Bucks bring down the Heat in NBA
Miami, Aug. 7: Giannis Antetokounmpo says the biggest challenge in the championship quest for the Milwaukee Bucks, who clinched a top seed in the NBA playoffs on Thursday, isn’t a rival, but the Bucks themselves.
The 25-year-old Greek forward scored 33 points and grabbed 12 rebounds for Milwaukee as the Bucks rallied from a 23-point deficit to defeat Miami 130116 and clinch the top seed in the Eastern Conference at an NBA-best 55-14.
The Bucks, who won their only NBA title in 1971, could face Miami in the second round of the playoffs with Toronto, Boston, Indiana and Philadelphia threats as well. But Milwaukee’s star forward sees the Bucks’ main worry as playing to their potential.
Khris Middleton had 33 points and eight assists and combined with Antetokounmpo to shoot 22-of-31 from the floor.
Duncan Robinson scored 21 points to lead the Heat, who are fourth in the East at 43-26. If the standings stay as they are, the Bucks and Heat could meet in round two of the playoffs.
It was the feature of the eighth day of NBA games in a quarantine bubble at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida, to finish a regular season shut down on March 11 by the Covid19 pandemic.
LEONARD STARS AS CLIPPERS TRIUMPH
Kawhi Leonard, who led the Toronto Raptors to an NBA crown last year, scored 29 points to lead the Los Angeles Clippers over Dallas 126-111, pulling them a game ahead of Denver for second in the Western Conference.
HARDEN FIRES ROCKETS PAST LA LAKERS
NBA scoring leader James Harden poured in 39 points and passed around 12 assists while grabbing eight rebounds to ignite the Rockets over the Lakers 113-97. Anthony Davis had 17 points and 12 rebounds for the Lakers, who were 2-of-19 from 3point range while Houston went 21-57 from beyond the arc.