Wow. Just wow. Playoff basketball, man — you can't write any of this stuff.
The Milwaukee Bucks faced a must-win game in enemy territory, with the Indiana Pacers poised to close out the series in Game 5 on April 29.
In one of my earlier pieces today, I had the Bucks' obituary basically written, as I touched upon the prospect of Toronto becoming a potential Giannis Antetokounmpo trade destination. As I tuned in to watch this matchup, I was pleasantly surprised to see that Milwaukee was not ready to go down without a fight. Once again, aside from the "Greek Freak," it would be ex-Raptors wing Gary Trent Jr. who provided that extra offensive spark.
Well, you wouldn't know it if you tuned in just to watch the Pacers and Bucks play for the first couple of quarters, because Trent Jr. could not string together a good flow of offense to start the game. GTJ began the game 0-for-7 from deep, and it quickly looked like the Bucks riding solely on the coattails of Giannis was not the recipe for an emphatic victory.
That's where this cinematic sequence of events in the fourth quarter and overtime comes into play. Out of nowhere, Trent suddenly exploded for four made threes in the fourth quarter and delivered a near-historic performance in overtime, where he added four more three-point shots.
That’s not just getting hot; that’s going nuclear.
NBA statistician Keerthika Uthayakumar would note on X:
In total, GTJ amassed 24 points in the fourth quarter and overtime combined, finishing the game with an 33 points on 8-for-17 shooting from beyond the arc, along with five rebounds, two assists, and five steals.
But just as quickly as Trent Jr. became a near-hero for the Milwaukee Bucks, he found himself assuming the role of villain in the very same game.
Gary Trent Jr.'s stellar Game 5 is soured by two costly errors
Here is the exact sequence of events that led to the unforeseen turnaround victory by the Indiana Pacers, as noted by The Athletic on X:
Two massive turnovers, and the culprit just so happened to be the same man who looked like he could keep the Bucks' season alive. I still believe Trent Jr. deserves a ton of credit for finding his hot hand, despite starting off cold in the game.
However, it served as a stark reminder of his Raptors days, when GTJ often appeared to be an offensive cheat code. Yet, you could never quite trust him to maintain that same energy in an important showcase; the 2023 play-in against Chicago immediately comes to mind.
But then again, who else could they turn to in that time? Giannis is not renowned for his free throw shooting ability, and they kept relying on GTJ because he was the darling of the game. Unfortunately, it cost them not only the game but ultimately the season.
There's no need to play the blame game; the fortunes were just not in Milwaukee's favor, even if it looked like a victory was inevitable. But it must sting that now, despite having a star-making performance, most people will only remember his fumbles rather than his bright spots. This illustrates the duality of a player like Gary Trent Jr., reminiscent of another Raptors veteran I discussed in a recent piece, Fred VanVleet.
Still, I'd like to think that Trent has done enough to show he’s worth more than a veteran's minimum contract. Hopefully, there’s a team out there that will give him a payday.