The Milwaukee Bucks came away with a 127-104 victory to sweep the Detroit Pistons.
The Pistons were battling through roughly three and a half quarters of this one until a 42-10 run by the Bucks flipped the game completely to end things for Detroit.
Giannis Antetokounmpo led the charge with a playoff career-high 41 points, doing most of his damage from the free throw line shooting 15-for-20.
Reggie Jackson's 26 points and Blake Griffin's 22 points, six rebounds and five assists kept the Pistons in the game for a while but the Bucks' depth proved to be too much.
Next up for Milwaukee... the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals.
For more on the Bucks' Game 4 sweep, we have you covered with takeaways below...
Giannis does it all
The greats often save their best for close-out time. Game 4 was just another example of that fact.
It had been a relatively quiet series from Antetokounmpo, who entered Game 4 averaging 21.3 points per game, a figure impacted by his 14 points in Game 3. Up until that point, the Bucks did not need any superhuman efforts from their MVP, who played fewer than 30 minutes in each of the team's wins from Games 1 through 3.
Giannis saved his best for last, setting a new postseason career high with 41 points (on 12-for-23 shooting) to go along with nine rebounds, four blocks, three assists and one steal to stuff the stat sheet. Like always, there was no shortage of highlights from one of the league's most electrifying players.
Giannis did it ALL in the @Bucks Game 4 victory against the Pistons! 🤧🦌
— NBA TV (@NBATV) April 23, 2019
📊: 41 PTS | 9 REB | 4 BLK#FearTheDeer | #NBAPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/fYoqV9Y8nv
The 24-year-old's aggression was evident from the onset, as he lived at the free throw line; he finished the night shooting 15-for-20 from the charity stripe and even stepped beyond the arc to drain two of his six attempts.
If there was any concern pertaining rust, or Antetokounmpo's being out of rhythm from playing such low minutes, it should go out the window now. With the Celtics awaiting, this type of performance is a major boost.
The run that ended the Pistons' season
The Pistons were competing in this elimination game, leading late in the third quarter when a Reggie Jackson 3-pointer with 4:53 on the clock put Detroit up 82-78.
From that point forward it was all Milwaukee and there was nothing the Pistons could do about it. They went from leading by four points with 4:53 left in the third to trailing by 28 with 4:20 left in the game.
In 12 minutes and 37 seconds the Bucks went on a 42-10 run to flip the game completely, taking care of business on the road to sweep the Pistons and end their season.
Over the course of that run, Antetokounmpo scored 15 points with 10 of those points coming from the free throw line. Eric Bledsoe scored nine points with Nikola Mirotic chipping in eight points to handle the bulk of the scoring in the run.
The Pistons were 4-for-25 (16%) from the field during that stretch. They were 1-for-8 from beyond the arc with four turnovers while being out-rebounded 21 to six over that timespan.
This run sealed the game for Milwaukee, giving them their first playoff series win since...
A long time coming
It's been a long time coming for the Milwaukee Bucks.
Just how long?
Milwaukee's last postseason series win came on May 20, 2001 when it defeated Charlotte in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals. The Bucks would go on to lose their next nine playoff series, with eight first-round exits in the last 16 years.
Most expected the 60-win Bucks to overcome the franchise's first-round hardships but doing so in such a dominant manner both givess this team momentum and wastes no time as its second round opponent awaits.
And they're no slouch…
On to Boston
Both the Bucks and Boston Celtics swept their first round opponents, clearing the way for a rematch of one of the best series in the playoffs last year.
The Celtics edged the Bucks in Game 7 with the home team winning each game in the series. The Bucks took the season series this year 2-1, stealing a game in Boston.
It'll be a battle of two superstars since Giannis Antetokounmpo and Kyrie Irving didn't get to go head-to-head in the playoffs last year with Irving's injury that kept him out for the entire postseason.
Antetokounmpo averaged 31.0 points, 10.7 rebounds and 4.3 assists over the three games against the Celtics this season while Irving posted 21.7 points, 6.3 assists and 4.3 rebounds in those three contests.
For more on this series, we already have you covered with a preview of the upcoming battle.