Game of the season
While you certainly can make an argument for the early season scoring outburst he had in the Bucks’ road victory over the Denver Nuggets, which birthed the immortal “Splash Mountain” moniker, it’s tough to go against Lopez’s headlining performance in Game 1 of the team’s Eastern Conference Finals clash against the Toronto Raptors.
Playing 34-and-a-half minutes of action, Lopez finished with a team-high 29 points on 12-of-21 shooting from the field (4-of-11 from three, 1-of-2 from the foul line), 11 rebounds, four blocks, two assists and was a +7 on the night.
Coming off the offensive struggles he had in the Bucks’ second round series against the Celtics, the start to Lopez’s Game 1 outing was far from reassuring in terms of him finding his shooting touch from long range.
Instead, Lopez took to inside the arc to get going, converting contested finishes in the paint and cleaning up on the offensive glass to put down a slew of second chance points throughout the night.
The Stanford alum’s career playoff showing culminated in the fourth quarter as he splashed and cashed his way to generate a 13-point period that served as the catalyst behind the Bucks’ 108-100 comeback victory in Game 1 against the Raptors.
While the ensuing series collapse that the Bucks went on to endure unceremoniously cut short their incredible season, Lopez’s heroics in Game 1 served as the perfect capper to his strong first year in Milwaukee.