Heat reach East finals, drop Bucks to win series 4-1
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — Jimmy Butler and the Miami Heat are headed to the Eastern Conference finals.
Giannis Antetokounmpo could only watch.
The fifth-seeded Heat finished off an upset of the NBA’S best regular-season team Tuesday, topping the Milwaukee Bucks 103-94 in Game 5 of their East semifinal series — while Antetokounmpo, the league’s reigning MVP, couldn’t play because of a sprained right ankle.
Butler and Goran Dragic each scored 17 points for the Heat, who won the series
4-1 and will face either the Boston Celtics or Toronto Raptors when the NBA’S final four gets underway next week.
It’s Miami’s first time in the East finals since 2014, and the first time Butler has gotten to the NBA’S final four.
Jae Crowder scored 16, Tyler Herro scored 14, Bam Adebayo had 13 and Kelly Olynyk had 12 for the Heat.
Khris Middleton had 23 points for Milwaukee, which got 15 points and 14 rebounds from Brook Lopez. Donte Divincenzo scored 17, Wesley Matthews and
Marvin Williams each had 11, and Eric Bledsoe had nine assists for the Bucks.
Antetokounmpo did what he could — cheering from the bench throughout, rebounding for teammates during pregame warmups and again at halftime, offering words during timeouts.
And the Bucks were inspired from the jump.
But the NBA’S No. 1 overall seed in these playoffs — a league-best 56-17 in the regular season — just didn’t have enough.
Milwaukee opened with a 28-15 run, putting Miami on its heels from the opening minutes. Divincenzo got
the call to start for Antetokounmpo and scored eight of Milwaukee’s first 16 points, Matthews had nine by the end of the quarter and the Bucks were off to a promising start.
Miami answered that start with a 30-9 run, capped by three free throws from Olynyk with 4:36 left in the half for a 45-37 Heat lead.
■ Lakers 112, Rockets 102: Lebron James scored 36 points and Rajon Rondo sparked a fourth-quarter rally as the Los Angeles Lakers beat Houston to take a 2-1 lead in their Western Conference series.
James earned his NBA-REcord 162nd playoff victory, surpassing former Lakers guard Derek Fisher’s 161.
Rondo had 21 points and nine assists as the Lakers broke open a close game in the final period. He scored eight straight points during a 10-0 run early in the fourth quarter that put the Lakers ahead for good. Rondo assisted on the other basket during that stretch.
Anthony Davis had 26 points and Kyle Kuzma added 14.
For the Rockets, James Harden scored 33 points and Russell Westbrook had 30.