Opinion: Brook Lopez’s throwback performance helps put Bucks on brink of NBA Finals
Milwaukee’s 123-112 victory over the Atlanta Hawks on Thursday. The win gives the Bucks a 3-2 series lead and puts them one victory from the franchise’s first NBA Finals appearance since 1974.
“I’m just trying to go out there and help my team however possible, whether it’s playing that new, modern 3-ball game, floor-stretch game or being inside,” Lopez said.
he missed the game with a hyperextended left knee sustained in Game 4.
So the Bucks went old school. Stick the massive 7-foot, 282-pound Lopez in pick-and-roll situations and let him bludgeon the smaller Hawks.
Lopez scored 26 of his points in the paint, including six on offensive rebound putbacks.
without injured point guard Trae Young.
Milwaukee is second-best in points in the paint during the playoffs. It’s a major part of its offense — in part because when the defense collapses to defend the rim, the 3-point shooters are open. The Bucks didn’t abandon that core philosophy.
The Hawks weren’t surprised Milwaukee made Lopez a major part of the offense. The Bucks went in that direction in the nine games they played with Lopez starting and Antetokounmpo missing games during the regular season.
“They were going to continue to attack, even without Giannis in the lineup. That’s just how they play,” Atlanta interim coach Nate McMillan said. “We knew that they would look to go to Lopez more, and they did. They just dominated the paint tonight. … They want to play from the inside out, and if you don’t guard the paint, they will punish you in the paint. If you take away the paint, they kick it out for 3s. That’s their game.”
Lopez’s performance was reminiscent of his days with the Nets when he was called Brooklyn Brook. Holiday reminded reporters that “Brook is a leading scorer for somebody else’s franchise (the Nets), so he’s definitely a bucket.”
After a 2017-18 season in which he was misused by the Los Angeles Lakers, Lopez found a home with the Bucks, who utilized his inside-outside skills alongside Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton.
Now, Lopez is one victory from his first NBA Finals appearance.
“What’s great about today is we were all basketball players playing together on offense and defense,” Lopez said. “We were playing off one another, making plays, making extra passes. It was a lot of fun tonight.”
Follow Jeff Zillgitt on Twitter @JeffZillgitt.