No Giannis, no problem as Bucks stay alive in OT
Ankle issue plagues MVP; Heat’s series lead sliced to 3-1
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — Giannis Antetokounmpo was waiting in the locker room for his teammates Sunday, standing on his bad right ankle to greet every one of them.
His day ended early.
His season isn’t over yet.
Khris Middleton scored 36 points, including a big 3-pointer with 6.4 seconds left in overtime, as the Milwaukee Bucks avoided a sweep by beating the Miami Heat 118
115 in overtime of Game 4 of the teams’ Eastern Conference semifinal series.
The Heat lead 3-1, but the Bucks — the regular season’s best team — are alive, even after Antetokounmpo left early in the second quarter with an aggravation of his right ankle sprain.
“Khris is very unique,” Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer said. “He’s got a way about him. He wanted to play. He asked to stay in the game.”
As if there was any other option. Middleton’s season high before Sunday was 40 minutes; he logged 48 in Game 4, taking over with Antetokounmpo watching from the locker room.
“Just keep fighting,” said Middleton, who had eight rebounds and eight assists. “That’s all my teammates did.”
Bam Adebayo had 26 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists for Miami. Duncan Robinson scored 20 points, Jae Crowder had 18, and Goran Dragic and Jimmy Butler each had 17 for the Heat.
“We didn’t deserve to win that game,” Butler said.
Miami had an eight-point lead in the fourth quarter, promptly allowed the Bucks to score the next 12, and needs to come back Tuesday in an effort to finish the series off.
“At the end of the day, we should have played like we did in Game 1, Game 2 and Game
3,” Adebayo said.
Antetokounmpo scored 19 points in 11 minutes, while Brook Lopez and Eric Bledsoe each had 14 for Milwaukee. George Hill added 12 for the Bucks.
Miami managed two points in the first 4:30 of overtime before pulling within one on a 3-pointer by Tyler Herro, but Middleton delivered the game’s biggest shot to make it 116-112.
Herro made another 3 with three seconds left, but Middleton sealed it with two free throws.
Antetokounmpo had 19 of Milwaukee’s first 30 points, shooting 8-for-10. But in an instant, everything changed for the Bucks.
Antetokounmpo aggravated his sprained right ankle with 10:18 left in the second quarter, rolling it inward — as he did Friday in Game 3 — as he tried to drive past Miami’s Andre Iguodala. He tumbled to the court, grabbing the ankle and screaming in pain.
He took the free throws; without doing that, he would not have been permitted to return. But, at halftime, the Bucks delivered the word that he would not be back.
So his game was over.
The Bucks’ season wasn’t. Milwaukee said Antetokounmpo would get plenty of treatment Sunday and Monday before a decision is made about his availability for Tuesday.
“He’s going to be back,” Bledsoe said.
Middleton did all he could to keep the Bucks afloat, scoring 21 points in the third quarter — the highest-scoring quarter of his career — on 6-for-9 shooting from the field and 7-for-7 on free throws.
Lakers 117, Rockets 109:
Lebron James had 28 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists for Los Angeles, which opened a 21-point first-half lead and evened the West semifinal series at one win apiece.
Anthony Davis had 34 points and 10 rebounds for the Lakers, who gave up 41 third-quarter points to fall behind before regrouping.
James Harden scored 27 points, and Eric Gordon hit six 3-pointers and totaled 24 points for Houston, which made 22 3-pointers.
Russell Westbrook had 10 points on 4-for-15 shooting and 13 rebounds for the Rockets, who got 18 points from
P.J. Tucker and 17 from Robert Covington.