Lake Buena Vista, FL (OnFocus) – Trailing in their playoff series 3 games to 1 with the Miami Heat, the Milwaukee Bucks faced elimination Tuesday evening, without star player Giannis Antetokoumpo. Despite a valiant effort by Bucks, they were bounced from the playoffs 103-94.
Giannis could not play in the elimination game because of a sprained right ankle, and shared in a post game press conference that he really wanted to play. Giannis acknowledged the Bucks were protecting his health with the decision to not allow him to play in Game 5.
Khris Middleton had 23 points for Milwaukee, which got 15 points and 14 rebounds from Brook Lopez. Donte DiVincenzo scored 17, Wesley Matthews and Marvin Williams each had 11 and Eric Bledsoe had nine assists for the Bucks.
The Bucks had the league’s best regular season record for the second straight season, but were unable to advance to the Eastern Conference finals, where they fell to last year’s eventual champion Toronto.
There has been ongoing speculation on whether Giannis will want to remain with the Bucks long term, and conversation ramped up immediately on Twitter after the loss.
Antetokoumpo has one year left on his contract, fueling rumors on whether he will seek to leave in free agency or if the Bucks can convince him to sign a long term deal.
What is the reason the Bucks failed to get to the NBA Finals, despite having the NBA’s best record the last two seasons? Share your thoughts in our Bucks poll. (Results will be shared in a future article, along with our next poll question on the Bucks: What should the Bucks due to win a championship?)
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Author: David Keech
David Keech is a retired teacher and works as a sportswriter, sports official and as an educational consultant. He has reported on amateur sports since 2011, known as 'KeechDaVoice.' David can be reached at [email protected]
