Bucks point guard Malcolm Brogdon bounces back with clutch performance in Game 6
Ben Steele
With Bill Clinton sitting courtside at the BMO Harris Bradley Center, the Milwaukee Bucks got a crucial performance from their own "President" in Malcolm Brogdon in a 97-86 victory over the Boston Celtics on Thursday night.
After not playing much in the second half of Game 5, Brogdon bounced back in Game 6 with a steady performance of 16 points, six rebounds and no turnovers as the Bucks forced a Game 7 in Boston on Saturday.
Brogdon — known as the "The President" for his civic-minded ideas and high academic achievement at the University of Virginia — was also crucial in crunch time. He checked in for Tony Snell at the 7:59 mark of the fourth quarter and the Bucks clinging to a 78-75 lead.
The reigning rookie of the year hit a three-pointer to give Milwaukee an 84-78 advantage with 5:23 left that had the sellout crowd sensing a victory.
BOX SCORE:Bucks 97, Celtics 86
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Giannis Antetokounmpo pulled down a defensive rebound and immediately hit Eric Bledsoe with the outlet pass. Bledsoe pushed the ball in transition and hit Brogdon with a perfect pass in the left corner for the shot.
"You know, Bled has been able to find me a few times now at the end of the game," Brogdon said. "(I'm) able to step behind the line and shoot it with confidence."
Just over 40 seconds later, Brogdon pulled down a big offensive rebound that led to a Antetokounmpo jumper.
Brogdon later added three free throws and a driving layup in the final 2:09 as the Bucks salted away the victory.
The clutch three-pointer brought to mind Brogdon's shot from long distance in Game 4 that gave the Bucks a 102-100 lead with 33 seconds left in Milwaukee's 104-102 win.
The performance also erased the memory of Brogdon sitting on the bench in the second half of the Bucks' Game 5. He didn't see the court after the 9:43 mark of the third quarter after committing a turnover.
"The last game was different in that points were at a premium," Bucks coach Joe Prunty said. "In the last game, we chose to go with Shabazz Muhammad. He gave us a quick lift in regards to being able to score and get us right back into the game.
"Tonight, Malcolm shot the ball very well. Obviously he hit a huge shot in the left corner, the three after Bled pushed the ball in transition. Big shot, big play.
"But I thought, overall, his game on both ends of the floor was pretty good. Again, we'll go back and look at the film and continue to talk about some of the things we have to clean up."
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Brogdon shot 5 of 7 from both the free-throw line and the field in just over 27 minutes.
Brogdon's playing time has been all over the map in this series. He was on the court for 32:26 in Game 1, 18:35 in Game 2, 28:34 in Game 3, 30:34 in Game 4 and 18:34 in Game 5.
Brogdon, always the picture of cool, never betrayed any hint of frustration about his fluctuating role.
He came out aggressive Thursday, getting the first points of the game for the Bucks on a 6-foot jumper off a pass from Antetokounmpo.
He then got into the paint on a fast break and threaded a deft pass to Thon Maker for a dunk that brought the first thunderous roar of the night from the crowd and forced Celtics coach Brad Stevens to call a timeout just 2:25 into the first quarter.
"The President" was back in full command of his game.
The Bucks will need the same thing in Game 7.
"We were locked in tonight," Brogdon said. "We fed off of the crowd’s energy. That’s been the challenge for us on the road, so we’ve got to be able to come with the same energy and keep it throughout the game."