MILWAUKEE BUCKS = NBA CHAMPIONS!!!

The Team report looks great and the Standings look great except that the Kings are last ....i expected Shaq to win the award like he always wins it in my dynasty....i was surprised too on how well you are doing in rebounding...i suck in rebounding...i average like 6.2 with Amare and 5.1 with Miller ...good luck in the playoffs

Thanks for the props, Sac-1. For some reason, Shaq has been getting overlooked in this franchise by the CPU. He didn't even make the All-Star team...The reason I probably get more rebounds than you guys is because I play 10 minute quarters, and at a slower & more physical pace probably. Plus I know how to rebound well, too. Here's some tips:

1) If you have a high-jumping swingman like Wade, Shawn Marion, etc., switch to him right when the CPU shoots, and break to the basket. If you sky to the hoop and go for the rebound, lots of times you'll come up with it.

2) For your big men, the centers and power forwards, if you're always going for the block shot with them you're not going to be in good rebounding position. So choose wisely the times when you go for the block. Sometimes, it's better to let the CPU control the defender of the post player, while you take the other big man and are ready to clean the glass

Lebron wins the MVP award??? Shaun Bradley was the 6th man??? That was a surprise...
Congratulations for having Wade in the best defensive players of the season and good luck in the Playoffs

LeBron getting MVP wasn't a surprise to me, because he averaged something like 23 ppg, 9 rpg, and 9 apg , but the Shawn Bradley one was definitely a surprise . Thanks for your support, I'll need it in the Playoffs!


Speaking of the playoffs, here are the Western and Eastern Conference brackets:



As you all can see, the late 3-game winning streak propelled the Bucks into the #4 seed in the East. Even though I beat the 76ers, they ended up winning their last game and getting the #3 seed. That sounds like a bad thing for me, except when you look at who they're playing: THE DETROIT PISTONS!!! That's a nightmare! I'd rather play the Celtics anyday, and if you remember & look back at my previous summaries, I beat them by almost 20 in the only game I faced them in this season. So bring on Boston!!!

Last edited by bullsfan009 on Thu Sep 01, 2005 3:35 am, edited 1 time in total.

LeBron almost averaged a triple-double! Good luck to you against the Celtics and good luck to Philadelphia against the Pistons. I hope that we meet in the Eastern Conference Finals.

at least my rockets are 6th. yay lebron does great too in my nba live dynasties.good luck bullsfan
do well in the playoffs. and i'm pretty excited in the 3 point shootout. i wish you could drop in a few .gif's from the shootoout

THREE POINT SHOOTOUT

Competitors- The Top 8 3FG% Shooters From the Regular Season


Terry, Jason
Redd, Michael
Stoudamire, Salim
James, LeBron
Felton, Raymond
Nowitzki, Dirk
Pierce, Paul
Gordon, Ben

ROUND-BY-ROUND SUMMARY



As you can see, Salim Stoudamire and Ben Gordon started off hot, each hitting for 24 points in the first round. It was a good round for everyone, really, with only Dirk Nowitzki failing to reach 20, but along with Dirk, LeBron James, Raymond Felton, and Paul Pierce all were elminated.

In the second round, Jason Terry & Michael Redd were smoking with 26 each, but only Terry could sustain it in the final round. He dropped another 26, and beat Redd convincingly to take the 3-point contest crown.

Screens
Ben Gordon admiring his last 3-pointer

Congradulations to Jason Terry for winning the 3-Point Shootout!

Great 3 point shootout recap....the two that surprised me a little bit were Lebron and Gordon particapating

That's a very cool idea but I think you should do it for the All-Star Weekend. I'm glad I got to see Felton and Stoudemire. Keep it up.

wow terry hit 26!!! twice!!!
i barely lift above 22
congrats for him. you have noone in the 3 point shootout? you didnt control any player??

You didnt control any player??

Check the screenshots more carefully before posting:



If you play Live 2000, you may know that the keyboard is the symbol for a player controlled by the user...

i dont know. i usually name my keyboards control and they flash out in the screen like "USER" KEYBOARD1" and so on. maybe i haven't played that much for the 3 point shootout.


EDIT: i see. he did control all of the players

Yes, I controlled all the shooters. And I put the difficulty on All-Star (the 3rd highest), so the scores would look a little better b/c Superstar is really tough in the 3-point shootout, at least for me...Thanks for the comments COOLmac, Sensation, Sac-1, and Alexboom .

