In incredibly heartbreaking fashion, the Milwaukee Bucks fell to the Miami Heat in Game 2 of their Eastern Conference Semi-finals series with one another.
The Milwaukee Bucks now have their backs firmly against the wall after they dropped Game 2 of their Conference Semi-finals series with the Miami Heat Wednesday night down in Orlando.
If not for Brook Lopez coming on so strongly out of the gates, the Bucks would have been in a dark place, especially with the Heat having got off to such a rollicking start and eventually dropping a 38-point first quarter. With their defense in such disarray, the Bucks found themselves down 38-29.
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The second quarter proved to be a more encouraging period for the Bucks as they tried to set the stage for their inevitable comeback.
With their offense leading the way and Eric Bledsoe, in particular, packing quite a punch for the Bucks by scoring 13 first half points, Milwaukee trailed the Heat 66-60 going into the halftime break.
Gradually, the Bucks’ comeback attempt hit another level as they took advantage of the Heat’s offense coming down to earth. But after tying the game at 78 with 4:21 to go in the third, a spate of shooting fouls slowed the Bucks’ comeback down and Miami had a little breathing room with a 90-86 edge through the third frame.
After breaking through to hold a brief 91-90 lead after a pair of free throws from Khris Middleton and a three from Kyle Korver, the Heat quickly regrabbed the lead and they continued to hold their advantage at an arm’s length throughout much of the fourth.
Just as the Bucks looked like they had run out of gas, they put together one final push, one that was only helped by a little luck. Down 6 with 19 seconds to go, a quick driving finish from Giannis Antetokounmpo was followed by forcing an errant pass by Jimmy Butler on the inbounds pass and Brook Lopez was right there to clean up and bring the Bucks within 2 with eight seconds left.
After forcing Butler to the line where he went 1-for-2, the Bucks, through Middleton, got an incredible chance to tie up the game at 114 after he was fouled on a 3-point attempt. But all hope was quickly lost again when Butler was fouled by a closing out Antetokounmpo on the game-winning attempt. Butler redeemed himself with a pair of free throws and the Heat now stand 2-0 in their series with the Bucks.
So without further ado, let’s break down what stood out in the Bucks’ Game 2 loss to the Miami Heat from Wednesday night, starting with that controversial finish.