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Milwaukee Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo (34) celebrates after a dunk while Orlando Magic’s Nikola Vucevic (9) looks back during the first half of an NBA basketball first round playoff game on Saturday, Aug. 29, 2020 in Lake Buena Vista, Florida (AP Photo / Ashley Landis)
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. – Giannis Antetokounmpo had 28 points and 17 rebounds and the Milwaukee Bucks beat the Orlando Magic 118-104 on Saturday to close out the Eastern Conference series in five games.
The Bucks advanced to face Miami in the second round, starting Monday.
Chris Middleton added 21 points and 10 rebounds for Milwaukee. The Bucks had a 21-point lead cut to three in the fourth quarter before regaining control with the help of timely outside shots from Marvin Williams.
Williams scored his 12 points on 3s, and Brook Lopez added 16 points for Milwaukee, which won four in a row after dropping the opener.
Nicola Vucevic had 22 points and 15 rebounds for Orlando, while Evan Fournier added 18 points.
Milwaukee led 74-53 when following Middleton’s 3 at the start of the second half and the Bucks still leading by 20 with about three minutes left in the third quarter before Orlando suddenly returned to the game.
Three in a row by Terrence Ross and Wes Iwindu, followed by DJ Augustin’s float, ignited a 24-7 run that saw the Magic cut it to 96-93 when Fournier hit a 3 with 7:37 to go.
The Bucks called a timeout, the headlines came back in, and Milwaukee quickly began to pull away again, starting with Williams’ 3-pointer after Lopez’s offensive rebound.
Middleton followed with a fade from the top of the brace, Williams added another 3 and a Middleton free throw pushed the Bucks’ lead to 105-93 with 5:24 left.
The game marked the first NBA action since the Bucks refused to go to the court for a playoff game Wednesday night in protest of the recent police shooting of a black man in Wisconsin.
The Milwaukee boycott brought about a two-day hiatus from the entire NBA game, while players met to consider leaving for the remainder of the season before finally deciding to resume the postseason.
Before kickoff, a moment of silence was held to honor former NBA player Clifford Robinson, veteran college basketball coach Lute Olson and black actor Chadwick Boseman, who all passed away in recent days.
Players and staff knelt, many with arms closed, as the national anthem played.
Milwaukee’s George Hill, who was one of the catalysts for the Wendesday boycott, could be seen on camera standing in a hallway near the locker room during the anthem before walking onto the court.
Orlando stayed close in the second quarter and was within six points when Marvin Williams’ 3 started a Bucks run 23-12 to end the half.
The momentum included Antetokounmpo’s left-hand dribble down the lane for a one-handed dunk and his alley-oop dunk of the Bledsoe balloon. Middleton added two 3s, the second when he was fouled on a 4-point play that made it 67-50 at halftime.
TIP-INS
Magic: Augustin finished with 15 points, Markelle Fultz added 14 points and Ross 13.… He shot 39.4 percent (37 of 94) overall and 36.6 percent (15 of 41) from 3-point range. … He has opened his last three playoff appearances with a win before losing four in a row each time.
Bucks: Overtaken Orlando in the paint, 42-32 and finished with 16 3-pointers on 45 attempts. … Shot of 45.5 percent (40 of 88). … Has advanced to the Eastern Conference semifinals in consecutive seasons for the first time since 1986-87.
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