The NBA Playoffs resume Saturday with three Game 5. Here are five key stats to know about each matchup.
Game 5: Orlando Magic vs. Milwaukee Bucks (MIL Leads 3-1), 3:30 ET
- Giannis Antetokounmpo was named Kia NBA Defensive Player of the Year on Tuesday after leading the league’s top-ranked defense this season (101.6 defensive rating through March 11). With Giannis on the court, the Bucks allowed just 96.5 points per 100 possessions the lowest mark among the 300+ players that averaged at least 15 minutes per game. Note: The voting was conducted based on regular-season games played through March 11, when the season went on hiatus.
- From the beginning of the season through March 11, Milwaukee’s opponents shot an NBA-low 41.3 percent from the field. Giannis Antetokounmpo held his matchups to 36.5 percent shooting from the field, the lowest percentage among the more than 250 players who faced at least 300 shots.
- Through games played on March 11, Giannis Antetokounmpo allowed the lowest field goal percentage at the rim at 41.8% (77-184) among the 233 players that defended at least 100 shots at the basket. In all shots within six feet, Giannis held opponents 19.5 percentage points below their normal shooting percentage.
- After dropping Game 1, the Bucks won the next three games by a combined 44 points. During that stretch, the Bucks have a net efficiency rating of 14.5. The Bucks allowed 122 points in Game 1, but held the Magic to an average of 103 over the next three games.
- Nikola Vucevic has paced the Magic in points (29.5), rebounds (10.0), 3-pointers made (3.8), blocks (0.8) and field goal percentage (54.7%) through the first four games of the series. While he has just 10 points on 4-16 FG in 24:11 of matchup time with Brook Lopez, Vucevic has found success against players like Eric Bledsoe (17 points on 8-11 FG in 3:03) and DPOY Giannis Antetokounmpo (25 points on 11-18 FG in 2:31).
Game 5: Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Houston Rockets (Series Tied 2-2), 6:30 ET
- Luguentz Dort allowed James Harden to score 18 points on 5-13 FG in Game 4, a slight increase from the prior games but still lower than his normal shooting. Houston screened for Harden 61 times in game 4, nearly double their amount from Game 3, and they scored 1.24 points per possession in Game 4 when screening for Harden with Dort on him.
- Dennis Schroder scored a playoff career-high 30 points in OKC’s win over Houston on Monday in his 43rd career playoff game. Schroder shot 10-16 FG, 4-7 3P and 6-7 3P. It was the second time this season and fifth time in his career that Schroder has scored at least 30 points on 62.5% shooting or better.
- The Thunder are the only team in the playoffs with four players averaging at least 18 points per game: Chris Paul (21.5), Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (20.3), Dennis Schroder (19.5) and Danilo Gallinari (18.8).
- Chris Paul leads the Thunder in clutch scoring this series with 13 points on 4-8 shooting from the field, 1-4 from three and 4-4 from the free throw line. The Thunder have outscored their opponents by 13 points in Paul’s 11 clutch minutes in the playoffs.
- There have been 33 games in league history (regular season and playoffs combined) when a team has made at least 23 3-pointers. In Game 4, the Rockets became the fourth team to ever lose a game while making at least 23 3-pointers and the first to do so in the playoffs.
Game 5: Portland Trail Blazers vs. Los Angeles Lakers (LAL Leads 3-1), 9:00 ET
- The Lakers have allowed Portland to score 102.2 points per 100 possessions, the best defensive rating in the playoffs so far. CJ McCollum increased his points per 100 possessions by 16.4 this season with Damian Lillard off the court, but his FG% was 37.5% in those minutes and Portland was outscored by 18.1 points per 100 possessions.
- Danny Green (15:46) and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (12:22) have split the majority of the defensive matchup time on CJ McCollum in the series. Caldwell-Pope has held McCollum to six points on 2-6 FG, 2-5 3P shooting, while Green has allowed McCollum to score 20 points on 7-16 FG, 5-11 3P shooting.
- As the basketball world celebrated Kobe Bryant on Monday 8/24, LeBron James led the Lakers to a 135-115 win to go up 3-1 behind a 30-point, 10 assist performance. The last NBA player to have at least 30 points and 10 boards in a playoff game was Kobe Bryant on May 25, 2010.
- Anthony Davis was the runner up for the Kia NBA Defensive Player of the Year award. During the regular season, Davis ranked third in the NBA in blocks (2.0 per game) and 14th in steals (1.5). During the playoffs, he ranks fourth in blocks (2.0) and tied for sixth in steals (1.5).
- Of the 12 five-man lineups that have played at least 40 minutes together in the playoffs, the Lakers group of LeBron James, JaVale McGee, Danny Green, Anthony Davis and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope leads the way with a net rating of 29.4 in 49 minutes.
