Bucks aiming to make Game 6 nightmares a thing of the past
Game 6 has to get better for the Milwaukee Bucks.
If it doesn’t, the Bucks will lose an eighth consecutive playoff series dating to 2001.
Milwaukee will try to avoid elimination Thursday night at home when it returns to action against the Toronto Raptors, who have taken a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven Eastern Conference series.
The last two Game 6s the Bucks have played were real downers, and both came at the BMO Harris Bradley Center.
In 2015 the Bucks rallied from a 3-0 deficit against the Chicago Bulls with two straight wins. But with a sellout Bucks-friendly crowd ready to roar, the Bulls put a 120-66 pounding on Milwaukee.
The 54-point loss remains the worst in franchise history, regular season or playoffs.
That was the game Pau Gasol and company dominated, and an angry Giannis Antetokounmpo put Mike Dunleavy in the front row with a body check. That earned Antetokounmpo a one-game suspension at the start of the next season.
But Game 6 in 2010 was even worse in some ways. That time the sixth-seeded Bucks had a 3-2 lead and an immediate chance to advance, but they dropped an 83-69 decision to the Atlanta Hawks.
Milwaukee shot just 32.9% from the field, and Brandon Jennings and John Salmons combined to shoot 6 for 28 (2 for 13 by Salmons).
The Hawks went on to take an easy victory in Game 7 in Atlanta.
Can these Bucks produce a different outcome when they face Toronto on Thursday night? The Bucks now need two straight wins to challenge second-seeded Cleveland in the conference semifinals, and they need one victory to force a Game 7 on Saturday in Canada.
RELATED: Powell's heroics give Toronto 3-2 lead
NBA: Playoff scoreboard, box scores, recaps
One reason for optimism is the way the Bucks have played against favored Toronto, twice taking leads in the series before losing the last two games.
And the Raptors have never won three consecutive games in a playoff series.
Toronto is known for taking the most difficult route, something forward DeMarre Carroll spoke about after the Raptors practice Tuesday.
“If we don’t understand it now, we’re never going to understand it,” Carroll said of winning Game 6.
The Raptors gained confidence with their rousing 118-93 victory in Game 5 on Monday night at the Air Canada Centre.
It was the first time they controlled an entire game in the series. Serge Ibaka set the tone with some early blocks and baskets. Kyle Lowry played well despite nursing an aching back and DeMar DeRozan had 18 points and six assists.
And Norman Powell continued stormin’ through the Bucks defense, finishing with 25 points while providing an energy infusion Milwaukee could not match.
“He’s a spark plug,” said Raptors coach Dwane Casey, who inserted Powell as a starter in Game 4. “So many times people are worried about DeMar and Kyle, and rightfully so, that the next spark plug, that next instigator is the guy.
“In this series, he’s been the X-factor. The next series, the next game, it may be a different story.”
Bucks coach Jason Kidd is hoping one of his players takes the spotlight as a game-changer. Or more than one. Antetokounmpo had 30 points in Game 5 but Milwaukee needs other players to make big contributions.
Kidd wants the team to go back to what worked for it in taking a 2-1 series lead.
“One, we’ve got to use our length,” Kidd said. “I thought Khris (Middleton) did a great job getting some deflections and some steals; Giannis and Thon (Maker).
“We have to do a better job. They can’t throw fastballs. If they’re going to throw fastballs against our defense, it’s going to put us in harm’s way.
“And that’s going to lead to them shooting open threes or driving and finding the open guy. Give DeRozan and those guys credit. They were moving the ball well (in Game 5).”
It will be interesting to see how the Bucks’ young players respond in Game 6 and to find out how the veterans on the team – including Matthew Dellavedova and Jason Terry – show their leadership.
“You can talk about it but you’ve got to go out there and you’ve got to play,” Kidd said. “You’ve got to know how it feels to get your (expletive) kicked, right? And that’s what happened (Monday).
“Being a young team, we were in that position in Game 3 (winning big). We have to understand what took place so we know what we have to do come Game 6.
“There are going to be some swings emotionally throughout a series, and it’s who can keep their composure and their discipline.
“That’s the team that will win, and hopefully we can do that come Thursday.”
Bucks rookie Malcolm Brogdon said he is learning about the grueling nature of the playoff schedule. He bounced back from a poor performance in Game 4 to score 19 points and hit 5 threes on Monday.
“It’s more of a grind than the regular season even,” Brogdon said. “The regular season is long, there are ups and downs.
“But the playoffs are harder. They’re more intense. Every game counts for more. You’re playing the same team over and over. That team figures you out; they learn what you do individually and as a team.
“You’ve got to make sure you’re locked in mentally and making adjustments between the games.”
So the Bucks’ mental approach for Game 6? Simple, Brogdon said.
“Win or you’re done,” he said. “If we want to push it to Game 7, we’ve got to win at home.”
“They bounced back after Game 3, and that’s what we’re going to try to do,” Antetokounmpo said. “It’s a learning process for us.
“We’ve got to do a better job.”
BUCKS-RAPTORS SCHEDULE (All times Central)
Eastern Conference first-round series (best of seven)
Saturday, April 15 - Bucks 97, Raptors 83
Tuesday, April 18 - Raptors 106, Bucks 100
Thursday, April 20 - Bucks 104, Raptors 77
Saturday, April 22 - Raptors 87, Bucks 76
Monday, April 24 - Raptors 118, Bucks 93 (Raptors lead series, 3-2)
Thursday, April 27 - Game 6 at Milwaukee, 6 p.m. (TNT, FSW)
Saturday, April 29 - Game 7 at Toronto, TBD (TNT, FSW), if necessary