Giannis and Damian Lillard build confidence in the two-man game as the Bucks outlast the Magic

ORLANDO, Fla. – Before Friday night’s game, the Milwaukee Bucks knew they were in for a 48-minute battle against the Orlando Magic. No matter how many players are injured or how big the deficit might be, the Magic never stop asserting themselves.

And that’s exactly what the Bucks received.

With just over five minutes left, the Bucks led by nine points, but the Magic never stopped rallying and came within two possessions, turning the final three minutes into complete chaos. There were shot clock violations, fouls, jump balls, clutch free throws, hard rebounds and a clock malfunction. When the dust settled, the Bucks emerged victorious with a hard-fought 109-106 victory over the Magic. Orlando started the evening as number 4 in the East, the Bucks were fifth.

With the win, the Bucks, who are 20-16 after a 2-8 start to the season, are now in fourth place in the East, percentage points ahead of the Magic.

“Great win. We really needed this win,” Antetokounmpo said.

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Although there were plenty of frantic plays in the final period, one showed how the Bucks could find their way through manic situations, and that’s not all that difficult to predict or understand.

With a three-point lead and just over two minutes left, Damian Lillard brought the ball up after the Bucks forced a turnover due to a shot clock violation. The Bucks weren’t worried about what they were going to do on offense. While Lillard and Giannis Antetokounmpo brought the ball to the right side, the other three Bucks players were on the left side.

There was little doubt about what was coming, and there wasn’t much the magic could do to stop it.

“It’s easy,” said Brook Lopez (eight points, three blocks). “We understand the power of that two-man pick-and-roll.”

Antetokounmpo’s sprinting left-handed layup on the right side of the basket gave him 41 points for the game and the Bucks a five-point lead. Antetokounmpo scored 10 points in the fourth quarter and Lillard added 10 of his 29 points in the fourth quarter. While they dominated various parts of the final 12 minutes with their own brilliant individual offensive talent, the two-man game between Antetokounmpo and Lillard will be what can unlock the Bucks’ full potential and turn them into a playoff-contending team have to be afraid of everything.

“We told them during a timeout,” Bucks head coach Doc Rivers said. “Please, when you come to the two-man game, roll Giannis. Either Dame gets a layup or you get a layup because they can’t both defend and it was nice to see them do it. And Giannis gets a layup.

“These are big games for us and it builds confidence. It builds trust between the two. It builds trust when we design something and they do it. All of this is important to us.”

Antetokounmpo and Lillard had possession before his layup and had made the same move.

While Antetokounmpo missed the ensuing free throws – a troubling trend given that Antetokounmpo made just three of 10 free throws on Friday and is now at a career-worst 59.1 percent in the charity stripe this season – the Bucks were able to make an easy one Get an overview That forced a foul from Magic forward Paolo Banchero, who returned to action after a two-month absence due to a torn oblique muscle.

“Much better. Much, much better,” Antetokounmpo said when asked if he felt his chemistry with Lillard had improved this season in two-man play. “Like I said, with every game that goes by, our chemistry gets better and better.

“We know each other’s spots. We know how to play with each other. We know what each other wants to achieve while they have the ball or when they are playing without the ball, and we do that too. There will be many times that you will see this game, the next 45 games that we will play, plus playoffs, there will be many times that it will only be a two-man game. It has to be that way, especially in the last five minutes.“

While these possession players showed their potential as a duo, a Lillard turnover with just over a minute left showed the need for more reps and further growth in the one-on-one game.

Since they’re still learning to work with each other, Lillard and Antetokounmpo didn’t approach this transition properly. In most situations, it’s beneficial for Lillard to go one-on-one against a big man, but in this scenario it was the wrong choice. With his quick feet and long arms, Jonathan Isaac is a difficult attacking partner for Lillard. Rookie forward Tristan da Silva, on the other hand, would not have been able to offer the same resistance against Antetokounmpo.

There could be concerns about da Silva fouling Antetokounmpo and sending him to the line if the two-man game quickly shifts gears and the two-time MVP can record a mismatch on the right block. This one-on-one duel would have been better for the Bucks, and it might have created a double team that could have freed up Lillard or one of the three weakside shooters.

In the end, the win showed that the Bucks may have a little more grit and toughness than they’ve shown at times this season. Before Friday’s game, they were only 7-9 on the road, but fought hard to win against a strong defensive team.

“You know we have to come to the game, you have to have the mindset to play 48 minutes, it’s going to be a very, very physical game,” Antetokounmpo said. “They play very, very big. The approach to the game is you have to be ready for 48 minutes and to stay in the game you have to play hard and we did that.”

It was a step forward for a team that hasn’t demonstrated the ability to consistently compete on the road. However, that can quickly be dashed if the Bucks don’t bring the same level of fight and focus to Sunday’s matinee showdown with the Knicks in New York City.

(Photo by Giannis Antetokounmpo: Julio Aguilar / Getty Images)