Bucks’ title gives state’s sports fans relief from heartbreak

For most of my life, and especially the last decade or so, Wisconsin sports teams have provided plenty instances of heartbreak. The curse was finally broken with the Milwaukee Bucks’ NBA title.

The Green Bay Packers, Milwaukee Brewers and Wisconsin Badgers have provided their share of heartbreak, with the Bucks joining the party in recent years.

Leading up to the most recent NBA season, the Bucks had put together back-to-back seasons in which they held the NBA’s best regular season record. Giannis Antetokounmpo won a pair of MVP awards and Milwaukee seemed destined to snap a long NBA title drought.

Nope. Instead, the team was eliminated in the Eastern Conference finals by the eventual champion Toronto Raptors one year before being erased by the Miami Heat in the conference semifinals.

After making a multitude of roster changes — and having another big transaction wiped out — the Bucks hoped to get over the hump and back into the NBA finals.

This year’s regular season wasn’t as successful as the last two, with the Bucks only securing a No. 3 seed for the postseason and Giannis not being named the MVP despite having another big season. Honestly though, the lower level of hype surrounding the team coming into the playoffs was actually kind of a breath of fresh air for me.

The Bucks’ heartbreak looked like it might start even earlier this season with the Heat serving as the team’s first-round matchup. Milwaukee didn’t look good in the first game of the series, but escaped with a win in overtime after a game-winning shot from Khris Middleton.

You obviously already know that the Bucks went on to sweep the Heat, but I truly believe if the Heat had taken game one, Miami might have upset Milwaukee again.

The Bucks and Nets second round series — which I believe was the best of the entire playoffs — was one I was looking forward to all season, but it lost some of its luster after injuries to Nets’ stars Kyrie Irving and James Harden during the seven-game showdown.

Milwaukee fell in an 0-2 hole before tying up the series with two home wins. Just when it looked like the Bucks had found their footing, Brooklyn won game five to take a 3-2 lead. Again, the Bucks were able to defend home court though, taking game six to set up a game seven in Brooklyn.

Milwaukee overcame a late deficit and had a four-point lead with just over a minute to play, but the game was far from over. An offensive rebound helped the Nets get to within two points. The Bucks got a big offensive rebound of their own on the other end, but weren’t able to capitalize as the team turned it over on a shot clock violation.

Another break went the Bucks’ way after Kevin Durant appeared to hit a game-winning 3-pointer, but the front of his shoe was on the 3-point line, making it just a two and sending the game to overtime.

Certainly then would have been a good time for a Wisconsin sports team to fold under the pressure, right? It looked like the Bucks were on that path after not scoring for nearly four minutes, but Antetokounmpo and Middleton hit clutch shots before Brook Lopez iced the win with two free throws.

Milwaukee’s win coupled with a surprise loss from the Philadelphia 76ers meant the Bucks would take on the Atlanta Hawks instead in the Eastern Conference finals.

Just when the thought of reaching the finals was creeping in for Bucks’ fans, the team inexplicably lost the first game of the series on their home floor.

Milwaukee rebounded and took game two before Atlanta star Trae Young hurt his ankle in a Bucks win in game three, yet another break for the Bucks.

Surely now was when fans could be at ease? Not so fast. Milwaukee was blown out in game four and lost Antetokounmpo to an injured knee. Not only was the series now tied, but it appeared that Antetokounmpo was done for the season and the team’s luck had run out.

At that point, I still hoped the Bucks could advance to the finals, but questioned whether it would have been as special with the star player out. Milwaukee showed its resiliency without Giannis and won the final two games of the series, and the team got another good dose of good news as its star avoided a devastating injury.

As the finals approached, the likelihood of Giannis returning seemed to increase by the hour, upping the Bucks’ chances at the same time. It was at that point that it felt like the stars were finally aligning.

Giannis played well in the opening game of the series, but the Bucks were unable to slow the Suns’ pick-and-roll game in a 13-point loss. Antetokounmpo scored 42 points in another loss in game two. Despite the two losses, many Milwaukee fans remained positive and believed the team could come back.

The Bucks rattled off four straight wins with Antetokounmpo leading the charge to complete the Bucks’ quest for a title.

Just like that, the hurt and pain of the last couple Bucks’ seasons — and many other heartbreaking losses by the Packers, Brewers and Badgers — were erased. Okay, maybe those thoughts are still trapped in my brain somewhere, but it’ll sure be hard to wipe off the smile that’s been on my face since the waning minutes of game six of the finals.

Bucks in six!

Morgan Rode is the sports editor for NEW Media. Readers can contact him at sports@newmedia-wi.com.