candidate despite regrets and a team that has Kevin Durant, one of the best of all time and who put his own to nine points before the end of the third period (78-69). Resolutely appeased rebellion approach and, given the context, cruelty, with an Antetokounmpo which rises to 34 points and 12 rebounds, some Middleton (19 + 8) and Holiday (14 + 9) who have approached their potential and a Tucker, today yes, being the defender that so many go to for the finals.
It was nice as long as it lasted
Griffin doesn’t ride a winning horse. He is part of it, he nurtures and directs him, as one more, as one of the most important, rather. And he insists on showing it game after game. With favorites, above the DeLorean, but also with a new version needed, although not very identifiable in the interconnection between his image and his game. Harden was not on the pitch, but he was responsible for making him present for his first shot of the night. Triple, with a retreat from Antetokounmpo, and a warning that was not trivial: Budenholzer’s men could forget a start in the form of a catapult, today those of Brooklyn arrived at the match at the appointed time. Gala date for everyone, with the tension that is intrinsic to it, but not with love as a backdrop, as we see it. Giannis himself, transforming his first long shot, remembered it (7-9), giving birth to an ideal microcosm which, until now, had withstood the draw. When he could be hit, he fled again.
Bucks and Nets, Nets and Bucks were (are) two of the best offensive teams in the competition, but Wisconsin, outnumbered by the Big Apple arsenal, was forced to back down. Let go of their instincts and adapt to a more academic corset in which, surely, they are not quite comfortable. Today’s first quarter reflects what was expected (and desired): an exchange of arguments, a constant back and forth that did not opt, prematurely, on one side. Three triplets in a row from the premises removed the ghosts of the error and put their first advantage of the match (23-21). The second (37-36), came with a thousand battles engaged. The Nets, with precisely Irving, who had finished the first quarter sitting with the other Anteto, and a quintet of substitutes, culminated in a run of 13-0 (23-34); the Bucks, going back to the previous dashboard, were looking for the natural order of things. Giannis was in the top five of a small quintet and Tucker shot from where he was blessed: his corner, his safety shot, which is worth three. So far, the best memory from the series that any neutral fan can keep. Without Irving, utopia is gone. A match which promised the best, ended with the substitutes of the two teams for the last three minutes.
Durant, alone in the face of danger?
To add insult to injury, it was in this maelstrom of positive news for Wisconsinians that the worst possible news for New Yorkers arrived. Irving’s sprain threw everything in the air. He left the track and made his way to the locker room with a spectacular limp, head down, huffing and leaving Durant as the only member of the Big Three, as so often throughout the regular season. In the playoffs, the three were finally expected, and after a first mirage, they again resisted. Kevin, alone in the face of danger, is eclipsed by his size. Holiday even made him a victim of a blowjob. The ball also ended up in the hands of Giannis (60-50), who hammered mercilessly and showed muscle. Once on the bench, Durant didn’t hide his worried face. By the result, yes; but, even more, for the accident sheet. With Kyrie, the Nets had scored 40 points in 18 minutes; without it, 56 out of 29, going from 42.9% to 21% of the scope. Right now, all of New York is looking at the results of that MRI.
In the first half, the Bucks had 16 assists, more than those recorded in games two and three. Seven of Middleton’s nine assists and five of Jrue’s seven ended in the basket. They had felt more comfortable than in the previous scenarios and the new one invited them to recreate. Antetokounmpo, in the midst of the comfort, attempted more triples than they should have and Middleton, putting aside possible fears that had come with the call for relaxation, closed the third quarter with an implausible triple : on the horn and against three rivals (81- 69). As it is good and as few say. Without Irving, life is much more complicated. Within nine minutes of your injury, the Nets could only score 10 points in total and, by the end of the game, the point guard was the team’s second-highest scorer, with 11, behind Durant, who fought to the end (28+ 13 + 5). Or until they leave him. No one answered in the second row, as the ship sank and the public threw stones at the boat. “Bucks in 6,” he shouted. This series still has a lot to do with it. Which was expected, but with a sad how.
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