Now for Game 1 of Round 1 of the NBA Playoffs!

MIL 101, BOS 95
Big Fourth Quarter Wins It- Dwyane Wade Carries the Bucks to Win Game 1

MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN- The Milwaukee Bucks and Boston Celtics squared off for Game 1 of their best-of-7 series in Round 1 of the Eastern Conference Playoffs last night at the Bucks’ Bradley Center. As always is the case in the NBA postseason, there was a “playoff atmosphere”: the crowd was pumped, the play was desperate and physical, and the competitiveness was high.
The Bucks opened strong, quickly taking the lead behind their wild fans and the sharp play of their leader, Dwyane Wade. Wade scored Milwaukee’s first 8 points, and finished with 12 points, 2 rebounds, and 5 assists in the quarter alone! That was just the beginning, too- Wade was on his way to one of the greatest playoff performances in the history of the NBA. Behind his efforts, the Bucks led 31-27 after one quarter of play. Boston’s Antoine Walker had given them a major boost, finding his shooting stroke early and netting 10 opening-quarter points.
In the second quarter both teams cooled off considerably from their initial hot shooting. Defense and rebounding were the keys, as field goal percentages were in the high 30s. After the Bucks’ 11-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio in the first quarter, they had more than double the amount of turnovers (5) than assists (2) in the second period. By the end of it, Boston knocked had 2 points off of their lead, and trailed 49-47 at halftime.
The Celtics played a spectacular 3rd quarter, outscoring the Bucks by 9 points to lead by 7, 72-65, heading into the fourth quarter. Boston was extremely physical and tough defensively, holding Milwaukee to 30.4% shooting, and forcing them to commit another 5 turnovers. Offensively, Paul Pierce coolly sank in 4 of 5 shot attempts and Ricky Davis was a factor with a 3-for-4 effort. The Bucks’ Grant Hill, Beno Udrih, and Dwight Howard combined to shoot 1-for-13, and if not for Wade’s 10 more points on 5-for-7 shooting, the game might have gotten out of reach.
But the 7-point deficit turned out to be no problem for Milwaukee to overturn in the fourth quarter. Head Coach Terry Porter substituted Nate Robinson in at the point to replace Beno Udrih, and Robinson’s energy spurred the Bucks into one of their best quarters of the season. They shot 80% (!!!) in the quarter- 16 for 20 – and had 13 assists while scoring 36 points. Wade was once again dominant with 14 points, 3 rebounds, and 7 assists on 6-for-6 shooting. He reached a triple-double, and Celtics coach Doc Rivers was going crazy on the sidelines trying to find someone who could stop him.
The biggest play of the game came not on a Wade score, though, but a Wade pass. With just over a minute left, and Milwaukee leading 95-92, Wade cut through the pressing Celtics defense with a nice pass to an open Robinson, who buried a baseline jumper to make it a 2-possession ballgame. That turned out to be the nail in the coffin, so to speak, for the Celtics. They couldn’t mount any heroics in the final minute, and fell in Game 1 by the score 101-95.

GAME NOTES
Wade’s effort of 41 points, 11 rebounds, and 13 assists on 19-for-23 shooting was “unbelievable,” to quote Coach Rivers. No doubt it has to go down as one of the greatest playoff performances in Bucks and NBA history. We’ll see if he can keep it up, or some other Bucks can step it up and help him out, in Game 2…

GAME STATS

MILWAUKEE
Divac: 4 pts, 7 reb, 1 ast, 2-5 FGs
Howard: 20 pts, 7 reb, 3 ast, 8-20 FGs
Hill: 19 pts, 10 reb, 4 ast, 7-15 FGs
Wade: 41 pts, 11 reb, 13 ast, 19-23 FGs
Udrih: 5 pts, 0 reb, 6 ast, 2-6 FGs
Rush: 0 pts, 0 reb, 0 ast, 0-0 FGs
Traylor: 0 pts, 1 reb, 0 ast, 0-2 FGs
Robinson: 6 pts, 0 reb, 1 ast, 3-8 FGs
Ely: 6 pts, 5 reb, 0 ast, 3-5 FGs
Bowen: 0 pts, 0 reb, 1 ast, 0-1 FGs
TOTALS: 44-85 FGs (51.8%), 11-17 FTs, 41 REB (8 OFF), 29 AST, 6 FL

