Free-falling into the danger zone
Sloppy Bucks in 0-2 hole in series
You live by the foul call, you die by the foul call.
The Milwaukee Bucks looked dead in the water before a furious rally in the final 20 seconds on Wednesday, culminating in Khris Middleton getting fouled on a threepointer by Goran Dragic with 4.3 seconds left. It was a close call as Dragic went straight up, but the whistle came and Middleton made all three free throws to tie the score at 114.
After a timeout by the Miami Heat, Jimmy Butler got the ball in
the corner and couldn't make any ground on Wesley Matthews before fading for a jumper at the buzzer. As he shot, Giannis Antetokounmpo came flying over to contest and as he did so, Antetokounmpo put his left hand briefly on Butler's back while the ball was already in the air.
That touch, while it didn't affect the shot, was enough to draw a foul call. Antetokounmpo sat along the sideline with his head in his hands while the officials went to the replay monitor where they confirmed the foul and that the shot was attempted before the buzzer hit all zeroes, ruling that Butler was entitled to a pair of free throws with no time left on the clock.
He made the first to win the game then made the second to twist the knife. Game over. Heat, 116-114. Just like that, the Bucks found themselves in a 2-0 series hole.
The Bucks didn't look like they were even going to make it close. They fumbled much of the final few minutes, committing three straight turnovers and going scoreless for over 3 1/2 minutes to find themselves down by nine with 1 minute, 56 seconds to go.
Antetokounmpo threw down a dunk with 15 seconds left to get the Bucks within four and then Milwaukee trapped Butler along the sideline during the ensuing inbound, leading him to throw a pass back toward his own basket where Brook Lopez intercepted it and put in a layup.
Miami then had another dangerous play inbounding to Butler out of a timeout, but a lobbed pass to him inside ended with a foul by Donte DiVincenzo. Butler missed the first of his two free throws before making the second, setting up the play where Middleton would get fouled and make all three free throws.
The Bucks played from behind for most of the night, coming out flat in the first quarter.
At the outset of the game, things didn't look promising for the Bucks. As was the case in Game 1, their defense struggled to find ways to get consistent stops.
Additionally, the Bucks again committed sloppy, live-ball turnovers, with Milwaukee's four giveaways in the first quarter yielding eight easy Miami points. Meanwhile, outside of a hot start from Brook Lopez who scored the Bucks' first nine points, Milwaukee failed to establish any offensive rhythm on the way to a nine-point deficit at the end of the first quarter.
The Bucks encountered an additional obstacle when Khris Middleton picked up his third foul on a push-off just 26 seconds in the second quarter. With Dragic doing the heavy lifting, Miami built a lead as large as 13 points midway through the second quarter. Then, with under 4 1/2 minutes left until halftime, Giannis Antetokounmpo joined Middleton with three fouls.
Milwaukee was able to cut its deficit down before halftime thanks in large part to Eric Bledsoe, who provided a critical lift a after missing Game 1 with a right hamstring strain. Bledsoe used his speed and athleticism to blow by the Heat's guards on multiple occasions, getting to the rim for layups and closing the half with an and-one to cut the margin down to six. Bledsoe scored 12 points in the second quarter alone on 4 of 5 shooting.
Western Conference
The days off have given the Los Angeles Lakers and the L.A. Clippers time to rest their bodies and clear their minds. The extra time off also disrupted the momentum both teams created during the NBA restart.
So when the Lakers and the Clippers resume in the Western Conference semifinals, the two title contenders will have to wrestle with a difficult question: Will they benefit or struggle from their long layoff?
“It's a tough one. You would like a little bit of both,” Clippers coach Doc Rivers said.