Bucks Star Giannis Antetokounmpo Sets New Career Playoff-Low Against Miami Heat

The Eastern Conference Semifinals have got its second upset in a row. After the Celtics beat the Raptors, the first seed Milwaukee Bucks fell to the fourth seed Miami Heat. Quiet all night was recent Defensive Player of the Year winner, Giannis Antetokounmpo.

He came into the game facing Bam Adebayo, who has earned his reputation for being the ‘Giannis Stopper’. His points per possession drop from 1.16 to 0.545 points per 100 when he faces Adebayo. And tonight he was stopped by the Heat again.

He finished with just 18 points, 10 rebounds, and nine assists and only shot 12 times. But the biggest blot on the stat line was his free throw misses. He went to the charity stripe 12 times but converted just four.

Was Giannis Antetokounmpo the reason behind his team’s loss?

Throughout the series against the Magic, Giannis was the biggest factor behind the wins. He averaged 30 points while no one else could average over 15 points. He also averaged 16 rebounds in that series, when no one else managed even eight. So when he doesn’t go crazy, the Bucks fall short.

With him slowing down tonight, Middleton stepped up, scoring 28 points, but that wasn’t enough. Outside of these two, only Brook Lopez (24 points) scored over 10 points. The Bucks shot well, going 45% from three and shooting 49% overall, both better than the Heat. But their abysmal free throws let them down. They shot 14/26 from the free-throw line at a poor 53%.

Another factor that let them down tonight was Giannis’ poor performance in the fourth quarter. They started the quarter only six points behind. But Giannis scoring just three points in the whole quarter never gave them a chance at a comeback.

As they go into the second game, the Bucks need Giannis to go back to averaging MVP numbers. He acknowledged in the post-game interview that the Heat will do everything they can to stop him so he has to outdo them. He said, “They’re going to try to build a wall as much as possible this game, the next game, the whole series. So, I’ve got to keep making the right play.”

It was probably just a one-off bad game for him, but the Bucks cannot afford more of such performances.