By John Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
With 7/16 from the field, Giannis Antetokounmpo started the best-of-seven series between the Milwaukee Bucks and the Toronto Raptors with 24 points for the win. He wasn’t his team’s top scorer in the Eastern Conference Final opener, but also took down 14 rebounds and tallied five assists, two steals and three rejections as well.
His teammates and especially Brook Lopez sparked the comeback win during the fourth quarter. Kyle Lowry was the only Raptor to sink a field goal in the last period. Containing Kawhi Leonard down the stretch was certainly critical. “He’s the vocal point of their offense. He was trying to go right and they did a great job sending him left. We made him feel us the whole game” the Greek Freak said.
Lopez finished with a team-high 29 points and Antetokounmpo pointed out: “This is the Brook we all know and all love” He added: “We want him to be aggressive, especially in this series against Marc Gasol. He’s going to be wide open often and is going to knock down shots. When he’s going, we got to find him even more.”