Giannis Antetokounmpo, left, of the Milwaukee Bucks drives to the basket against Jimmy Butler of the Miami Heat. AFP
Giannis Antetokounmpo, left, of the Milwaukee Bucks drives to the basket against Jimmy Butler of the Miami Heat. AFP
Giannis Antetokounmpo, left, of the Milwaukee Bucks drives to the basket against Jimmy Butler of the Miami Heat. AFP
Giannis Antetokounmpo, left, of the Milwaukee Bucks drives to the basket against Jimmy Butler of the Miami Heat. AFP

NBA playoff: Giannis Antetokounmpo delivers triple double as Bucks sweep Miami


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Giannis Antetokounmpo managed his first NBA playoff triple double Saturday and the Milwaukee Bucks defeated Miami 120-103 to sweep the Heat out of the post-season in the opening round.

Greek star Antetokounmpo had 20 points, 12 rebounds and 15 assists to spark the Bucks, who were led by 25 points from center Brook Lopez and 22 more off the bench from Bryn Forbes.

Khris Middleton added 20 as the Bucks rallied from a 12-point first-half deficit to win the best-of-seven Eastern Conference series 4-0. They await the Brooklyn-Boston series winner in the second round.

"We've got to focus on ourselves, try to get better," Antetokounmpo said. "We want to get better defensively and whoever we get in the next round, we're going to be ready."

Antetokounmpo became only the third Bucks player with a playoff triple double after Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in 1970, when he was known as Lew Alcindor, and Paul Pressey in 1986.

The Heat, who lost to the Los Angeles Lakers in last year's NBA Finals, ousted Milwaukee in five games in the second round of last season's playoffs.

"We just tried to focus a game at a time," Antetokounmpo said. "We didn't want to play with our food."

Miami had not been swept in a playoff series since falling to Chicago in the first round in 2007.

The Heat dominated early, with Antetokounmpo missing his first six shots and Miami grabbing its biggest lead of the series at 58-46.

But Milwaukee opened the third quarter on a 24-6 run and the Heat could never match them after that.

"They played us really tough," said Antetokounmpo. "We kept our composure, we kept moving the ball, we kept defending and we were able to get a win."

Bam Adebayo led Miami with 20 points and 14 rebounds while Jimmy Butler had a triple double in a losing cause with 12 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists.

It was the first game for the Bucks without guard Donte DiVincenzo, who was knocked out for the remainder of the playoffs by a torn left ankle ligament suffered in Milwaukee's game-three victory at Miami on Thursday.

"He's a big part of our game," said Antetokounmpo. "It's going to be tough not having him going forward but a lot of guys are going to step up for us."

- Nuggets 'played soft' -

Portland's Norman Powell matched a career playoff high with 29 points, hitting 11-of-13 from the floor to power the Trail Blazers over visiting Denver 115-95 to level their Western Conference series at two wins each.

CJ McCollum scored 21 points and Bosnian center Jusuf Nurkic added 17 for Portland while Serbian center Nikola Jokic led Denver with 16 points.

"The plan was to put a complete 48-minute effort out there," Powell said. "The focus was continue to compete hard."

The Trail Blazers led 57-47 at half-time and dominated the third quarter to pull away for good.

"Our starters were awful," said Nuggets coach Michael Malone. "I thought we had some guys that were tentative, that looked a little scared, who played soft."

Elsewhere, Joel Embiid scored a playoff career high 36 points as the Philadelphia 76ers breezed to a 132-103 victory over the Washington Wizards to seize a 3-0 lead in their Eastern Conference series.

The 76ers shot 58.6 percent from the floor and 51.5 percent from three-point range and can close out the eighth-seeded Wizards on Monday.

In the late game, Donovan Mitchell scored a game-high 29 points as the top-seeded Utah Jazz held on to beat the Memphis Grizzlies 121-111 in game three of their West series.

Mitchell scored 10 of his 29 in the final four minutes as the Jazz went on a 14-2 surge late in the game to take a two-game-to-one series lead.

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Fighter profiles

Gabrieli Pessanha (Brazil)

Reigning Abu Dhabi World Pro champion in the 95kg division, virtually unbeatable in her weight class. Known for her pressure game but also dangerous with her back on the mat.

Nathiely de Jesus, 23, (Brazil)

Two-time World Pro champion renowned for her aggressive game. She is tall and most feared by her opponents for both her triangles and arm-bar attacks.

Thamara Ferreira, 24, (Brazil)

Since her brown belt days, Ferreira has been dominating the 70kg, in both the World Pro and the Grand Slams. With a very aggressive game.

Samantha Cook, 32, (Britain)

One of the biggest talents coming out of Europe in recent times. She is known for a highly technical game and bringing her A game to the table as always.

Kendall Reusing, 22, (USA)

Another young gun ready to explode in the big leagues. The Californian resident is a powerhouse in the -95kg division. Her duels with Pessanha have been highlights in the Grand Slams.

Martina Gramenius, 32, (Sweden)

Already a two-time Grand Slam champion in the current season. Gramenius won golds in the 70kg, in both in Moscow and Tokyo, to earn a spot in the inaugural Queen of Mats.

 

Conflict, drought, famine

Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.

Band Aid

Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.