Bobby Portis apologized to his teammates for his ejection from a Game 4 loss that put the Milwaukee Bucks on the brink of elimination from the NBA playoffs, then made amends on Tuesday by helping the Bucks keep their season alive.
Portis and Khris Middleton each scored 29 points as the short-handed Bucks routed the Indiana Pacers 115-92 in Game 5 of their Eastern Conference first-round playoff series.
The Pacers still lead the best-of-seven series 3-2 heading into Game 6 in Indianapolis.
Photo: AFP
“Thursday will be fun,” Portis said. “I can hear some ‘Bobby Sucks’ chants. I’m ready, man. I’m fired up. I’m already ready for it.”
Milwaukee won without injured stars Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard as the Fiserv Forum crowd chanted: “Bucks in seven.”
Antetokounmpo has missed this entire series and has not played since straining his left calf on April 9. Lillard sat out a second straight game after injuring his Achilles tendon in the Bucks’ 121-118 Game 3 loss on Friday last week.
Photo: AP
Bucks coach Doc Rivers was asked after Game 5 about their potential availability for the rest of the series.
“I don’t know how to answer that,” Rivers said. “I know I hope. I think they’re very, very, very close.”
The Bucks stayed alive thanks in part to a huge performance from Portis, who had been ejected just seven minutes into Game 4 after getting into a skirmish with Indiana’s Andrew Nembhard.
Photo: Ken Blaze-USA Today
Portis said he watched the rest of that game while still in uniform, wondering about all the ways in which his presence on the floor might have made a difference.
He came back Tuesday and produced the highest playoff point total of his career. He also pulled down 10 rebounds.
“I maybe crossed the line, you feel me, and let my team down by getting ejected and not being available for my team,” Portis said. “I pride myself so much on being available.”
At Madison Square Garden, Tyrese Maxey scored 46 points and Kelly Oubre Jr hit a tiebreaking layup in overtime as the visiting Philadelphia 76ers avoided elimination with a 112-106 victory over New York in Game 5 of their Eastern Conference series, which the Knicks lead 3-2.
At the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland, Ohio, Evan Mobley blocked Franz Wagner’s attempted layup with 5.1 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter, helping the Cavaliers secure a 104-103 win over the Orlando Magic in Game 5 of their Eastern Conference series.
Cleveland lead the series 3-2.
Additional reporting by Reuters
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