First it was the Nets, now it's the Bucks. Earlier tonight, the Brooklyn Nets upset the Atlanta Hawks to tie the series at 2 apiece. The Milwaukee Bucks were able to continue the trend as they also won their second straight game.
The aftermath of VAVEL_USA's LIVE coverage of the Milwaukee Bucks vs. the Chicago Bulls Game 5 can be viewed here.
Jason Kidd's young Bucks were able to set the tone early and that was the key to their upset. They hounded the Bulls defensively and continued to force turnovers. 12 turnovers forced is quite a bit less than what they were able to accomplish in Game 4, so credit Tom Thibodeau for making the adjustments but ten steals for Milwaukee was enough to come out victorious.
Speaking of Thibs, his rotation continued to be predictably delightful. Derrick Rose played 42 minutes--which is something no one aside from his doctors will complain about. And in true Thibodeau fashion, Jimmy Butler was played for 46 minutes. Perhaps the best part of it all is that Kirk Hinrich was able to nearly triple his minutes from the previous game where he only played 38 seconds at the end.
A big stat that probably doomed the Bulls was Derrick Rose and Jimmy Butler shot a combined 10-of-41 from the field. Rose also missed all 7 of his three point attempts. That might be something to cut down on even if he was shooting the lights out in the first four games of the series.
On a positive note, despite poor shooting, Jimmy Butler still stuffed the stat sheet like it was Shaq in an airplane bathroom. Butler finished with 20 points, 10 rebounds, 6 assists, 4 steals and block. Gasol also had a big scoring night as he put up a game-high 25 points on 9-of-15 shooting. The Spaniard even looked like he would carry the team to a victory but it wasn't enough this time.
Michael Carter-Williams had himself a game with 22 points. He was also 2 rebounds and an assist shy of a triple double. That is quite the bounce back from his last game when he was a -11 in +/-. MCW's height was also a major advantage as he had 3 blocked shots. Don't bet on many point guards being able to do that in their careers.
As for the rest of the Bucks, Khris Middleton had the hot hand making half of his 16 shots for 21 points, while Giannis Antetokounmpo finished with 4 blocks! Zaza Pachulia lead the game in wild shots that miraculously fell through after he made a free throw line fast ball off the back board and a no-look 180 reverse and-1 over Jimmy Butler.
If that wasn't entertaining enough, Jimmy Butler talked trash to Giannis saying " I got you clamped.. Clamped" while interlocking his fingers. OJ Mayo wasn't a big fan of it and the two exchanged some words and the pair later received double-technicals. That was the extent of the beef.
The Bucks recently unveiled new logos but, unfortunately, this one (while most fitting) didn't make the cut:
