3 takeaways from Milwaukee Bucks’ thrilling victory over Miami Heat

Following a much-needed victory against the Charlotte Hornets on Monday, the Milwaukee Bucks would be put to the test as the Miami Heat came to Fiserv Forum on Wednesday. Of course, these two teams have no shortage of recent history, as every clash between them recently has felt like a playoff atmosphere. With that Bucks looking to gain ground in the Eastern Conference standings against the top-seeded Heat, they would have to turn their intensity up a notch. It is certainly safe to say that they did, as this matchup was yet another classic between these two teams.

The Bucks took care of business in the first quarter to take an eight-point lead after 12 minutes, but the Heat rallied back in the second to take a four-point lead into halftime. After a hectic third quarter, both teams traded blows throughout the fourth quarter until the final buzzer rang. After trading punches for the entirety of the matchup, the Milwaukee Bucks escaped with a 120-119 win over the Miami Heat in a game that came down to the very last second.

With all that being said, let us take a closer look at three takeaways from the matchup.

The Milwaukee Bucks and Miami Heat lit it up from 3-point land, which propelled a high scoring affair

The Bucks and Heat have both been known for letting it fly from downtown at a high rate over the past several seasons, and that tradition certainly carried on last night.

Milwaukee finished the contest shooting an efficient 14-of-36 (38.9 percent) from behind the arc, with a sizeable chunk of that damage coming from two particular Bucks. Khris Middleton found his stride from the outside as he connected on four threes in eight attempts, including a particularly clutch one that will be discussed later. Jrue Holiday fell just short of tying Middleton as he knocked down three triples in eight attempts as he found a groove in this one. These two have had issues with their 3-point shooting at times this season, so it was welcoming to see them carry the load for the Bucks in that department.

Given that Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bobby Portis combined to shoot 3-of-10 from deep, the contributions from Middleton and Holiday were much-needed. Grayson Allen, Wesley Matthews, Jevon Carter, and Jordan Nwora also chipped in as they each added one triple apiece. The Bucks are often difficult to beat when they are shooting the 3-pointer efficiently, but the Heat were also on fire from long distance, no pun intended.

Miami shot a scorching 21-of-44 (47.7 percent) from deep as they were consistently hitting their triples from start to finish. Some of this could be attributed to taking advantage of Milwaukee’s defense early on, but the Heat also hit a few tough threes that the Bucks could only tip their caps to. Tyler Herro led the way for Miami as he knocked down six 3-pointers en route to a team-high 30-point night, while Duncan Robinson and Gabe Vincent followed with five makes apiece. These three were outstanding from the outside, and their red-hot shooting nearly proved fatal for the Bucks.

For the Milwaukee Bucks to win a game where their opponent shot 47.7 percent from long range is truly an eye-catching feat.