Giannis injured, Hawks even series 2-2
Milwaukee got blown out 110-88 by Atlanta in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals and now must deal with the seemingly very likely possibility of not having the two-time NBA MVP for what is now a best-of-three series.
Atlanta, playing without star guard Trae Young due to injury, dominated the Bucks in the first half and led by 13 at the break. It was still a double-digit lead in the third quarter when Giannis Antetokounmpo went up to try to defend an alley-oop, collided with Atlanta's Clint Capela, landed awkwardly and then went crashing to the ground holding the back of his left knee and screaming in pain.
Antetokounmpo stayed down on the baseline for a time before walking off the floor and heading to the locker room with some help from his brother, Thanasis, and trainers. He briefly came back to the bench but returned to the locker room soon after.
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Late in the third quarter the team ruled Antetokounmpo out for the remainder of the game due to a hyperextended left knee. Coach Mike Budenholzer didn't have an update afterwards and said they would just wait to see how Antetokounmpo feels Wednesday.
Though the severity of the injury is unknown, the recovery time for any kind of hyperextension is usually weeks and much longer if there is some kind of ligament damage. It could mean that Antetokounmpo's time in this year's playoffs is done, which very well could sink Milwaukee's chances of claiming its first NBA title since 1971.
Even before Antetokounmpo got hurt, the Bucks were not playing well. They turned the ball over nine times in the first half and scored just 38 points. The offense improved to start the third but they could still get no closer than 10 points. When he went down, Antetokounmpo had scored 14 points and grabbed eight rebounds, while also air-balling two of his three free throws.
"We didn't come out with energy tonight. We thought we were just going to walk in and win the game," forward PJ Tucker said. "We didn't do anything to show we wanted to win this game tonight. We were flat."
Jrue Holiday had 19 points and Khris Middleton added 16, but the duo combined to shoot just 12-for-38 from the field. That included Middleton going 0-for-7 from beyond the arc.
Starting for the injured Young, Lou Williams had 21 points and seven assists, while Bogdan Bogdanovic hit six 3-pointers and finished with 20 points.
The win allowed Atlanta to tie the series at two games a piece. Game 5 will come Thursday night in Milwaukee.
Badgers grab commitment from top player in Wisconsin
Wisconsin just added the top player in the state to its 2022 recruiting class.
Offensive lineman Joe Brunner (Whitefish Bay, Wis.) announced his commitment to the Badgers Tuesday afternoon.
https://twitter.com/brunnerjoe_/status/1409964802563248138
A four-star recruit, Brunner is ranked by the 247Sports Composite as the No. 1 player in the state of Wisconsin, the 55th-best player in the country and the No. 7 offensive tackle in the nation.
The 6-foot-6, 300-pound Brunner chose the Badgers over offers from some of the top programs in the country. Those included Notre Dame, Ohio State, LSU, Miami, Michigan, Oregon and Penn State.
Brunner is the ninth commit in the class, including the eighth in the last 11 days. He is one of four players from Wisconsin to pledge to the Badgers and the first of the five four-star players to do so. The Badgers are also heavily involved in the recruitment of offensive linemen Carson Hinzman (Hammond, Wis.) and Billy Schrauth (Fond du Lac, Wis.), along with defensive lineman Isaac Hamm (Sun Prairie, Wis).
Brewers score 10 in the 8th inning, beat Chicago 14-4
Milwaukee used a big inning late to beat Chicago 14-4 Monday night for its sixth straight win.
The Brewers sent 14 batters to the plate in the eighth inning turning a tie game into a blowout. It included an RBI double from Jackie Bradley Jr to give Milwaukee the lead, a three-run homer from Willy Adames to blow the game open and a three-run jack from Keston Hiura to leave no doubt.
Milwaukee scored 10 runs in the inning, its highest output in a single inning since April of 2010. It was also just the sixth time in franchise history Milwaukee had scored 10 or more runs in a single inning.
Hiura's home run was his third in the last four games and he finished with four RBI. Avisail Garcia hit his team-leading 15th home in the third inning and had three RBI for the game. Every starting position player had at least one hit, including three from Jace Peterson.
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The game was tight for the first seven innings. Milwaukee starter Freddy Peralta gave up a pair of runs in the first before settling in and going six innings. He allowed just the two runs on two hits, walked four and struck out eight. Chicago was able to tie the game thanks to a Patrick Wisdom two-run homer off of Brad Boxberger in the seventh, but it would mean nothing because of the explosion on offense an inning later.
