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Why The Milwaukee Bucks’ Game 4 Victory Matters

By Peter Myhrer

Apr 25, 2015; Milwaukee, WI, USA; Milwaukee Bucks guard Jerryd Bayless (19) celebrates with center Zaza Pachulia (27) and guard Khris Middleton (22) after scoring the game -winning shot against the Chicago Bulls in game four of the first round of the NBA Playoffs at BMO Harris Bradley Center. The Bucks beat the Bulls 92-90. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 25, 2015; Milwaukee, WI, USA; Milwaukee Bucks guard Jerryd Bayless (19) celebrates with center Zaza Pachulia (27) and guard Khris Middleton (22) after scoring the game -winning shot against the Chicago Bulls in game four of the first round of the NBA Playoffs at BMO Harris Bradley Center. The Bucks beat the Bulls 92-90. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports /
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After numerous moral victories in the series’ first three games, the Milwaukee Bucks got their first real victory of the playoffs on Saturday.

The Bucks held a lead going into the final minutes of the game, but things didn’t look promising after Chicago’s Pau Gasol converted an three-point play to tie the game at 90 with just 38 seconds remaining. One unsuccessful Jerryd Bayless drive later, Milwaukee found themselves having to defend what was in all likelihood the last shot of regulation.

That is, until a series of unbelievable events went into motion.

In what will go down as the signature moment for the 2014-15 Bucks’ defense, Khris Middleton swiped and stole the ball away from a driving Derrick Rose with just over a second remaining. The game clock appeared to expire as Middleton unsuccessfully attempted to throw up a half-court heave, except it hadn’t because head coach Jason Kidd called the most clutch timeout of all-time.

Here’s the play that the Bucks decided to run out of the timeout.

Confetti rained down as the Bucks’ bench, owners, and fans stormed the court while dejected Bulls players and fans looked on.

To an outside viewer, the overwhelming joy and happiness that this win brought to the players and fans might seem excessive. After all, the old Vince Lombardi adage goes, “When you get into the end zone, act like you’ve been there before.”

It may even come across as slightly comedic to fans of perennial powerhouses like the Bulls or San Antonio Spurs, to celebrate like you just won the NBA Finals when in reality you just barely avoided getting swept in the first round.

Apr 25, 2015; Milwaukee, WI, USA; Milwaukee Bucks guard Jerryd Bayless (19) gets a hug from forward Jared Dudley (9) after scoring the game-winning shot against the Chicago Bulls in game four of the first round of the NBA Playoffs at BMO Harris Bradley Center. The Bucks beat the Bulls 92-90. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 25, 2015; Milwaukee, WI, USA; Milwaukee Bucks guard Jerryd Bayless (19) gets a hug from forward Jared Dudley (9) after scoring the game-winning shot against the Chicago Bulls in game four of the first round of the NBA Playoffs at BMO Harris Bradley Center. The Bucks beat the Bulls 92-90. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports /

Longtime Bucks fans get it though, and so do the players. Just look at the emotion on Jerryd Bayless’ face above. He’s not embarrassed to bathe in the brief moment of vindication that he and his teammates created. His smile isn’t manufactured. He’s not putting a show on for the cameras because he’s on national TV. He’s just letting it all out after a frustrating season of almost-success.

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Bayless is a veteran on a team with a future-oriented agenda. That’s got to be incredibly frustrating at times. He helped build the Bucks into a respectable playoff team, only to see the organization trade away a major part of that success in Brandon Knight. He had to swallow his pride as he got asked question after question about Giannis Antetokounmpo and Jabari Parker, even though he likely won’t still be on the team when they enter their respective primes.

Bayless, along with all of the other veterans such as Jared Dudley, Zaza Pachulia, and O.J. Mayo, have handled the situation with class and deserve credit for the Bucks’ success this year and in the future (whether they’re around still or not).

They’ve helped build an entirely new culture for the Bucks’ organization, a culture with a foundation of hard work and optimism.

Saturday’s Game 4 victory may have been the Milwaukee Bucks’ first playoff win since 2010 and it may end up being the team’s only win of the 2015 NBA Playoffs, but none of that will keep this win from going down as the organization’s official first page of its new chapter.

Like Jason Kidd said in the post-game press conference:

No one expected this team to even be in the playoffs, let alone heading back to Chicago for a Game 5. Something tells me that the media might have higher expectations for the Milwaukee Bucks in the future and a lot of that will go back to Saturday’s Game 4 victory over the Bulls.

Next: Milwaukee Bucks: Was Trading Brandon Knight A Mistake?

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