BOSTON
Blount: 4 pts, 14 reb, 2 ast, 7-14 FGs
Walker: 18 pts, 9 reb, 1 ast, 9-27 FGs
Pierce: 28 pts, 6 reb, 1 ast, 12-27 FGs
Davis: 21 pts, 5 reb, 1 ast, 9-12 FGs
Banks: 6 pts, 0 reb, 17 ast, 3-6 FGs
Allen: 4 pts, 1 reb, 1 ast, 2-3 FGs
LaFrentz: 6 pts, 4 reb, 0 ast, 3-9 FGs
Jefferson: 2 pts, 2 reb, 0 ast, 1-1 FGs
Green: 6 pts, 0 reb, 0 ast, 3-6 FGs
West: 0 pts, 1 reb, 3 ast, 0-1 FGs
TOTALS: 44-98 FGs (44.9%), 3-3 FTs, 42 REB (13 OFF), 26 AST, 14 FL

QUARTER-BY-QUARTER SCORING
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Celtics 27 20 16 23---95
Bucks 31 18 25 36---101
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Three-point field goals: Milwaukee 2-8 (Hill 1-2, Udrih 1-3, Bowen 0-1, Robinson 0-2), Boston 4-18 (Davis 2-3, Pierce 2-8, West 0-1, Green 0-1, Walker 0-2, LaFrentz 0-3). Turnovers: Milwaukee 14, Boston 9. Steals: Milwaukee 7 (Hill 3), Boston 8 (Walker 3). Blocks: Milwaukee 8 (Howard 2, Bowen 2), Boston 7 (Blount 4).

BUCKS LEAD SERIES 1-0

What a game for Dwyane Wade! He gets you the big win. Good luck in Game 2, hope Wade can keep it going.

Wade: 41 pts, 11 reb, 13 ast, 19-23 FGs

I don't have comments fot that
Hill and Howard have made a good job also. If the Bucks continue making this kind of game, the "luck factor" isn't necessary. Congratulations and good luck in this serie.

great 1-0. and wadeis really play off ready.

here's a tip for you bullsfan.i usually lower the foul slider to almost 1/4 during the playoffs. since the physicality and lesser freethrows is at its peak during the post season. try it sometime.

no wonder the3 point shootout is scoring up to 26

best of luck for game 2.

What a game for Dwyane Wade! He gets you the big win. Good luck in Game 2, hope Wade can keep it going.

Yes, I know- it was just one of those games. I could tell from the start of the game that he was going to have a big night, because everything was going in, but I didn't know THAT big

Hill and Howard have made a good job also. If the Bucks continue making this kind of game, the "luck factor" isn't necessary. Congratulations and good luck in this serie.

Thanks Diogo. I agree, luck won't be nearly as important if I can get some really great individual performances. My bench needs to step up now too. Also, FYI, it's more grammatically correct to use the form of the verb "to do" than "to make" in this example:

Hill and Howard did a good job also.

And for this one, it makes much more sense to use the form of the verb "to play":

If the Bucks continue playing this kind of game...

here's a tip for you bullsfan.i usually lower the foul slider to almost 1/4 during the playoffs. since the physicality and lesser freethrows is at its peak during the post season. try it sometime.

that's a really good idea, and real to the NBA, too, because the refs don't call games as tight during the Playoffs. I'm going to do this starting in Game 3. I've played Game 2 now, but haven't done a summary yet so I'll keep you all in suspense for just one more day

ohhhh the suspense
anyways thanks for considering my tip

Great game one win...always good to start off leading the series...Wade was just stupendus(don't know how to spell it but its a good thing)

Appreciate the comments, COOLmac & {Sac-1}...and now for Game 2!

NBA PLAYOFFS: ROUND 1, GAME 2: Boston Celtics @ Milwaukee Bucks

BOS 107, MIL 101 (O.T.)
Bucks Suffer Heartbreaker Loss in OT- Let 2-0 Series Lead Slip From Their Grasp, Series Now Tied 1-1

MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN- Game 1 of this Round 1 playoff matchup between the #4-seeded Milwaukee Bucks and #5-seeded Boston Celtics was an incredible contest. Game 2 was even better.
After losing the first game by falling apart in the fourth quarter, the Celtics were extremely determined to head back to Boston with the series tied up at 1-1. So they came out firing, hitting 52.6% of their shots in the opening quarter, and forcing the Bucks into committing 5 turnovers. They had no answers for the individual efforts of Dwyane Wade and Dwight Howard, however, who combined to score 15 points and carried their team to a 25-23 lead after one quarter was in the books.
As was the case in Game 1, the second quarter saw both teams’ reserves come in and really struggle to score the basketball. Milwaukee shot just 37.5% in the quarter, and Boston was even worse: 10 for 31 FGs, 32.3%. It was yet again thanks to the fantastic play of Wade that the Bucks led 47-44 at the break. In just 2 quarters, “Flash” was looking like he was going to repeat his mind-boggling game 1 performance of 41 points, 11 rebounds, and 13 assists: he already had totaled 18 points, 5 boards, and 4 assists.
Wade really cooled off in the second half, however, and it took other Milwaukee Bucks’ players stepping up for the team to maintain their small and fragile lead. In the third, it was starting PG Beno Udrih. Beno had been quiet for the first 6 quarters of the series, but broke out in a big way by hitting 4 three-pointers in the 3rd period alone. “I just ran to the line, and my teammates were finding me,” he later explained. Boston needed a big effort of their own to keep up, and found it in their leader, Paul Pierce. Pierce was simply on fire in the 3rd quarter, lighting up his defender Grant Hill time and time again with 17 to 20 foot jumpers, over and over. He made 7 of his 13 attempts, scoring 15 points in the period. But his the Celtics still trailed 78-73 heading into the fourth quarter, and were on their way to a 0-2 deficit in the series. “I wasn’t going to let that happen,” Pierce said confidently after the game.
The fourth quarter was a fierce up-and-down battle between two clashing squads giving it their all. Dwight Howard was a monster in the paint, rejecting everything in sight. He had a career-high 9 blocks in the game! But it was his offense that was clutch late in the game- his 1-handed thunder dunk tied the game at 90-90 with 1:23 left to play.
On Boston’s next possession, Pierce missed a shot, and then the Bucks found Melvin Ely down low for a score, giving them the 92-90 lead. But Boston’s Ricky Davis swished in a long 2-pointer right in Wade’s face to tie it once again: 92-92, 56.5 seconds left. Grant Hill continued his poor shooting in the game with a miss on the next play, and that was followed by a bricked 3 by Pierce. After that miss, Dwyane Wade found Dwight Howard sprinting out ahead of the pack, and delivered a long pass to him. Howard went up for a dunk and…BLOCKED! Out of NOWHERE, Antoine Walker flew in and stuffed Howard’s dunk attempt! The Boston bench just went nuts, while the Bucks fans were stunned. In the final 22.7 seconds that were left, both teams had shots at the basket, but nothing materialized, and the teams were headed to overtime, STILL tied at 92-92.
Conventional wisdom suggests that the home team has the advantage in overtime because of the energy boost they receive from their home fans, and it looked as if conventional wisdom would be right in the first minute or so of overtime. The Bucks scored the first 6 points, jumping out to a 98-92 lead. They looked to be in total control, but that was before Paul Pierce and the Celtics decided to take over. They went on a 12-0 run, and Pierce hit 4 straight tough jumpers, seemingly oblivious to the frantic defense of Hill. Pierce raised his point total to 38 points, including 30 after halftime, and the Celtics took a 104-98 lead. The Bucks simply fell apart, and faded late to lose the game, and home court advantage in the series.
It’s now 1-1, and we’re going to Boston. “I can’t wait,” Dwyane Wade declared.

BUCKS NOTES
Grant Hll had only 13 points in the game, barely shooting 35% (6-for-17). He was frustrated with himself afterwards, and promised a better showing in Game 3, on both sides of the ball. He was Paul Pierce’s defender…Kareem Rush was 0-for-6, and is scoreless in the series so far. He needs start contributing in some way to the team, because he can be a big factor at times with his shooting ability…Dwyane Wade shot 7-for-8 in the first half, but only 5-for-19 in the second half . Bucks Coach Terry Porter was quick to defend him. “Hey, Dwyane still had 28 points, 9 rebounds, and 12 assists. He was an assist shy of his second triple double in as many games. I’m not worried about him. We just need other guys stepping up right now."

CELTICS NOTES
Antoine Walker is being dominated by Dwight Howard so far in the series. ‘Toine is shooting just 31.2% (16-for-51) …Paul Pierce is averaging 33 points and 10 rebounds in the first two games…Marcus Banks is averaging 14 apg in 2 games.

