Giannis Antetokounmpo #34 of the Milwaukee Bucks and LeBron James #23 of the Los Angeles Lakers. /VCG
The two leading teams of the Eastern and Western Conferences, the Milwaukee Bucks and the Los Angeles Lakers, both claimed their second straight wins in the series, leading their opponents 2-1.
Milwaukee Bucks 121-107 Orlando Magic
Milwaukee carried on their defensive tactics from Game 2: Brook Lopez remains in the paint no matter what happened. Nikola Vucevic making his first attempt from the arc, could not change that. Of course, soon, Orlando, continuously failing to make perimeter shots, proved that Milwaukee made the right decision.
Giannis Antetokounmpo #34 of the Milwaukee Bucks dunks in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference first-round playoffs against the Orlando Magic at the Field House in Orlando, Florida, August 22, 2020. /VCG
When they were defensively comfortable, Milwaukee began to give full play into their offensive power. Giannis Antetokounmpo went 12-14 to drop 31 points, 11 rebounds, and seven assists, becoming the first in NBA history to score at least 35 points, 10 rebounds at field goal rate of 85+ percent. Moreover, he became the fourth player who averaged at least 30 points, 15 rebounds and five assists in the first three playoff games. The other three were Kevin Garnett in 2003, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in 1977, and Wilt Chamberlain in 1967.
By the way, Antetokounmpo was already 8-8, including 2-2 from the 3-point line, to get 21 points in the first half. In order not to commit offensive fouls, the Greek Freak added the Euro step to his charge against the rim. His huge stride and long reach plus this skill made it even harder for the defender to stop him.
Khris Middleton #22 of the Milwaukee Bucks shoots the ball in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference first-round playoffs against the Orlando Magic at the Field House, August 22, 2020. /VCG
The other good news Milwaukee had was that Khris Middleton started to find his game back. Since Game 3 was becoming long gone in the second quarter, Milwaukee tried to give the ball to Middleton as much as possible, trying to help him get his touch back via shooting. In the end, the two-time All-Star swingman went 7-17 to score 17 points, eight rebounds, and six assists.
Though Milwaukee do not really need Middleton to knock out Orlando, his isolation skills, especially the ability to make middle-range jumpers regardless of defense, will be in great demand when they meet the Miami Heat in the semifinals.
Marvin Williams #20 of the Miwaukee Bucks and James Ennis III #11 of the Orlando Magic clash with each other in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference first-round playoffs at the Field House, August 22, 2020. /VCG
As for Orlando, the series just kept getting difficult. The team had already been troubled by injuries and thus were short-handed for the playoffs. In Saturday's game, James Ennis III was ejected after exchanging punches with Marvin Williams in the second quarter. Ennis is likely to be banned from Game 4 for what he did, and Orlando will not be happy to see their roster take another cut.
LeBron James #23 and Anthony Davis of the Los Angeles Lakers give each other a high five in Game 3 of the Western Conference first-round playoffs against the Portland Trail Blazers at the AdventHealth Arena at the ESPN Wide World Of Sports Complex in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, August 22, 2020. /VCG
Los Angeles Lakers 116-108 Portland Trail Blazers
Before Game 3 started, Portland received bad news: their big man Zach Collins was ruled out of the rest of the season after photos showed hairline medial malleolus stress fracture of his left ankle. Collins has been an important piece of Portland's defensive system for his size and athleticism. Now that he's gone, coach Terry Stotts decided to put Hassan Whiteside into the starting-lineup, using a "twin-tower" squad to match LA's big men pair.
Portland gained the upper hand in the first half as the Whiteside-Jusuf Nurkic pair offset the size advantage of the opponents. Meanwhile, Damian Lillard made full use of LA's trapping defense on him, constantly passing the ball to Whiteside and Nurkic under the rim for them to make easy baskets.
Anthony Davis #3 of the Los Angeles Lakers dunks in Game 3 of the Western Conference first-round playoffs against the Portland Trail Blazers at the AdventHealth Arena, August 22, 2020. /VCG
LA's offense did not go smooth in the first half, but they managed to keep it a close game by ceaselessly assaulting the paint. The purple and gold got 31 free throws in the first two quarters and trailed by only four points 57-53.
The turning point happened in the third quarter in which LA suddenly found the target from the 3-point line. Having gone 3-12 in the first half in that area, the purple and gold four of five attempts from the beginning of Q3, reversing the situation in less than four minutes. Meanwhile, LA came up with new tricks to in defense. Instead of sending big man to double team Lillard, the team had wingman and guards do the job, forcing Portland's wingmen to deal with the ball, which they couldn't.
Carmelo Anthony #00 of the Portland Trail Blazers and LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 3 of the Western Conference first-round playoffs at the AdventHealth Arena, August 22, 2020. /VCG
Portland's response to this was very nostalgic: they gave the ball to Carmelo Anthony, who began a series of isolation possessions with LeBron James. These were quite the scenes to watch, and, to be fair, Anthony did a good job by scoring 13 points in this quarter. Nonetheless, LA already filled the game with its momentum and could not be stopped.
To challenge the opponents' shooters, Portland had to take one big man down in the fourth quarter, a move that gave LA a better opportunity to go for offensive rebounds. Meanwhile, the purple and gold changed their defense again: the perimeter defender would follow Lillard closely to keep from shooting outside and lure him into driving towards the paint, where Anthony Davis was waiting for him. Such a new arrangement not only worked but also led to more transition offense by LA. In the end, Davis also grew hot in the middle range, putting Portland's defense at a total loss.
After the game, James posted a photo of him and Anthony in 2002 with the following words:" And he still tryna post me up on the block too! This guy, man!"
Other games on Saturday:
Indiana Pacers 115-124 Miami Heat
Oklahoma City Thunder 119-107 Houston Rockets