It certainly wasn’t pretty by any means, but Milwaukee Bucks have finally broken through in their Eastern Conference Semifinals with their backs against the wall.
Milwaukee’s 86-83 Game 3 win over the Brooklyn Nets helped save the Bucks from going down an inescapable 3-0 hole, despite having their worst and least efficient performance yet again on the season. Fortunately, the same proved true for the Nets, who finished with their worst offensive showing for the season as evidenced by their 85.6 offensive rating on the night, per NBA.com/stats.
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For as much as the Bucks grinded out the win by tooth and nail to take Game 3 and stop the bleeding, they were certainly helped by the overdue breakout of Khris Middleton in this series.
After all, Middleton delivered a game-high 35 points on 12-of-25 shooting (3-for-6 from deep, 8-for-9 from the free throw line), along with 15 boards and an assist in 44 minutes of run. All of this comes after Middleton combined to score 30 points in Games 1 and 2.
It certainly felt good to be back on the Bucks’ home court as Middleton’s struggles mirrored how disastrous of a start Milwaukee got off to in their series against the Nets while in Brooklyn.
Khris Middleton gives the Milwaukee Bucks a heartbeat in their series against the Nets
This isn’t the first time that Middleton has risen up under similar circumstances in past Bucks playoff runs.
There was Middleton’s 3-point shooting outburst in their Game 2 victory over the Boston Celtics that propelled the Bucks in that Conference Semifinals series back in the 2019 NBA Playoffs. It was Middleton who helped the Bucks live one more day after pouring 36 points in Game 4 of their Conference Semifinals series against the Miami Heat last season. And of course, there was Middleton’s game-winner over the Heat in Game 1 last round that was won in spite of a similar grisly offensive performance from Milwaukee.
Whatever the case may be, Middleton has been there as a lifeline for the Bucks in similar moments and Thursday was no different for the two-time All-Star.
Middleton’s shotmaking was truly on point as the Bucks attempted to go toe-for-toe with the Nets and the duo of Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving (key word being attempted). Whatever problems fans have in the Bucks’ offensive process, Middleton is best equipped to hit shots like the following out of any Bucks player.
Along with that, Middleton has been on the lookout to exploit the Nets’ weak links on defense. In Game 3, that proved to be Bruce Brown as Middleton scored 15 of his 35 points on the third-year Nets guard while shooting 5-for-10 from the field (5-for-5 from the free throw line) across 23.2 partial possessions.
That might not be a successful gambit in the future as Brown has generally been the Nets’ best perimeter defender and certainly has unlocked their offense at times as Brooklyn’s pick-and-roll outlet.
Nevertheless, the Bucks rode with it and entrusted Middleton to give them some source of reliable offense down that crucial stretch in the fourth quarter, as evidenced by his 58.3 usage percentage during clutch time minutes in Game 3.
Whether this kind of outing truly jumpstarts Middleton and the Bucks’ lifeless offensive attack remains to be seen, but there are signs of life from both parties. And for one night, it worked.