Houston (USA), May 29 (EFE) .- The Milwaukee Bucks made good the forecasts and became the first classified to the semifinals of the Eastern Conference after sweeping 4-0 to the Miami Heat, while the Philadelphia Sixers took a 3-0 lead and the Utah Jazz regained the field advantage.
Greek power forward Giannis Antetokoumpo, with a triple-double, led the overwhelming game of the Bucks who beat the Heat 103-120 on the road in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference first-round tie and are already in semifinals.
This time, Antetokounmpo, who played the most complete game of the series, finished with an exhibition of 20 points, 15 assists and 12 defensive rebounds, without any defense of the Heat being able to control his power and dominance in and out of the paint.
In addition to Antetokounmpo, the Cuban American center Brook López emerged as the winning surprise factor by getting 25 points, team leader, in addition to capturing eight rebounds and completely eliminating Bam Adebayo, the great defeated of the Heat in the individual section.
Once again forward Khris Middleton confirmed his consistency and also finished with a double-double of 20 points, 11 rebounds and three assists.
While guard-forward Bryn Forbes emerged as the new and undisputed sixth player for the Bucks by scoring 22 points after scoring 7 of 14 3-pointers, which also made the difference in the final score.
Nothing stopped Cameroonian center Joel Embiid as he stormed the nation’s capital with his best game after setting a playoff record and leading the Sixers to a 103-132 away win over the Washington Wizards in Game 3 of the tie. first round of the Eastern Conference.
The victory placed the Sixers with a 3-0 advantage and one of the sweep, which could occur on Monday, when the fourth game is played, and achieve the pass to the semifinals that they will play against the winner of the series played by the New York Knicks and Atlanta Hawks (1-2).
Embiid amid chants of “MVP!” He became the great figure of the game by scoring 36 points, his best mark in the playoffs, after having scored 25 in the first half when the Sixers practically left the game sentenced with a partial 58-72.
The Sixers’ All-Star center, who scored 14 of 18 shots from the field in 28 minutes of action, rested the entire fourth period, also grabbed eight rebounds with two assists and three ball recoveries.
Australian point guard Ben Simmons scored 14 points and had nine assists, but Philadelphia was far from a two-man show.
Again, forward Tobias Harris stood out with a double-double of 20 points, 13 rebounds and five assists, and guard-forward Danny Green hit five triples and finished with another 15 goals scored.
The Sixers finished the game with 59 percent shooting from the field, including 52 percent from outside the perimeter.
The Philadelphia team joined the 2020 Utah Jazz, 2019 Golden State Warriors, 1987 Los Angeles Lakers and 1986 Boston Celtics to score more than 120 points in each of their first three postseason games. . The Lakers and Celtics won the NBA title.
The combination of guard Donovan Mitchell and point guard Mike Conley was once again the key that opened the way for the Jazz to the 111-121 road victory they achieved this Saturday against the Memphis Grizzlies in the third game of the first tie. Western Conference playoff round they now dominate 2-1 to the best of seven.
Mitchell scored 29 points, including 10 in the fourth quarter, and helped the Jazz, the league’s best team, regain the home field advantage they had lost in Game 1 at Utah.
The fourth game will be played next Monday, on the same stage at the FedExForum in Memphis.
Conley, in Memphis where he began his NBA career, equaled his career highs in the regular season and the playoffs with seven triples and finished with 27 points, which were also decisive in the victory, in addition to distributing eight assists and capturing six balls under the hoops.
Once again, the French center Rudy Gobert, despite being mentally affected by the death of his mentor the expive Mark Eaton, which occurred on Friday night after suffering a bicycle accident, responded with a double-double of 15 points, 14 rebounds and four blocks.
In another game of the day, the Portland Trail Blazers beat the Denver Nuggets 115-95 in the fourth game of the tie, which is tied at 2-2.
(c) EFE Agency