Takeaways from Milwaukee Bucks’ 111-96 Game 2 win over Orlando Magic – It’s Pat’s planet, we’re just living on it
Without question, the Bucks’ bench charge came up big as they mustered up 41 total points, up from the 35 points they collectively put up in the Bucks’ Game 1 loss.
And while the likes of Donte DiVincenzo and Kyle Korver were positive contributors on the night, it was Pat Connaughton who stood above the fray with his game-changing performance in Game 2.
It was Connaughton’s sharpshooting from three that lifted Milwaukee’s perimeter offense as he went on to pour in five triples throughout his shifts on the floor, making up one-third of the Bucks’ 15 total triples for the game. Accounting for his run through the seeding games and now in the playoffs, that brought Connaughton’s 3-point shooting in the bubble to 17-for-41 over his eight appearances in the bubble, good for 41.4 percent.
As if Connaughton’s hot shooting wasn’t enough, the fifth-year wing brought even more to the table with his hustle to win 50/50 balls, cleaning up on the glass and coming up with a pair of incredible blocks, including one at the basket on Magic wing Wesley Iwundu as seen in the picture above.
Rounding that all out with his sound drive-and-kick playmaking that set up a couple of threes for Korver and Brook Lopez and throwing a dart to Antetokounmpo in transition to close out the first half, Connaughton delivered a performance that was nothing short of spectacular on both ends of the floor.
Connaughton finished with 15 points on 5-for-8 shooting from three, 11 rebounds, three assists, two blocks and a one turnover while being a team-leading +16 through his 23 minutes and 50 seconds for the day.
The Bucks will look to take a 2-1 lead in their first round series with the Orlando Magic when Game 3 tips off at noon central time on Saturday down in Orlando.