The Brewers increased their lead in the NL Central to four games over the Cubs and they sit a season-best 13 games above .500.
Milwaukee and Chicago will meet again Tuesday night at American Family Field.
Badgers will face Georgia Tech in Big Ten-ACC Challenge
Wisconsin will be heading to Georgia Tech for the 2021 Big Ten-ACC Challenge.
The two conferences announced the matchups Monday and it has the Badgers taking on the Yellow Jackets on Dec. 1.
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This will be the second time the two teams have played in the series, which dates to 1999. They also played in 2001 with Georgia Tech coming out on top.
The Yellow Jackets finished 17-9 last year, good enough for a third place finish in the conference, though they did not make the NCAA Tournament. Leading scorer Moses Wright declared for the NBA draft, while second-leading scorer Jose Alvarado declared for the draft but has not decided whether he will stay in or not. They will get third-leading scorer and ACC Tournament MVP Michael Devoe back after he pulled his name out of draft consideration.
Wisconsin is 11-11 all-time in the challenge, including an 85-48 blowout win of Louisville last December.
Wisconsin adds cornerback in 2022 class
Wisconsin's 2022 recruiting class continues to grow quickly.
The Badgers added the eighth player overall and seventh in the last 10 days when three-star cornerback
Avyonne Jones (Southlake, Texas) announced his commitment to Wisconsin on Monday.
https://twitter.com/AvyonneJ/status/1409557394863136774
Originally committed to Oklahoma State, Jones eventually chose the Badgers over California. The 247Sports Composite ranks the 5-foot-11, 180-pound Jones as the 148th-best player in Texas and the No. 101 ranked cornerback in the country.
Jones is the second cornerback the Badgers have added in the class, joining A'Khoury Lyde out of New Jersey.
Khris Middleton takes over in the fourth quarter to give Bucks 2-1 series lead on Atlanta
Milwaukee is just two wins away from its first NBA Finals appearance since 1974.
Khris Middleton, by himself, outscored Atlanta 20-17 in the fourth quarter, as the Bucks took a 2-1 series lead with a 113-102 win Sunday night. It was part of a 25-point second half for Middleton, who added 11 rebounds and seven assists. His step-back jumper with 1:01 left in the game was the exclamation point on a ridiculous final stretch for the two-time All-Star. He went 8-for-13 from the field in the quarter, including going 4-for-6 from beyond the arc.
"Greatness. What I saw tonight was unbelievable," teammate Giannis Antetokounmpo said. "It was freaking unbelievable. He carried the team at the end. He turned the ball over two times and after that he was locked in. He was like, 'pass me the ball' and were giving him the ball.
"I've talked in the past there's moments that we know when to set screens for him, you know when he wants the ball and that was the moment. We were like, 'Get the hell out of the way. Give him the ball and take us home, Khris.' That's what he did.
"I talked to him a little bit in the locker room. What I saw today was unbelievable and for me it was greatness. Simple as that."
https://twitter.com/NBAonTNT/status/1409344960013365258
His effort was accompanied by another huge night from Giannis Antetokounmpo. He had 33 points and 11 rebounds, his 10th game of 30 or more points and 10 or more rebounds in the playoffs this year.
Bobby Portis gave the Bucks 15 points and a bunch of energy off the bench. Pat Connaughton had just five points and eight rebounds, but Milwaukee was 25 points better than Atlanta with him on the floor.
The game looked like it might get out of hand in the first quarter. Atlanta blitzed Milwaukee and grabbed a 25-10 lead at one point before the Bucks regrouped. It was just a five-point deficit at the end of the first quarter and the game was tied at the half.
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Atlanta led 85-82 late in the third quarter when guard Trae Young stepped on the foot of an official and turned his ankle. He had scored 32 points at that point but he was forced to go to the locker room. He did return in the fourth quarter but scored just three more points to finish with 35. Young said he would be getting an MRI on the ankle but plans to be on the floor for the next game.
With the win, Milwaukee grabbed homecourt advantage back from the Hawks and will look to take further control of the series in Game 4 Tuesday night in Atlanta.
Brewers win fifth straight, finish off sweep of Colorado
Milwaukee finished off a sweep of Colorado with a 5-0 victory Sunday at American Family Field.
