Bucks beat the buzzer and Heat

Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks found themselves in danger of suffering one more devastating playoff loss to the Miami Heat. Khris Middleton made sure it didn’t happen.

Middleton broke a tie with a jumper with fivetenths of a second left in overtime and had 27 points to help the Bucks beat the Heat 109-107 on Saturday in Game 1 of the first round.

“I have confidence in myself,” Middleton said. “You miss a lot of shots. You make a lot of shots. You just have to trust all the work you put in during the season and practice.”

The nip-and-tuck nature of this game — nobody led by more than four in the fourth quarter and overtime — exemplified the competitive fire of this playoff rematch.

Milwaukee was the No. 1 seed in last year’s playoffs but lost 4-1 to Miami in the second round. Milwaukee is seeded third and Miami sixth in the East this time.

“The pressure was all on them,” said Miami’s Goran Dragic, who scored 25 points and tied it with a corner three with 20.6 seconds left. “They need to win at home.”

Over the last 1:06 of regulation, Antetokounmpo was two for five from the line and had a 10-second violation that prevented him from getting another free throw.

Antetokounmpo wore a sleeve on his left arm late in the game after appearing to grab his elbow in the fourth quarter. He still had 26 points, 18 rebounds and five assists but shot 10 for 27 and six for 13 on free throws.

The Bucks’ struggles at the line enabled Miami’s Jimmy Butler to force overtime on a buzzer-beating layup past Antetokounmpo.

at Brooklyn 104, Boston 93:

Kevin Durant had 32 points and 12 rebounds, Kyrie Irving scored 29 points and the Nets recovered from their superstars’ frigid start to win Game 1.

Portland 123, at Denver 109:

Damian Lillard scored 34 points and led a threepoint barrage that sparked the Trail Blazers in the series opener. Portland hit 19 of 40 from beyond the arc.