Antetokounmpo dominant as Bucks gore Bulls, take series

Giannis Antetokounmpo on Wednesday scored 33 points to lead the Milwaukee Bucks to a 4-1 series victory over the Chicago Bulls in the NBA playoffs.

The defending NBA champs romped to a 116-100 victory at their FiServ Forum, with Antetokounmpo shooting 11-of-15 from the field and grabbing nine rebounds.

“I just wanted to set the tone, come out and play hard,” Antetokounmpo said afterwards. “Sometimes when you’re up 15 or 20 points you start being sloppy with the ball, or not playing as hard.

“I think our team kept their composure, kept playing hard, kept making shots.”

Pat Connaughton scored 20 points for Antetokounmpo, and Bobby Portis earned a double-double with 14 points and 17 rebounds for the Bucks.

After triumphs by large double-digit scores in games three and four of the best-of-seven series, Milwaukee had another overwhelming victory.

Milwaukee will now face the Boston Celtics in an Eastern Conference semi-final matchup next week.

“It’s big,” Antetokounmpo said of the task in front of his team. “We’ve got to get some rest, go back and practice, watch some film, take care of our body and get ready for Boston.”

On Thursday’s evidence, Milwaukee will enter that series full of confidence after easily dispatching sixth-seeded Chicago.

The Bucks jumped out to a 20-7 lead in the first quarter and never looked back, dominating Chicago for the rest of the game.

Milwaukee’s lead grew to 29 points in the second quarter, and despite Chicago closing the deficit to 11 points early in the third, the Bucks surged to a 91-68 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

DeMar DeRozan of the Chicago Bulls was held to just 11 points, while Patrick Williams led the Bulls in scoring with 23 points.

The Golden State Warriors will try to seal their series against the Denver Nuggets in San Francisco in Wednesday’s other NBA playoff game.

The Warriors lead the series 3-1.

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