The Milwaukee Bucks evened their first-round playoff series with Miami at 1-1 with a 138-122 win over the Heat on Wednesday, April 19.
Here are some stats, good and bad, that helped define that game.
Good Stat, Bad Stat: Numbers from the Bucks’ Game 2 win over Heat
Good Stat: The Bucks tied an NBA record with seven players with 13 or more points in a playoff game, per Stathead (Subscription required). They also set a team playoff record with seven players with 13 plus points in a game. Brook Lopez led the way with 25 points followed by Jrue Holiday (24), Pat Connaughton (22), Joe Ingles (17), Grayson Allen and Khris Middleton (each with 16), and Bobby Portis (13).
The last time seven players from one team scored 13 or more points in a playoff game was May 26, 2021, when Utah did it in a game versus the Memphis Grizzlies. It has only happened seven times in NBA playoff history.
Bad Stat: Milwaukee allowed Miami to score 130 and 122 points in consecutive playoff games. It was the first time the Bucks have allowed an opponent to score 120 or more points in consecutive playoff games since a playoff series against the Boston Celtics in 1987. The Bucks allowed the Celtics to score 138 and 124 points in those games.
Good Stat: Pat Connaughton scored 22 points off the bench in the game. It was the second playoff game in his career that he tallied 20 plus points off the bench for the team (he did last year against the Bulls on April 27 with 20 points). Connaughton is the 10th player in Bucks’ history to have 20 or more points off the bench in multiple playoff games. Ricky Pierce did it 13 times for the Bucks to top this list. He is followed by Junior Bridgeman (six times), Alex English, Mickey Johnson, Paul Pressey, Terry Cummings, George Hill, Bryn Forbes, Grayson Allen, and Connaughton; each have done it twice in their careers with Milwaukee.
Bad Stat: Miami star Jimmy Butler led the Heat with 25 points in the loss. It was the seventh time that Butler has scored 25 or more points in a playoff game versus the Bucks. He became the seventh player to score 25+ points in seven or more playoff games versus the team. Larry Bird tops this stat with 11 games where he scored 25+ points against the Bucks in a playoff contest. Following Bird is Charles Barkley with nine, and Moses Malone, Michael Jordan, Dominique Wilkins, Kevin Durant, and Butler with seven each.
Good Stat: The Bucks became the sixth team in NBA playoff history to shoot over 50 percent from the 3-point line with 40 or more 3-point attempts in a game. The Bucks were 25-for-49 for 51 percent from the 3-point line in the game. Other teams to reach this stat in a playoff game: Boston (2022), Denver (2020), Cleveland (2016 and 2017), and Golden State (2016).
Good Stat: Joe Ingles went 5-for-6 from the 3-point line. He became only the third Bucks player to attempt six or more threes and shoot over .800 from the 3-point line in a Milwaukee playoff game. The others: Tim Thomas was 5-for-6 in a playoff game for the team in 2003, and Grayson Allen was 6-for-7 in a 2022 playoff contest versus the Bulls.
Good Stat: With the win, the Bucks are now 39-23 in playoff games since 2019 (the start of the Mike Budenholzer era). The 39 wins are the most playoff wins in the NBA since 2019. The Boston Celtics are second with 32 playoff wins since 2019; Golden State is the only other team with 30 or more playoff wins since 2019…they have 30.
Bad Stat: The series shifts to Miami for Game 3. The Bucks are 6-9 all-time versus the Heat in playoff games. They have, however, won five of their last six playoff games versus Miami. They are 3-3 in playoff games played in Miami. In the regular season, the Bucks have lost 11 of their last 13 games played in Miami.
Keep an eye on some Milwaukee Bucks’ records in the playoffs.
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