INDIANAPOLIS — On Friday, with the Milwaukee Bucks behind by three points and 1.6 seconds left in overtime, as game officials prepared to restart the game, Indiana Pacers forward Aaron Nesmith appeared behind the 3-point line. He wedged himself under Bucks forward Khris Middleton on the right wing. .
Pat Connaughton was inbounding the ball on the other side of the floor, but Nesmith was determined to stay connected with Middleton.
As Middleton moved across the floor around the 3-point arc, Nesmith stuck to Middleton’s hips and stayed in position between Middleton and the inbounder, so that alignment never changed. Nesmith was so close to Middleton that none of Middleton’s teammates could hit a screen on Nesmith. But eventually, Middleton found enough space to get to the other side of the floor, hit Nesmith with a swimming move like an NFL defensive end, and break through to catch the ball headed toward the left corner.
Middleton didn’t have enough room to breathe, but that wasn’t an issue all night.
It didn’t matter when Middleton tied the game. Banked 3 pointer from above the key It went over the head of Pacers center Myles Turner with 6.7 seconds left in overtime. It didn’t matter when Middleton went over Nesmith for the first basket of overtime.And it didn’t matter when Middleton was able to get off. He made a 30-footer with 1.4 seconds left to tie the game. In the fourth quarter. That didn’t matter all night, as Middleton scored 42 points while Pacers defenders covered him for 41 minutes.
“He had already made two horrible shots,” Nesmith told reporters of what went through his mind while defending Middleton on the final possession. “In my mind (I said), ‘Don’t foul.’ I’m going to be as tough as I can and hope he fails.”
And this time, just as Middleton turned around and stood up, hoping for a buzzer-beating 3 to tie Game 3 and send it into a second overtime, his jumper bounced off the rim. The Pacers ultimately overcame Middleton and his clutch-time heroics, winning 121-118 in overtime and taking a 2-1 lead in the first round of the series.
Middleton suffered a sprained right ankle in the first quarter of Game 2 and started the day listed as questionable on the injury report. The Bucks’ three-time All-Star forward played an additional 30 minutes in Sunday’s Game 2 loss with a sprained right ankle. He missed practice on Tuesday and Thursday, but was given the green light by the Bucks’ medical staff to play in Game 3 after warming up before Friday’s game. In 41 minutes, Middleton had a playoff career-high 42 points on 16-of-29 shooting, 10 rebounds and five assists.
“Who the hell is he?” said Bucks forward Bobby Portis (17 points, 18 rebounds). “It’s a testament to being resilient and being a team player. Obviously, Giannis (Antetokounmpo) was already on the back foot, so I think he understood the situation in that moment and stepped up.
“Some guys are questionable and sometimes they drag their feet or act this way and that, but he was full cash money today and it was good to see him hit the big shots.Obviously, he We tied the game twice with two big shots. I wish we could have won, but the best thing about the series is that we get another game and we get a chance to go out and compete again. is.”
“Fight” was the perfect word for Portis to choose, because that’s all the Bucks could do in these playoffs.
Middleton wasn’t 100 percent in Friday’s game, but he played because he knew the team needed him to have a chance in Game 3. In the end, Antetokounmpo had been sidelined since April 9th due to a strained left soleus (calf) muscle.
“I felt good coming out, so I don’t think there’s any excuses once I get out,” Middleton said. “You just have to play. You forget what you’re going through and just play.”
In Friday’s game, Pacers forward Pascal Siakam landed on Damian Lillard’s right foot in the first quarter, tweaking the starting point guard’s right knee, but Lillard was treated by the Bucks’ medical team and left the quarter. Returned at the start.
On one of the final plays of regulation, Lillard re-aggravated the Achilles injury that plagued him late in the regular season, but the head coach told Rivers he could take the bait during overtime if he wanted Lillard to stay. Ta. Because he thought he could help the team in some way.
“Honestly, Dame was really struggling,” Rivers said after the game. “In overtime, he literally said, “I’ll be the bait.” It’s not going to explode.” So I thought just having Dame there was a big deal for us. They are I didn’t know that at the time. ”
Middleton and Lillard both battled through injuries, but it wasn’t enough as the Bucks couldn’t put together enough quality basketball to come away with a win on Friday. But without Antetokounmpo, the Bucks’ margin for error has become much thinner, as the two-time NBA MVP could cover many of the team’s weaknesses with his all-around greatness.
In the first quarter, the Bucs again played undisciplined basketball. The Bucks, who struggled to generate good shots in Antetokounmpo’s absence, showed poor shot discipline and were forced to make bad shots, causing the floor to be unbalanced and allowing the Pacers to break out in transition and build a 17-point lead.
Defensively, the Bucks struggled to get defensive rebounds and finish possessions all night. By the end of Game 3, the Bucks had allowed 19 offensive rebounds and the Pacers had scored 32 second-chance points on those extra possessions. In overtime, the Pacers held the ball for 1 minute and 41 seconds and grabbed five consecutive offensive rebounds.
“I don’t know if we’re going to win or lose that (rebounding) battle, but we can’t let that fight get us crushed,” Rivers said. “Giannis was our best rebounder so we don’t have him, but we still have guys that can rebound the ball. But I thought a lot of them were long rebounds, but we didn’t come up with them. And it has nothing to do with Giannis, it’s something we all have to do. You’ll have to watch the tape, but I think they were just faster to the ball. .”
And ultimately, whether he was able to salvage the Bucks’ offensive effort or grab a defensive rebound that was out of his teammates’ reach, Antetokounmpo was ruled out for Game 3. There is a possibility that he will not be able to participate in Game 4.
Lillard could be held back if his Achilles injury doesn’t heal quickly and he’s not 100% for Game 4, and Rivers said after the game that Middleton, who played 41 minutes with a sprain, will be listed as questionable again on Sunday. I joked that it was almost certain that it would happen. He hurt his ankle in Game 3 on Friday.
The Bucks have no choice but to keep fighting, and that’s going to be a difficult task after a 53-minute contest on Friday that saw them fight through the air with knockdowns and dragouts. It’s more than just a physical test. It’s going to be mentally and emotionally difficult, but the Bucks are ready for it.
Over the past six years, the Bucks have suffered many tough losses.
- In 2019, they suffered a heartbreaking double-overtime loss to the Toronto Raptors in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals.
- In 2021, they allowed a come-from-behind 114-108 victory over the Brooklyn Nets in Game 5 of the second round series.
- In the same season, in the 2021 NBA Finals, they fell behind 2-0 against the Phoenix Suns, but then bounced back and won four straight.
- In 2022, they lost Game 6 of the second round of the series against the Boston Celtics.
- Last season, the Heat lost Game 4 in Miami by a 30-13 run to end the game and steal the win to take a 3-1 series lead.
The Bucks responded well to some of these situations and won the next game. There were cases where the system responded well but ultimately collapsed. Then, there was a player who fell flat on his face in the next game. But no matter what, the next game will be determined solely by what the Bucks do that night, and that’s what Middleton will be leading into Sunday’s Game 4 in Indianapolis at 6 p.m. CT. That’s the approach I want from my team.
“First of all, take care of your body tonight and tomorrow,” Middleton said of the mindset needed to bounce back. “Also, be prepared, this is one game. It’s a game-by-game series. We don’t lose the series in one game. We still have a chance.
“We’ll be playing again on Sunday. Get ready, review the film, figure out what adjustments we can make to the game plan and be ready to play.”
(Photo: Michael Conroy/Associated Press)
