Antetokounmpo plays 47 minutes, scores 34 points
MILWAUKEE — It looked as though it would resemble Game 4s 25-point blowout.
The Toronto Raptors were, again, up 25 points with 5:16 remaining in the third quarter of the Game 6, first-round matchup Thursday night. Then the Milwaukee Bucks woke up.a
Giannis Antetokounmpo, who played 47 minutes, mustering enough energy to help spearhead a second-half rally, finished with 34 points – and this block …
The Greek Freak chases down DeRozan for the REJECTION!! #FearTheDeer pic.twitter.com/oHYtBgrCKK
— Milwaukee Bucks (@Bucks) April 28, 2017
He repeatedly tore through the Toronto defense to get to the lane. Khris Middleton fought through an illness that bothered him all week to score 19 points.
And, the third-oldest player in the NBA, Milwaukee’s Jason Terry, nailed a 3-pointer with 3:06 left that gave the Bucks an 80-78 lead as the crowd went insane.
The Raptors stopped moving the ball. They had so much success up to that point with throwing quick passes, finding cutters and scoring on pick-and-rolls. The Bucks didn’t trap as much as earlier in the series, throwing a new wrinkle.
But the Bucks couldn’t hold on once it retook the lead. A 9-of-18 showing from the foul line in the fourth quarter hurt, too.
“We always talk about the little things, and when we look at this it comes down to just free throws,” coach Jason Kidd said. “We don’t need to overanalyze it. We got to the stripe and we just couldn’t capitalize on that.”
A DeRozan dunk with 48 seconds left to give Toronto an 87-82 lead looked to all but seal the win, but the Bucks wouldn’t go away. Terry nailed another 3-pointer from 27 feet out to pull the team within two.
DeRozan went 2-for-2 from the line, but Milwaukee still had a chance.
Down 90-87 with 14 seconds remaining, Antetokounmpo dribbled on the top of the key, before finally going to the basket. The Raptors conceded a dunk to the 22-year-old with 3.5 seconds remaining.
Milwaukee fouled DeRozan again, who went 1-for-2. Milwaukee got the rebound and called timeout. Inbounding from under Toronto’s hoop with just over 3 seconds remaining, Tony Snell threw the ball away and the clock expired.