Milwaukee Bucks: How Giannis Antetokounmpo broke the wall in Game 2
The Milwaukee Bucks sent the Miami Heat quite the message Monday night with their 132-98 victory in Game 2 that put them up 2-0 in their first round series.
Backed by an offensive explosion that saw them knock down a franchise-record 22 threes, the Bucks blew through the Heat as Milwaukee put together one of their most complete performances on the season to date. It was also notable that Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo stood at the center of spearheading such an offensive awakening.
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Antetokounmpo’s struggles in Game 1 stood as quite the blemish, even in light of Khris Middleton knocking in the game-winning shot to put the Bucks over the Heat with 0.5 seconds to go in overtime. The reigning MVP finished with 26 points on 23 shots, along with 18 rebounds, five assists as well five turnovers in nearly 45-and-a-half minutes of action.
Game 2, though, was a different story for Antetokounmpo as he went on to put in 31 points on 12-for-23 shooting (1-for-7 from deep, 6-for-7 from the foul line), 13 boards and six assists in early 31 minutes.
Not only did Antetokounmpo break through the Heat’s wall that crumbled as the Bucks splashed in shots all night long, the 26-year-old had plenty of help doing so to break through Miami’s declining defense.
Milwaukee Bucks set up Giannis Antetokounmpo throughout much of their Game 2 win
Of the 12 made field goals that Antetokounmpo finished with in Game 2, seven of those makes were assisted by his Bucks teammates. That greatly differed from the four assisted field goals that Antetokounmpo posted off his 10 made shots in Game 1.
The difference in Antetokounmpo’s effectiveness was surely intertwined with the Bucks’ offense humming and being unleashed more off the ball to tear apart the Heat’s offense, whether by design or thanks to the instincts of his teammates.
For example, look at this double drag screen action that Antetokounmpo and Brook Lopez both set for Khris Middleton, which beautifully led to the alley-oop finish that Antetokounmpo to put down midway through the second quarter.
As we’ve seen over the course of the regular season, the Bucks have increasingly utilized Antetokounmpo more off the ball to free up easier looks in the paint and at the basket. And so far this series, 10 of Antetokounmpo’s 20 makes within the restricted area have been assisted and he’s converted 71.4 percent of his 28 finishing attempts, per NBA.com/stats.
Over the course of the regular season, 45.7 percent of Antetokounmpo’s 435 made field goals within the restricted area were assisted by his Bucks teammates.
Miami’s vaunted wall isn’t constructed as soundly as we saw during last year’s Conference Semifinals and Antetokounmpo has enjoyed feasting on veteran Heat wing Trevor Ariza in particular through the first two games. Antetokounmpo has scored 19 points on 7-for-16 shooting across 32.6 partial possessions in the series.
While the Heat haven’t been as imposing in slowing down the Bucks and the two-time MVP, Milwaukee’s use of Antetokounmpo has shown a shade of the many stylistic changes they have integrated this season under head coach Mike Budenholzer. How much this trend continues remains to be seen, but it will play a small in unlocking Antetokounmpo and helping him break through his struggles in the Bucks’ past playoff runs.
Still, Antetokounmpo has had troubles scoring anywhere else outside of the paint as he’s 1-for-17 on jump shots throughout this series, with that lone make coming from downtown to start Game 2. That’s far from a surprise, but it’s still something to monitor as the Heat continue to give Antetokounmpo any and all space to launch up attempts from outside of where he’s most dangerous.
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Of course, Antetokounmpo and the Bucks have to finish off the job in hand as their series with the Heat shifts down to Miami. So far, so good and knowing Antetokounmpo, he won’t want to let up on the gas pedal.