GAME STATS

MILWAUKEE
Divac: 6 pts, 6 reb, 1 ast, 3-7 FGs
Howard: 21 pts, 6 reb, 1 ast, 8-17 FGs
Hill: 13 pts, 9 reb, 4 ast, 6-17 FGs
Wade: 28 pts, 9 reb, 12 ast, 12-27 FGs
Udrih: 18 pts, 3 reb, 6 ast, 5-13 FGs
Rush: 0 pts, 0 reb, 0 ast, 0-6 FGs
Traylor: 5 pts, 4 reb, 0 ast, 2-5 FGs
Robinson: 2 pts, 0 reb, 4 ast, 1-3 FGs
Ely: 6 pts, 9 reb, 0 ast, 2-4 FGs
Bowen: 2 pts, 1 reb, 0 ast, 1-2 FGs
TOTALS: 40-101 FGs (39.6%), 15-15 FTs, 47 REB (14 OFF), 28 AST, 19 FL

BOSTON
Blount: 13 pts, 11 reb, 2 ast, 6-8 FGs
Walker: 16 pts, 12 reb, 4 ast, 7-24 FGs
Pierce: 38 pts, 14 reb, 2 ast, 18-36 FGs
Davis: 21 pts, 8 reb, 0 ast, 8-18 FGs
Banks: 8 pts, 1 reb, 11 ast, 3-8 FGs
Allen: 0 pts, 4 reb, 2 ast, 0-5 FGs
LaFrentz: 0 pts, 2 reb, 1 ast, 0-3 FGs
Jefferson: 0 pts, 1 reb, 0 ast, 0-0 FGs
Green: 5 pts, 1 reb, 0 ast, 2-6 FGs
Perkins: 2 pts, 1 reb, 0 ast, 1-2 FGs
West: 4 pts, 0 reb, 3 ast, 2-4 FGs
TOTALS: 47-114 FGs (41.2%), 10-17 FTs, 55 REB (18 OFF), 25 AST, 9 FL

QUARTER-BY-QUARTER SCORING
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bucks 25 22 31 14 9---101
Celtics 23 21 29 19 15---107
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Three-point field goals: Milwaukee 6-17 (Udrih 5-11, Hill 1-3, Rush 0-3), Boston 3-12 (Pierce 2-6, Green 1-3, Walker 0-1, Davis 0-1). Turnovers: Milwaukee 19, Boston 9. Steals: Milwaukee 8 (3 Tied With 2), Boston 11 (Blount 3, Davis 3). Blocks: Milwaukee 16 (Howard 9), Boston 9 (3 Tied With 2).

Highlight of the Game
This section has been overlooked a lot lately b/c for some reason www.gifworks.com is no longer editing my animated .gifs. I have to make them less than 250 kBs to post off of Photobucket, that's why I use it...Anyway, I'm going to have to start posting screenshots I guess instead of the .gifs.

SERIES TIED 1-1

Tough loss, good luck in game 3. Howard is doing a good job in the Low Post. Oh yeah, and thanks for the corrections

that dynasty's still thrilling and excellent... We're not sure if you will win or not the championship, and that's something really new here, where everyone makes 75-7 seasons and goes undefeated in playoffs

yeah this is so unpredictable. great loss by the way bullsfan. in OT. why i said great loss? because it was such a tough close game

anyways the homecourts shifts now. lets see if you can steal a game or 2 best of luck

Great dynasty man I'm loving it!
Best of luck in game 3

Tough loss, good luck in game 3. Howard is doing a good job in the Low Post. Oh yeah, and thanks for the corrections

Thanks Diogo, and you're welcome for the corrections. It's great that you're so willing to learn With that attitude you'll be TEACHING English in no time

that dynasty's still thrilling and excellent... We're not sure if you will win or not the championship, and that's something really new here, where everyone makes 75-7 seasons and goes undefeated in playoffs

Merci beaucoup, Monsieur Alex...I'm not sure if I'm going to win it all either, but I'm going to really try

anyways the homecourts shifts now. lets see if you can steal a game or 2 best of luck

As always, much thanks for the good comments COOLmac. I've got to win in Boston now...

Great dynasty man I'm loving it!
Best of luck in game 3

thank you Emiliano, I'm glad you're enjoying my heart-wrenching Bucks


Well, have a good weekend everyone. I'll try to get two or three more games in by Monday. Peace!

