Bobby Portis helps Bucks clinch home-court advantage in playoffs

The Milwaukee Bucks rode a 15-0 third-quarter run, bookended by three-point plays by Portis, to defeat the Chicago Bulls and clinch the NBA's best record. Milwaukee will have home-court advantage throughout the playoffs.

Antetokounmpo was scratched from the game with knee soreness, but Portis replaced him in the starting lineup and delivered 27 points and 13 rebounds. He shot 6-of-9 from 3-point range and didn't turn the ball over a single time.

Portis is averaging 13.9 points and 9.6 rebounds this season as Milwaukee's sixth man, shooting 36.8 percent from 3-point range and nearly 50 percent from the field. He has 23 double-doubles off the bench, and even though he just turned 28, he has the sixth-most bench double-doubles in NBA history. 

He's been a huge part of Milwaukee's success since joining the team before the Bucks' 2020-21 championship season. But it only happened because Portis called Antetokounmpo himself.

On JJ Redick's podcast, Portis said that he asked his agent, "Can I get Giannis' number or something?" before calling the two-time MVP and telling him, "Gian, you don't know me, bro. I don't know you. But I promise, bro, I can help y'all win a championship." A few months later, Portis did.

Portis is a perfect complement for Antetokounmpo because he can play both center and power forward, and he provides outside shooting alongside the often 3-point-challenged Greek Freak. With center Brook Lopez shooting 37.6 percent from 3, the Bucks can always pair Antetokounmpo with a strong defensive frontcourt partner who can also keep defenses honest by making them guard the arc.

He's also Antetokounmpo's enforcer.

With his bug-eyed look and toughness, Portis is intimidating. But he can also really play. Even if he had to call the Bucks himself to prove it.