Keston Hiura continued his strong play since returning from Triple-A, going 2-for-3 with three RBI, including his second home run in three games. Catcher Omar Narvaez drove in the other two runs with home run No. 7 on the year.
The Brewers got a really good start from Eric Lauer. He allowed just two hits over six innings of work and struck out six to pick up his second victory this season.
Powered by Trevor Richards, Hunter Strickland and Ryan Weber, the bullpen kept the Rockies off the board, giving Milwaukee its first shutout since June 6.
It was the Brewers fifth straight win and seventh in their last eight. They are now a season-best 12 games above .500 and sitting in first place in the NL Central. The club owns a 2.5 game lead on Chicago, which will come to Milwaukee for a three-game series starting Monday.
Brewers stay hot, beat Colorado 10-4
Milwaukee has won six of its last eight games.
That's after the Brewers exploded for seven runs in the seventh and eighth innings to erase a one-run deficit to beat Colorado 10-4 Saturday at American Family Field.
Avisail Garcia tied the game in the seventh inning with his team-leading 14th home run. The floodgates opened in the following inning with Omar Narvez getting things started with a sacrifice fly to take the lead. Luis Urias singled to center to bring in two more runs and then Christian Yelich hit a two-run homer. Willy Adames capped the scoring with a two-run double.
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Kolton Wong went 3-for-4 with a run scored before leaving with left calf tightness. Garcia also had three hits, while Yelich and Tyrone Taylor each had two.
Adrian Houser didn't have his best stuff, allowing four runs in five innings of work. He also walked four and struck out four.
But the bullpen -- led by Brent Suter, Brad Boxberger and Miguel Sanchez -- picked him up with five shutout innings.
Milwaukee is now a season-high-tying 11 games above .500 at 44-33. It left the Crew in first place in the NL Central and 1.5 games up on Chicago.
The Brewers and Rockies will close out the series Sunday.
Bucks blowout Atlanta in Game 2 to even Eastern Conference Finals
Milwaukee used a 20-0 run late in the second quarter to take control of Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals and went on to beat Atlanta 125-91 Friday night at Fiserv Forum.
The Bucks led by 32 after the first two quarters, their third-largest advantage in a playoff game at half in team history, and led by 40 heading into the fourth quarter. They led by as many as 41 in the final quarter.
Giannis Antetokounmpo finished with a team-high 25 points and nine rebounds, while Jrue Holiday dropped 22 points and seven assists. Neither played in the fourth quarter, nor did Khris Middleton (15 points, eight assists) or Brook Lopez (16 points, three steals).
Milwaukee got a big lift off the bench from Bobby Portis. He had eight points and three rebounds, while also giving the Bucks a ton of energy. Pat Connaughton went 3-for-3 from beyond the arc and Bryn Forbes scored eight points.
The Bucks had not shot better than 50% in any postseason game but they hit on 64.6% of their shots in the first half and finished shooting 52.1% for the game. That included going 15-for-41 from beyond the arc. They also out-rebounded Atlanta 47-34, one of the big keys for them coming into the game after losing that battle on Wednesday night.
After a big Game 1 in which he scored 48 points, Atlanta star Trae Young really struggled. He had just 15 points and had three times as many turnovers (9) as assists (3).
The win allowed Milwaukee to even the series at 1-1. The festivities now shift to Atlanta for Game 3 on Sunday.
Late offense gets Milwaukee past Colorado in extra innings
Milwaukee provided some drama on re-opening day at American Family Field in a 5-4 win in extra innings over Colorado Friday afternoon.
The Brewers trailed 4-0 heading into the bottom of the seventh inning. Keston Hiura broke the seal with a solo home run, which was followed in the eighth inning by a solo bomb from Kolton Wong. In the ninth, it was Willy Adames' turn for heroics, as the shortstop tied the game with a two-run blast.
It stayed tied until the bottom of the 11th when Hiura stepped up with the bases loaded and delivered the game-winning sacrifice fly. In just his second game since being recalled from Triple-A, Hiura went 1-for-4 with two RBI.
Corbin Burnes pitched well for Milwaukee, going six innings and allowing one run on three hits and striking out seven. Devin Williams got the win by pitching a scoreless 11th inning.
Friday's game was the first in which the ballpark could be at full capacity and the Brewers treated as a second Opening Day.
Milwaukee won for a fifth time in its last six games to improve to 10 games over .500 and it left the club a 1/2 game up on Chicago for first in the NL Central.
It'll be the same two teams Saturday night.