Tough loss..espically that it was in OT...i hate when that happens...Wade had a huge game and you still lost...he was one rebound away from a triple double...good luck in 3

NBA PLAYOFFS: ROUND 1, GAME 3

MIL 97, BOS 90
Despite Poor Shooting, Bucks Do The Little Things To Steal Game 3

BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS- The Boston Celtics hosted the Milwaukee Bucks last night for Game 3 of their best-of-7 opening-round playoff series. The strong play of Paul Pierce lead the Celtics to a victory in Game 2; now the series was tied 1-1 and had moved to Boston. Because of their Game 2 loss, the Bucks must now win at least 1 game in Boston if they are to win the series.
Game 3 started off at a frantic pace, as both teams were lighting up the scoreboard with hot shooting and solid playmaking on offense. Boston’s 1-2 combo of Paul Pierce and Antoine Walker combined for 24 points on 10-for-21 FGs . Milwaukee’s Grant Hill, determined from a poor shooting performance in Game 2 to have a good game, lead all Bucks scorers with 11 first-quarter points. Unfortunately for him and the Bucks, Hill would shoot 1-for-8 and score only 4 more points the rest of the game . Dwyane Wade (10 points, 3 assists) and Dwight Howard (6 rebounds) were the other Bucks to perform well, but the team still trailed the Celtics 34-30 at the end of the first period.
Boston played strong to open second quarter, building a 45-37 lead, but then Milwaukee answered with a 13-0 run to lead 50-45 . Nate Robinson played his best basketball of the playoffs, shooting extremely well from the field. He nailed 6 of his first 8 shots, many from 18+ feet out, and Bucks coach Terry Porter would have had nothing but praise for the diminutive point guard if not for his 5 turnovers in the period . Another plus for Milwaukee was the play of reserve center Melvin Ely. Because of starting C Vlade Divac’s struggles in the postseason, Ely’s 2nd quarter showing of 6 points and 7 rebounds earned him most of the minutes at center in the second half, a move that Coach Porter would not regret.
At halftime, Boston trailed the Bucks by just 3, 54-51. Coach Doc Rivers commented, “I was actually pleased with the halftime score- the fact we were down by only 3. We shot 28% in the 2nd, gave up a 13-0 run, and generally got outhustled, yet it was still a 1-possession game.”
After shooting 50% in the first half, Milwaukee completely fell apart offensively in the 3rd and 4th quarters. They started it off with a 10-for-30 (33%) effort in the third quarter, and shot an even worse percentage (7-for-24, 29.2%) in the fourth. Because of that fact, they were forced to try to win in other ways- namely, defensively, by controlling the boards, and by limiting their turnovers.
In the third quarter, the Bucks only managed to succeed in two of those goals. They dominated the boards, grabbing a whopping 11 offensive rebounds in the period alone. Ely, Wade, and Dwight Howard in particular were everywhere, just as Coach Rivers was everywhere on his sideline, running up and down while shouting instructions at his players to box out. The Bucks also limited their turnovers to just 3 in the 3rd, exactly half of their second-quarter total. But it was the Bucks’ defense, or lack thereof, that threatened to lose them this game. Antoine Walker torched Dwight Howard to the tune of 14 points on 7-for-11 shooting in the quarter, and the Celtics as a team shot 46.2%- almost a full 13% better than Milwaukee. By the end of the third, they had trimmed a point off of the Bucks’ lead, and trailed by just a basket, 78-76. With the home crowd and the momentum on their side, Milwaukee’s coaching staff was very anxious on the sidelines.
In the fourth quarter, the Bucks’ poor shooting and offensive efficiency was finally matched by all three of the areas needed: defense, rebounding, and taking care of the basketball. Dwight Howard and Melvin Ely became an impenetrable force in the paint, rejecting shots left and right, and snaring rebounds all over the place. Boston was held to an even worse shooting percentage than them- 28% on 7-for-25 FGs, including 0-for-5 from 3-point range. Offensively, Milwaukee committed just 3 turnovers, and had some timely shooting. With 7:22 left in the game, and The Bucks up 82-78, Kareem Rush scored his first points of the SERIES by busting a 3-pointer on Ricky Davis in the far corner. That was a HUGE play- putting Milwaukee up by 7 in a quarter where points were very hard to come by.
Boston tried to answer, but was really hurt by a 0-for-9 shooting effort by Pierce, their Game 2 hero, in the quarter. So Milwaukee was able to hold on to their lead, winning the game by 7 with a final score of 97-90. They had regained home court advantage, and now lead the series 2-1.

