Bucks beat Heat, clinch No. 1 seed in East
Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton scored 33 points each, and the Bucks overcame a huge early deficit to get a 130-116 win over the Heat on Thursday at Walt Disney World in Lake Buena Vista, Florida to clinch the top seed in the Eastern Conference.
The Heat led by as many as 23 points in a first half where the team piled up 73 points despite playing without Jimmy Butler and Goran Dragic. The Heat cooled off after the break and the Bucks took the lead in the third quarter but were down by 6 to start the fourth.
Antetokounmpo sat out about five minutes of the fourth after collecting his fifth foul with 11 minutes to go. The Bucks trailed by 1 with about five minutes remaining before using a 20-0 run, with three dunks from Antetokounmpo, to make it 130-111 with less than a minute to go and cruise to the victory.
Butler missed his second straight game with a sore right ankle. Dragic sat out with a sprained left ankle after injuring it Tuesday.
Deandre Ayton had 23 points and 10 rebounds, and the Suns continued their improbable run in the bubble, beating the Pacers 114-99 for their fourth straight win. The Suns moved out of the basement in the West among the teams at Disney . ... Damian Lillard tied his franchise record with 11 3-pointers and scored 45 points, and the Trail Blazers moved closer to the No. 8 spot in the West by beating the Nuggets 125-115. Lillard also had 12 assists for the Blazers, who closed to within a half-game of the Grizzlies for the last playoff berth.
College football: Notre Dame opens its season as an Atlantic Coast Conference member against visiting Duke on Sept. 12 and won’t face Navy for the first time in more than nine decades as part of the ACC’s reconfigured schedule due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The Fighting Irish are giving up their coveted football independence and competing for the ACC title this season. The ACC had announced plans last week for a 10-game league slate with one nonconference game and its championship game played either Dec. 12 or 19.
NFL: A total of 66 players have opted out of the upcoming season due to the coronavirus pandemic. The Patriots led the league with eight opt outs: RB Brandon Bolden, T Marcus Cannon, S Patrick Chung, LB Dont’a Hightower, TE Matt LaCosse, WR Marqise Lee, OL Najee Toran and FB Dan Vitale. Only three teams had no opt outs: the Steelers, Falcons and Chargers.
Soccer: Orlando City beat Minnesota United 3-1 at Disney to earn a spot opposite the Portland Timbers in Tuesday’s championship match of the MLS is Back tournament. The winner earns a berth in the 2021 CONCACAF Champions League.