Basketball – Bucks take off against Heat

This is called sending a message. To the whole league. The Milwaukee Bucks, who had snatched a first victory Saturday (109-107) after extra time with the forceps, have retained the fighting spirit essential for spring games. Unlike a Miami Heat in distress. Result: big success of the Bucks 132–98.

One had only to see the crestfallen face of their president Pat Riley behind his mask in the stands, to understand how the Floridians missed out on this No 2 match, in particular in defense. “It’s a very strong team at the start of the matches. This one quickly slipped out of our hands, ”agreed coach Erik Spoelstra.

The credit goes to Milwaukee, who certainly delivered his most successful first period of the season, finished with a score of 78-51, including 15 three-point baskets (out of 29 attempted), a franchise record as a bonus.

In the end, the franchise of Wisconsin, in search of a second NBA coronation 50 years after the first ring gleaned by the legendary Lew Alcindor – future Kareem Abdul-Jabbar – and Oscar Robertson, planted 22 long-distance banderillas, including six by the astonishing Bryn Forbes, particularly profitable when leaving the bench (22 pts).

In these favorable conditions, Giannis Antetokounmpo had no trouble making his power speak (31 pts, 13 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 interceptions), despite two nasty tackles, certainly without damage, inflicted in the 3rd quarter by Trevor Ariza and Nemanja Bjelica, who obviously got the wrong sport. By getting up the second time, the “Greek Freak” confused him basketball and soccer balls, and performed a small series of juggles for fun, which delighted his fans.

Miami side, very little can be saved from this big underperformance, if not the futile efforts of the substitutes to wake up their troops, in particular Goran Dragic (16 pts) and Dewayne Dedmon (17 pts, 7 rebounds).

Milwaukee is yet to qualify, but is doing whatever it takes to get revenge on the Heat. Last season, in the Orlando bubble, Jimmy Butler and his family walked on diminished Bucks (4-1), with Antetokounmpo on one leg, and the mind elsewhere after their historic boycott of a game, in the name of the fight against racial injustice.

In the other meeting of the evening, Denver equalized with a victory everywhere against Portland, by winning with authority on his floor (128-109), in the wake of Nikola Jokic (38 pts, 8 rebounds, 5 assists). Rare thing, obviously linked to the play-off context, the Serbian interior, so phlegmatic usually, strongly criticized an arbitration decision against him, while his team was on the right track.

The Nuggets, constantly ahead of the score, had indeed peaked their lead at twenty units (99-79) just before the end of the 3rd quarter, also taking advantage of the impact of Michael Porter Jr (18 pts) and d ‘a bench in tune, like Paul Millsap (15 pts, 7 rebounds, 3 assists).

“The difference compared to the first game is that we created open shots and defended very well. It was a real collective effort. Saturday was tough for us. There we made it hard for them, ”commented Jokic.

This collective demonstration contrasted with the solo performance of Damian Lillard, still author of 42 points and 10 assists, who only had CJ McCollum to help him offensively (21 pts).

It was in defense, however, that the Blazers sinned, jostled in terms of physical engagement by opponents aware of the importance of reviving, before two next duels in Oregon.