BUCKS NOTES
Dwight Howard and Melvin Ely combined for 7 blocks and 29 rebounds in the game- great numbers for a frontcourt tandem. And although Howard struggled with only 6 points on 3-for-13 shooting, Ely picked up the offensive slack with 18 points on 9-for-17 FGs. With Divac struggling, expect Coach Porter to insert Ely in the starting lineup to try to slow down the monstrous play of Bostno center Mark Blount so far in this series. In 3 games, Blount’s averaging 9.7 ppg, 13.7 rpg, and 3.3 bpg.

CELTICS NOTES
Antoine Walker really struggled with his shot in Games 1 & 2, but found the touch in Game 3. He converted on 13 of his 27 attempts, and scored 26 points. However, it was Paul Pierce’s turn to struggle- he was just 9 for 27 in the game. Boston Head Coach Doc Rivers: “We’re waiting for those two to play well TOGETHER, and for a whole game. When that happens, we’re going to be a force to be reckoned with.”

GAME STATS

MILWAUKEE
Divac: 0 pts, 1 reb, 1 ast, 0-1 FGs
Howard: 6 pts, 12 reb, 6 ast, 3-13 FGs, 6 blk
Hill: 15 pts, 7 reb, 1 ast, 5-17 FGs
Wade: 24 pts, 5 reb, 5 ast, 10-21 FGs
Udrih: 9 pts, 1 reb, 6 ast, 3-9 FGs
Rush: 6 pts, 1 reb, 0 ast, 2-6 FGs
Traylor: 2 pts, 4 reb, 0 ast, 1-1 FGs
Robinson: 15 pts, 2 reb, 2 ast, 7-13 FGs
Ely: 18 pts, 17 reb, 1 ast, 9-17 FGs
Bowen: 2 pts, 3 reb, 2 ast, 1-4 FGs
TOTALS: 41-102 FGs (40.2%), 11-12 FTs, 53 REB (21 OFF), 24 AST, 7 FL

BOSTON
Blount: 12 pts, 16 reb, 4 ast, 6-7 FGs
Walker: 26 pts, 16 reb, 2 ast, 13-27 FGs
Pierce: 20 pts, 8 reb, 1 ast, 9-27 FGs
Davis: 15 pts, 1 reb, 3 ast, 7-17 FGs
Banks: 6 pts, 2 reb, 7 ast, 2-9 FGs
Allen: 2 pts, 2 reb, 1 ast, 1-4 FGs
LaFrentz: 4 pts, 5 reb, 1 ast, 2-9 FGs
Green: 2 pts, 0 reb, 0 ast, 1-2 FGs
Perkins: 1 pt, 1 reb, 0 ast, 0-1 FGs
West: 2 pts, 0 reb, 2 ast, 1-4 FGs
TOTALS: 42-107 (39.3%), 3-8 FTs, 51 REB (24 OFF), 21 AST, 13 FL

QUARTER-BY-QUARTER SCORING
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bucks 30 24 24 19---97
Celtics 34 17 25 14---90
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Three-point field goals: Milwaukee 4-13 (Hill 1-2, Rush 1-2, Robinson 1-3, Udrih 1-4, Bowen 0-2), Boston 3-13 (Pierce 2-6, Davis 1-2, Banks 0-1, Walker 0-2, West 0-2). Turnovers: Milwaukee 15, Boston 11. Steals: Milwaukee 7 (Wade 5), Boston 11 (Blount 3). Blocks: Milwaukee 11 (Howard 6), Boston 12 (Blount 5).


BUCKS LEAD SERIES 2-1

Tough loss, good luck in game 3. Howard is doing a good job in the Low Post. Oh yeah, and thanks for the corrections

Thanks Diogo, and you're welcome for the corrections. It's great that you're so willing to learn With that attitude you'll be TEACHING English in no time

Thanks, I really appreciate that

An important victory... congratulations . Your bench is pretty solid and Howard is doing a great job in this series (again). If he continue doing this job and the Bucks becomes the champions (and I hope they will), Howard probably gonna be the MVP (Dwayne is a good candidate also)...
Good luck in your next game